Untitled Sermon (14)

A Dark View of Life (1:3–11)

Ecclesiastes opens with a poem on the endless cycles of life. This is a sobering outlook in our day, when technologies promise unprecedented opportunities. But Ecclesiastes insists that in the end, the same basic patterns of life continue.

Life With—and Without—God (1:13–14) In many ways, Ecclesiastes spells out the significance of what happened in the Garden of Eden. When we take an honest look at life, we have to acknowledge the ultimate futility of life without God.

Heaping Up Riches—for What? (2:26)Do you own your possessions, or do they own you? This brief self-assessment will help you take account of what you own, and how important material things are in your life.

Word in Life Study Bible Chapter 2

2:26 HEAPING UP RICHES—FOR WHAT?

Do you own your possessions, or do they own you? Consider how many things you have that you could just as easily live without. Are you like the sinner described in Ecclesiastes, spending your entire life “gathering and collecting” (Eccl. 2:26).

Solomon devoted much of his life to the acquisition of great riches. “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them,” he said. Yet he concluded that this was nothing but “vanity and grasping for the wind” (2:10–11).

Here is a brief self-assessment to help you take account of what you own, and how important these things are in your life:

(1) Do you have specific possessions that you would never consider giving away to anyone?

(2) Do you have certain possessions that are important in establishing your identity among your friends and in your community?

(3) How do you define success? To what extent does a certain level of income or net worth enter into your definition?

(4) How many of your major decisions are calculated largely by their financial impact on you and your family?

(5) Is it easier for you to buy “luxury” items than it is to give money to your church, world missions, or a charity?

(6) Do you have any friends that could be considered poor? If not, why not?

(7) How do you measure self-fulfillment? How do you know when you are happy?

(8) How important is it for you to outdo your parents’ level of financial achievement?

(9) Do you measure your progress in life by whether you made more last year than the year before?

(10) Do you think your financial success has any impact on the poor and needy in your community, or elsewhere in the world?

The Value of Companionship (4:9–12)Have you made the effort to establish a solid, lasting friendship with one or two other people? If not, you are missing out on some valuable benefits that God intended for you.

Schemes to Avoid Painful Realities (7:29)We have developed some interesting mental tricks in our efforts to live without pain, suffering, and disappointment.

Growing Old (12:1–8)Young people invariably act as if they were going to live forever. For that reason, Ecclesiastes 12 portrays the realities of old age. It is not a pretty picture.