The Vanity of Work
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One of the most powerful quotes that I’ve heard in a long time (apart from Scripture)...
Is one from Francis Chan...
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,
19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,
21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 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,
25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
26 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.
LET’s PRAY...
The numbers i came across this week - showed that the Average American works 47 hours per week...
which equates to roughly 6 days a week...
We are a nation that is CONSUMED with WORK...
SOME of you probably WISH you could ONLY work 47 hours per week...
....as you put in WAY more than that every week...
And Solomon this week is going to HIGHLIGHT for us - the reality of how much WORK - really accomplishes in life...
When we look at this passage as a whole......we can see that there are 4 types of vanities that Solomon wants us to know about...
We're going to break down each one and then walk through some application to finish up.
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,
19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
NOW - When Solomon here says that he HATES all of his work...that he partakes in under the sun..
He's not saying "Man...i HATE my job"...
Many of us have said that...
Many of us have had jobs that we didn't like...
But that's not what Solomon is saying here...
He's looking at HIS WORK in a general sense...
And he's declaring that he HATES the idea that...
he would INVEST so much time,
and energy,
and effort,
and sweat, and tears
into WORKING...
Into trying to GAIN possessions in life...
Security in life...
A sense of accomplishment in life...
AND YET REALIZE....that in the end...
All that he worked FOR - would end up in someone else's hands...
Not only that...but to know that...
ALL of the RESULTS of his effort in life...WOULD - inevitably...
end up being UNDER THE CONTROL of someone else...
his fortune
his wealth
his car
house
even HIS ACTUAL EFFORTS... (Mahmoud Abdul Rauf - not standing for flag)
ALL of these things - now under the control (MASTERED) by someone else.
*How many of you are control freaks?
How hard is it for you to RELINQUISH control of a task...
Why is that?
Because we want to CONTROL how this gets done…WHY?
We BELIEVE that we're the - SMARTEST person for the job...
Ever have to give up control of something to someone you knew wasn't going to be able to handle it??
This is what Solomon refers to here...
19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
Some of us know people who KNOW who their ESTATES will be left to...know WHO their lifes work will be left to...And their thought is - OH MY!
Solomon's thought was what?
HATRED!
back to v18
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,
I - HATED all my toil....all my work....all my efforts
And he concludes...
THIS also is vanity
I think there are 2 necessarry truths in SIGHT here......that Solomon wants us to SEE...
On the one side:
SLIDE: Apart From Christ: Work is Vanity
Apart From Christ
Apart From Christ
So from a worldy point of view...If you wanted to get into the MIND of the WORLD...
You could LOOK at the world and say - REALLY?
You spend all this time and energy, and effort in life...ONLY to see ALL of it - in the end...OWNED by the next guy...SQUANDERED by the next guy!???
REALLY? World?
You're REBELLION against God has CREATED a world- for yourself - where all of our work, our efforts are rendered MEANINGLESS...
And you're REALLY ok with Not only EMBRACING that world -
BUT - PROMOTING your meaningless existence as something - MEANINGFUL??!!
Solomon wants us to see, and TASTE that without Christ - all of our efforts are meaningless...
He wants the WORLD to KNOW THIS!!
He's speaking to the world here!
But not only that
He's also speaking to Christians!
He's ASKING Christians - -
When you LOOK OUT into the world...and see your FRIENDS, and your FAMILY...pursuing "ACCOMPLISHMENT" without Christ....is your HATRED of that scenario - growing?
Do you find that your VIEW of life - is CHANGING?
and not just changing...BUT changing in a way that fosters hatred for all of LIFE that exists - apart from Christ?
Questions we should ask ourselves...
Solomon continues...
20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,
21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
I think there are quite a few different views here on what Solomon is saying...and so I think I'm just going to go with what I believe...
Here’s what we know - What we know for certain is that what Solomon discusses here in these verses - is VANITY and a GREAT EVIL.
This is his conclusion!
And so my first question was - Ok, what in verses 20 and 21 is considered vanity and a GREAT evil...
There seem to be 2 options...
Vanity and Great Evil is either:
giving a heart up to despair (v20)
OR
the fact that sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it
NOW - Which one of these things is - vanity and great evil
That was my question...
The first thing that came to my mind was -
OK, it seems based on how this is written, the GREAT EVIL is - the fact that sometimes/most times a person will work with their wisdom, knowledge and skill...
…all of their ENERGIES...
and STILL leave it all to be enjoyed by someone else...
It seems it’s trying to say that - THAT is a great evil...
But then I thought - Well wait a second!!
Isn’t THAT - the essence of Christianity??
Isn’t THAT what Jesus did for US!???
He came - in the flesh - performed the PERFECT WORK...
a perfect life
DIED for YOU!
Rose AGAIN - conquering DEATH!
And ALL of it - SO THAT WE MIGHT BENEFIT from THAT WORK!
It’s the ESSENCE of Christianity!
Aren’t we called - as Christians - to LAY down OUR LIVES…?
Lay down our comforts?
Lay down our preferences?
Consider those around us BETTER than us?
This CAN’T be the great evil!
And so - we look to the heart!
20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,
And what do we see?
SLIDE: Apart From Christ: The Heart is Hopeless
Apart From Christ
Apart From Christ
The Great Evil - that Solomon points to from verse 21 - is ...
A Heart that is so TRUSTING in works...
so RESTING in works...
THAT TO CLAIM those works of life as MEANINGLESS - is to RENDER Hopelessness in the heart!
A Heart that PUTS its HOPE in WORKS…in ACCOMPLISHMENT…is a heart that is HOPELESS...
And THAT is a great evil!
We see this same thing in Jeremiah...
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
An Evil Heart is a heart that TURNS from the Living God...
Turns from the Fountain of Living Waters...
and CHOOSES instead - to what?
to TRUST in their WORKS…to HEW out cisterns - FOR THEMSELVES...
broken cisterns that can hold no water!
And ANYTIME you turn from the Fountain of LIVING Water -
You’re committing EVIL...
That’s what EVIL is - to PREFER anything more than God!
To walk through this world - without Jesus Christ - is to walk...
…putting your hope in EVERYTHING BUT Him!
And when EVERYTHING else is exposed as being MEANINGLESS without Him...
you’re left with - Despair…Hopelessness!
v22
22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
What do we see here?
SLIDE: Apart From Christ: The Heart is Never Satisfied
Apart From Christ
Apart From Christ
When we live lives of Materialism...
We fall for the lie of LIFE…that it can Satisfy...
Psychotherapist Erich Fromm describes the result of Materialism…Greed:
Opening Up Ecclesiastes A Totalitarian Demand (vv. 18–22)
‘a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction
And some have likened the pursuit of the world’s riches to - gathering nuts.
Clothes are torn getting them, teeth are broken in chewing them, and the stomach is never filled in eating them.
And because this pursuit never satisfies…the pursuit never ends!
It’s always on to the next thing...
We were MADE to WORSHIP -
That’s why our kids are BORED half the time...
They basically have ALL-KNOWN information at their finger tips...
And YET - they’re bored!
WHY? Because the world is being exposed as something that CAN’T Satisfy!
“I want something else!”
That’s why everything in this world can only satisfy for a - brief moment...
food
money
sex
power
We’ve experienced this....we KNOW this…and that’s why we read this...
23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
Never satisfied!
And then from here - Solomon begins to SHED LIGHT on what WILL Satisfy!
24 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,
25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
26 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.
And here it seems pretty clear, that...
SLIDE: Apart From Christ: The Heart Cannot Please God
Apart From Christ
Apart From Christ
In verse 24 Solomon says - There’s nothing better than for a person to Eat, Drink, and fins Enjoyment in his Work…this also, I saw is from the Hand of God...
Now - this sounds a little different than what we’ve been hearing no?
It seems that up to this point, Solomon has been DENOUNCING enjoying our work…BECAUSE in the end it’s meaningless...
BUT
Do you remember our first sermon in this series...
We said - NO, he’s not saying ALL joy is pointless…
What he’s clearing up for us now is - the DIFFERENCE between a GOD PLEASER....and a WORLD PLEASER...
He’s saying - for the one who PLEASES God - the one who has faith and TRUST in Christ...
For this person - He SHOULD delight in his TOIL...
…KNOWING where it comes from!
…KNOWING who it’s ALL for!
As Christians - We SHOULD view our purpose in life as being to - GLORIFY God!
That i would LIVE out Romans 12:1-2
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
And I SHOULD DELIGHT in LIVING for Christ…!
This is what Solomon doesn’t want us to BYPASS...
I love verse 26..
26 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.
Do you see how God gets the GLORY and we get the JOY?!!
For to the one who pleases God - God HAS GIVEN wisdom and knowledge and joy...
It’s like this CIRCLE of GOODNESS...
Satisfied in God, I seek to glorify Him..to magnify Him...
He gets the Glory and I get the Joy...
God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in Him...
That’s the Christian!
But for the Unbeliever...
26 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.
to the sinner God has NOT given wisdom, knowledge, and joy...
He has merely given the sinner the business of gathering and collecting...
For what purpose?
in order to give to the one who pleases God.
Who is in control of all things?
God is!
and we see here that the Call of the world to pursue ACCOMPLISHMENT...
is a FUTILE CALL...
We’ve seen…that
Apart From Christ:
Work is Vanity
The Heart is Hopeless
The Heart is Never Satisfied
The Heart Cannot Please God
WITH CHRIST...
our work HAS purpose...
The Heart HAS hope…eternal
The Heart is COMPLETELY Satisfied....forever
The Heart Pleases God....
And in ALL of this - we find JOY!
Salvation Message:
Let’s pray