Tag: Ecclesiastes

Work: For Legacy or Joy?

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes uses the word “toil” in ways that sound like more than “job” or “career” or “thing I do for income.” He seems to use this word more broadly to mean what we put our energy toward in this world.

On this topic, the end of Ecclesiastes 2 focuses on a pointed question: Why do we toil? In answering this question, he, unsurprisingly, identifies one reason that is “vanity” and one that is “from the hand of God.”

His Days Are Full of Sorrow

The Preacher hated his toil because he would eventually have to leave the fruit of it to others. Yes, the finiteness of life plays a major role in how the Preacher thinks about about work in addition to wisdom.

There are two main problems with leaving life’s work to another, according to the Preacher. First, we don’t know whether our successor will be wise or a fool (Eccl 2:19). This ambiguity can be maddening, since this person will be the “master” of all for which we toiled. Additionally, there is the sheer vanity of someone coming after us who will enjoy what they did not work for (Eccl 2:21). The Preacher labels this not only as “vanity” but “a great evil” (Eccl 2:21).

This meditation on work provokes harsh words from the Preacher! He “hated all his toil,” and he gave his “heart up to despair;” a man’s return for his toil is days which are “full of sorrow” with work “a vexation” such that “in the night his heart does not rest” (Eccl 2:18–23).

When the Preacher asks what a man has to gain from all his toil (Eccl 2:22), the clear answer is: nothing.

Enjoyment From the Hand of God

And yet, there is another, better perspective on work the Preacher has to offer.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)

Ideally, we will find “enjoyment” in our toil. God gives this as a gift, as there is no enjoyment in toil apart from the Almighty.

In reading Ecclesiastes, I’ve found a helpful framing from David Gibson: gain or gift? This framing helps me understand what the Preacher is up to at the end of this chapter when he seems to talk about work in two different ways.

When we work for gain—that is, when we work to be remembered or with a fixation on what will become of our work—we are striving after wind. This is misguided and foolish, since we will be forgotten (Eccl 2:16) and our work will pass to others. However, when we see work as a gift from God, we can begin to enjoy it.

Like so many other aspects of life, the key to joy in Ecclesiastes is receiving each role or activity from God. We honor God best (and thus enjoy life most) when we treat each area of life in the way that God intended. We will not live forever, and our work will not live forever; accepting and embracing these truths opens up the path toward enjoying our work now.

Pleasing God

The Preacher ends this discourse on work with a caveat. God does not give everyone joy in their work.

For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

God only gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to those who please him. The sinner gets something quite different.

This raises a natural question: who is it that pleases God? For the original audience listening to Ecclesiastes, the answer would have been clear: those who love God and keep his law please him.

So, if you feel frustration in your work, if you would like to find more joy in what you give your energy to in this world, the Preacher would direct your attention to your obedience to God’s law. And if you find yourself not quite measuring up to the standard of God’s law, join the club.

Jesus became man and lived in perfect accord with all of God’s righteous rules. The good news of the gospel means that Jesus’s obedience is credited to all those who trust in him. God is pleased with those who put their faith in Jesus.

These frustrations that the Preacher unearths are universal. They point to a planet which is cursed and discordant. And yet, the Bible testifies that there is a Savior given to the world as well.

The humble posture of the believer is to confess our sins and receive the Savior. The Preacher’s teaching on receiving one’s work as a gift points those with ears to hear in this same direction.

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Wisdom Drained of Power

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

When was the last time you walked through a cemetery? Such a stroll may seem dismal, but it’s quite good for your soul. Modern humans, especially the young, can talk themselves into immortality if they’re not careful.

If you visit a cemetery, you’ll probably find the newer graves in one area and the older graves in another. Pay attention to that older area. Notice the headstones, the names and dates carved along with a few words carefully chosen as an everlasting benediction.

The thing is, headstones don’t last. From the perspective of decades, it doesn’t take long before the carved words wear down and the stone itself starts to sink and crumble. You probably don’t know the people in these old graves, and now you can’t even read their names.

You Will Die

In Ecclesiastes 2, the Preacher takes on several investigations, starting with pleasure and turning to wisdom (Eccl 2:12). He somewhat predictably finds that there is “more gain in wisdom than in folly,” but the conclusion he reaches may be surprising: “the wise dies just like the fool” (Eccl 2:13,16).

Since “the same event” (death) happens to everyone—both the foolish and the wise—the Preacher wonders why he has tried to live according to wisdom. It is absurd that the sage and the fool both die in the same way (Eccl 2:14-15).

The Preacher was grappling with a profound and difficult lesson: Wisdom cannot protect us from death.

Those familiar with the Bible will sense a dissonance here that I believe is intentional. After all, in the book of Proverbs, Solomon extols the value of wisdom (see Proverbs 2) and urges his son (and his readers) to pursue and not abandon wisdom (Proverbs 4:1–9).

Perhaps we can feel the frustration voiced by the Preacher. Wisdom has great value in this life. But this life is so short! Is wisdom that valuable if everyone ends up with the same washed-out gravestone?

You Will Be Forgotten

In his investigation of wisdom, the Preacher lands on a second truth as difficult as our own mortality. Both the wise and the foolish die alike, and neither one is remembered.

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:16-17)

Not many of us meditate on our mortality. But even those who do probably think the good they do in the world might outlast them. The businesses, organizations, causes, places, and people we pour our lives into—surely these will be remembered, right?

Sadly, and simply, no. They won’t, and you won’t. Not in the long run.

You might not need convincing of this, but here’s another illustration. I know the first names of all four of my grandparents, and if you pressed me on it I could probably come up with the grandparent-names my parents used for their grandparents (my great-grandparents). But I don’t know any of their first names, and I barely know anything about them. That’s just three generations! And because I know so little about my great-grandparents, my children know nothing about them. I’m tied at the top of the list of people in the world most likely to remember those eight people, and I don’t even know their names, much less their passions or accomplishments.

Exposing Misplaced Hopes

Ecclesiastes exposes our misplaced hopes in a methodical, direct way. Do you think you might find some lasting significance from pleasure? From wisdom? From work? No, no, and no.

Everyone dies. You might be remembered for a few years, but it won’t be that many. Your name will blow away from the mind of the world like a feather on the wind.

What do we do with this stiff, cold breeze from the Bible? Were you hoping for something more encouraging or slogan-friendly from the Holy Scriptures?

Ecclesiastes takes a little while to resolve this tension, but we eventually get there. The Preacher gives this counsel: fear God and keep his commandments (Eccl 12:13).

That conclusion may not sound as uplifting as we’d like, but when we arrive there I suspect we’ll see how joyful and full of hope that exhortation is.

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Links for the Weekend (2026-02-13)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

In Praise of Godly Mothers-in-Law

Tanner Kay Swanson has written a helpful article describing her relationship with her mother-in-law and what it takes for that relationship to be healthy.

Beneath my mother-in-law’s lack of boasting is a lack of envy. She sees me not as her competitor in all things marriage and motherhood. She sees me as her son’s wife, the woman to whom he now owes first allegiance. She sees me as her “adopted” daughter, a young woman with fears and needs and dreams, just like all her kids. Ultimately, she sees me as “one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15) — as a sister she’ll have forever, countless ages after marriages and titles like “mother-in-law” and “daughter-in-law” fade away.

Life is a Vapour. Enjoy it.

Here are some reflections on the book of Ecclesiastes. What does it mean for us that life is a vapor? How should we live in light of that?

The wise King said that vapour-life is not a curse if you learn to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20). But can you really enjoy life, when you see how transient it is? When it slips through your fingers no matter how tightly you clench them? Yes, you can.

Two videos

Here are two videos which might encourage you in your faith this weekend.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2023-10-27)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

How to Mourn Over Your Sins

This article is a great explanation of the discipline of “spiritual mourning.”

When you mourn your sins, seeing them for what they are, it can be easy for you to despair. Instead remember that when God shines the light on your sins, his great purpose is to lead you to Jesus, the friend of sinners. In him you will find hope. Hope is a signature mark of spiritual mourning, and it arises from faith in Christ and all that he has accomplished through the cross.

A Word to My Inner Perfectionist

Amy Medina has some really helpful thoughts about the difference between our sin and our finite limits as humans.

And in this Truth, there is freedom. I don’t need to get it all right. I can’t. I never will. In fact, when I insist on impossible standards for myself, I’m trying to pretend to be an infinite God. Taking time to rest, depending on others, and giving myself grace when I make mistakes are not signs of weakness, failure, or sin. On the contrary, accepting my finiteness is an expression of humility. I am not God. 

That Time the Bible Said to Follow Your Heart

How do we reconcile parts of the Bible which seem to be at odds? The answer is usually some form of pay attention to the context! This article is a good example of context-sensitive Bible reading.

The larger context is always important for any verse. When the author of Ecclesiastes exhorts his readers to any action, he is always doing so with a view toward wise behavior. When he says “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God” (5:1), or “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart” (9:7), or “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (11:1), these are calls for wise living.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (9/3/2021)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes

Here’s a nice summary of the book of Ecclesiastes and some thoughts on its relationship to the gospel.

Too often, our superficial, triumphalistic approach to Christianity in America doesn’t face the real problems of living in a sinful world. In Ecclesiastes 8:14, the Preacher, provides this depressing assessment, “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.” Not exactly the kind of descriptions that would make a tourism brochure for the global chamber of commerce. But the preacher in Ecclesiastes follows that statement up with “I commend joy” and “to eat and drink and be joyful” (Ecc 8:15). What is the connection between gut-wrenching, painful injustice and being joyful?

What Do I Do With “Wasted Years?”

Jeremy Howard writes a personal reflection that is worth your time. He wrestles with a question many of us face—how should we think about periods of our life where there is no obvious fruit from our diligent efforts for the kingdom of God?

Due to life circumstances, I left at the end of 2014.  Shortly after that, the school had to close for a myriad of reasons. When I left 6 years after starting, I had changed exactly none of that future for them.  Years of effort and love and passion poured into a project that one day vanished like the mist.  No discernible impact from my perspective. What was it all for?  Was there a purpose in what I did? I cannot speak to the greater impact, only eternity can reveal that. 

What’s the Difference Between Sloth and Rest?

John Piper gives a helpful answer to this question. He describes the difference between the laziness of the sluggard and the restfulness of the diligent.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (6/18/2021)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Midlife, Christ Is

I promise I’m not just recommending this article because I’m jealous of its excellent title. Jared Wilson writes about faith in midlife, describing the ways Christ meets us.

I still think that phenomenon is a weird thing, but I think I understand it a bit better now. Midlife brings new insecurities and awakenings to long-dormant regrets. Many of us face empty nests and the prospect of, in effect, starting over with spouses we’ve only related to for so long as co-parents rather than as partners or friends. Many of us face the reality of aging parents and any fears or worries or responsibilities that come with that. And of course we daily face the reality of lost youth, waning strength, more difficult processes for maintaining health. Time moves a lot faster the older you get. That’s a cliché too, but it’s true.

Young Mom, You Can Read the Bible

I appreciated reading this article from Abigail Dodds on Bible reading for young mothers. She describes her own experience and how the “get up early” advice is well-intentioned but not always practical!

When you’re a mom of very young ones, an important tool you need to keep yourself fed with God’s word through those very short (yet very long) years is flexibility in how you read, along with consistency that you read. Be flexible about how you read God’s word, and be unwaveringly consistent that you read it. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8).

Why Our Secular Age Needs Ecclesiastes

Kevin Halloran encourages us to read Ecclesiastes, noting how relevant it is to the needs of today!

Yes, creation and our lives under the sun were subjected to futility, but Christ gives us joy-producing hope in the present as we await our glorious future. Yes, this world is a difficult place to live; but we won’t always live here. Christ will set us free to enjoy Him and His glory forever.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Banking on God’s Justice. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.