meaningless – Rev. Tim Ehrhardt

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools, for they do not know how to keep from doing evil. Never be rash with your mouth nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.

For dreams come with many cares, and a fool’s voice with many words.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow.It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your words and destroy the work of your hands?

With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words, but fear God.

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But all things considered, this is an advantage for a land: a king for a plowed field.

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth with gain. This also is vanity.

When goods increase, those who eat them increase, and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not let them sleep.

There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil that they may carry away with their hands. This also is a grievous ill: just as they came, so shall they go, and what gain do they have from toiling for the wind? Besides, all their days they eat in darkness, in much anger and sickness and resentment.

This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us, for this is our lot. Likewise, all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God. For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts. (New Revised Standard Version)

Life can be paradoxically both meaningful and meaningless. Yet, if we can live consistent with who we are and how we were created to be, then it is likely we shall find a semblance of meaning, purpose, and even joy in this present life.

Reverence

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. (Proverbs 10:19, NLT)

We are to be cautious in our speech, especially in addressing God. We must choose our words carefully and deliberately, in prayer, as well as with others.

God is God, and we are not. Therefore, since God is far above us, the high and holy One, it is wise to minimize our talking. There’s no need for lengthy and showy prayers. It is the mark of a fool that talks too much, just as much as it is the mark of a fool to let daydreams occupy too much of their thoughts.

Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent. (Proverbs 17:28, NRSV)

To be reverent and respectful before God involves not only the volume of words, but also the sanctity of words.

Whenever a person makes a vow or a promise to God, they need to be diligent about fulfilling that vow. The Lord takes our words seriously, and is not pleased with flippant promises that we have little intention of keeping.

On the flipside, good intentions are just that – they do not constitute a promise to do anything. We make vows so that we will be accountable to ourselves and others, and then follow through with the promise, no matter what.

Reneging on any promise, whether the vow is to another or God, is a foolish act with real consequences. Therefore, we should consider our promises well before making them, and avoid being rash.

Humility

All of us have both observed and experienced oppression and injustice of another or a group of people. In our anger, we may want to play both judge and jury. Humility teaches us that this is not our role, and to accept that a right and just God will deal with injustice.

The Lord sneers at those
who sneer at him,
but he is kind to everyone
who is humble. (Proverbs 3:34, CEV)

The injustice of this world does not necessarily need to create a deep theological conflict within us. We rarely, if ever, have the big picture on the circumstances and complexities of what is going on. But God does.

The Lord is watching. God neither slumbers nor sleeps. There is never a Divine nap time. So, God knows all, and will handle arrogant people according to their deeds and motives.

People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest. (Proverbs 11:2, GNT)

Contentment

It is the proud and arrogant person who never seems content. They continually want more – likely because they have the wrongheaded notion that they deserve more, even if it comes by taking resources from others.

Yet, the reality is that both kings and commoners rely upon the produce which comes from the soil. And regardless of whether a person has lots of money, or not, wealth isn’t the thing which makes for a truly happy life.

So, it is pointless and foolish to hoard food, money, stuff, resources, and even intangible things such as love and encouragement. Having a liberal outlook of sharing and giving creates joy. Misers, however, are typically curmudgeons who rarely smile and enjoy what they have.

The more stuff and wealth a person has, the less it is of benefit to humanity, whenever it is stockpiled and/or selfishly used and spent. Besides, when somebody has a lot, they have a lot to worry about. But workers living a simple life sleep just fine.

It is foolish to work so hard for something, only to end up with nothing you can take with you into eternity; or to have it taken by someone with an evil scheme to get it. On top of it, leaving this life with no humility and charity means that such a person really does leave with absolutely nothing to show for their life.

There’s no need to waste your life by filling it with nothing but aggravation and worry. Life has purpose and joy when there are liberal amounts of gratitude, encouragement, and friendship.

Let’s live today according to what is most important in life. Instead of chasing wealth, power, and control, we have the opportunity – no matter who we or our station in life – to live honestly and reverently, humbly and gently, with satisfaction and contentment.

What will you choose this day?

Almighty God of mercy, thank You for extending grace to me as I humble myself before You. Help me to be careful with my words, and to approach You with reverence and respect. Enable me to listen more and speak less, and to fulfill my vows to You. Guide me in being content with what You have given me and not to be consumed by the pursuit of wealth. I pray for wisdom and discernment in all my dealings and decision-making. Amen.

*Statue of “The Thinker,” by Auguste Rodin, 1880. Photo by Robert Reynolds.*

When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, and he said:

Nothing makes sense!
Everything is nonsense.
    I have seen it all—
    nothing makes sense!
What is there to show
for all of our hard work
    here on this earth?
People come, and people go,
but still the world
    never changes.

The sun comes up,
    the sun goes down;
it hurries right back
    to where it started from.
The wind blows south,
    the wind blows north;
round and round it blows
    over and over again.
All rivers empty into the sea,
    but it never spills over;
one by one the rivers return
    to their source.

All of life is far more boring
    than words could ever say.
Our eyes and our ears
are never satisfied
    with what we see and hear.
Everything that happens
    has happened before;
nothing is new,
    nothing under the sun.
Someone might say,
    “Here is something new!”
But it happened before,
    long before we were born.
No one who lived in the past
    is remembered anymore,
and everyone yet to be born
    will be forgotten too.

I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.

If something is crooked,
it can’t be made straight;
if something isn’t there,
it can’t be counted.

I said to myself, “You are by far the wisest person who has ever lived in Jerusalem. You are eager to learn, and you have learned a lot.” Then I decided to find out all I could about wisdom and foolishness. Soon I realized that this too was as senseless as chasing the wind.

The more you know,
the more you hurt;
the more you understand,
the more you suffer. (Contemporary English Version)

There’s an awful lot of nonsense in this old world. Arguably, the wisest person who ever lived, King Solomon, said that everything is nonsense, and all things are meaningless.

That’s probably why the Book of Ecclesiastes isn’t at the top of most people’s reading list. Admittedly, in many ways, it’s a depressing read.

Yet, maybe we are being led to consider that it really isn’t our task or purpose to understand everything in this world. After all, if a wise guy like Solomon didn’t make heads nor tails of it all, why in tarnation would you or I try to do so?

This doesn’t mean we don’t understand anything; it just means that we don’t have the ultimate answers on the universe’s workings. And if we try to have perfect knowledge of all things, it will be a fool’s errand. That’s because only God has ultimate understanding and perfect knowledge of everything and everyone.

So then, what do we do? Glad you asked. We accept our limitations, and thereby, it is likely we will gain more understanding than any other way we try.

Meister Eckhart, a medieval Catholic monk, had some sage observations in this short poem:

What is the prayer

of a heart loosed

from all the things

that crowd our lives

and worry our minds

from day to day?

it is coming to that

place within us where

not knowing is the

mark of faith,

not wanting

the work of hope,

and not demanding

the gift of love.

Meister Eckhart talked of acceptance, and letting go of expectations. Learning to allow things to go as they will go, to be okay with not always having to have answers for everything, and refusing to control people and outcomes, is not only the path to acceptance, but is also the way of peace and less anxiety.

Likely, the best that we can do every day is to show up, pay attention, speak the truth in love, and don’t be married to the consequences.

If we can accept our limitations and weaknesses, and embrace the mysteries of life, then a whole world of discernment and wisdom can open to us within the narrow scope of our very mortal lives.

Indeed, we can find a sense of satisfaction and happiness in who we are, and what our place is in this very big world. Yet, this only comes with some significant struggle. Taking the easy path only results in cheap counterfeit contentment.

We will need to become comfortable with mystery and paradox, the knowledge that comes with not knowing, and upside-down theology. These are our keys to the secrets of life.

We must rid ourselves of the idea that Scripture is merely a life map that shows how and where to live. Holy Scripture may be a map, yet, it will point us in directions we may not want to go; and may even tell us to be in two places at once.

To try and make the Bible neat and tidy, with clear answers to modern day questions, is probably why such persons avoid the Book of Ecclesiastes as if it were the plague.

In reality, Ecclesiastes is a book that stands the orderly nature of life on its end. It is the scriptural place where playing by the rules and believing the right things won’t give you the good life you’re searching for.

Eventually, everyone encounters a dark night of the soul in which the death of a loved one, a failed relationship, or the loss of health turns our neatly ordered world upside-down to the point where we don’t recognize who we are, or what the world really is anymore.

These are times when our platitudes of simple faith are impotent to help us. Trust and belief are still important and vital, but they are no longer as understandable and intelligible as they once were.

It is imperative in these times that we doubt and question things; and even question God. A genuine robust faith is one that has been gained by plodding through the muck of anger, and even depression.

Authentic belief is neither cheap nor easy. It engages more than a few mental thoughts; it also goes to the heart and the gut, often with heart-rending emotions and gut-wrenching insights.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a book for all of us. But it must not be read lightly nor flippantly. It’s contents need to be grappled with. Simply reading the last page of the book and making a faith declaration from that place will not only get you nowhere, it is also potentially damaging.

Only engage this material if you are brave enough, have some chutzpah within you, and are willing to reconsider and perhaps let go of all previous settled ideas about how the world is, or at least, how it should work.

So, if you want some quick answers to life’s meaning and purpose, Ecclesiastes is not the place to look. There are plenty of charlatans out there who would be happy to give you such information.

But if you are searching for something real and authentic, genuine and lasting, then be prepared for a tough, yet fruitful, slog through the “meaningless” meanderings of Ecclesiastes.

Only the courageous and the vulnerable should enter.

O God, I am very sorry that I have sinned against you and for all the wrongs I have done and the good I have not done. Forgive me, and grant me strength and wisdom to amend my life.

I offer you praise and thanksgiving, for creation and all the blessings of this life, for redemption, faith, and love; and for the means of grace and the hope of glory. Amen.

Rev. Tim Ehrhardt

Tag: meaningless