A Disappointing Life - Ecclesiastes 1-2

Introduction

I’ve been thinking about my college graduation. I was surrounded by people who seemed so excited about the day and their future. Sitting on my row were people who were talking about the big move they were about to make and others talking about all of the job offers they had to choose from, but my life was already well established and nothing seemed particularly exciting about graduating. I had always dreamed about what it would be like to graduate college, and yet sitting there in a stadium filled with people to help me celebrate, I had never felt like more of a loser. It was supposed to be a mountaintop, but it felt like a valley. I felt so very disappointed.

My experience has been that most people are disappointed with their lives. We dream of who we will become and what our lives will be, and our aspirations become intertwined with our sense of identity. And, when our aspirations go unrealized, or perhaps even more devastatingly, are realized but aren’t as good and fulfilling as we expect, we find ourselves in an identity crisis. What can be especially difficult is when disappointments accumulate. When a disappointing graduation turns into a difficult marriage added to an unsatisfying career. Disappointment accumulates, and you start to wonder if anything really matters anymore. You start to wonder if all of the milestones are going to let you down, if all of the sacrifice isn’t going to lead to satisfaction, if all of the long nights are going to leave you unfulfilled, what’s the point?

God’s Word

That’s the question of Ecclesiastes. What’s the point of all of this? What’s the point of working and earning and striving and buying, and, ultimately, living, if disappointment is all we’re going to experience?

It’s written by Solomon from an earthly perspective. Over and again, you read the phrase “under the sun”, meaning that he’s writing about man’s experience and perspective on the earth. That’s important for you to understand so that you don’t misinterpret what he’s saying. He’s not saying throughout, “This is how it is.” He’s saying, “This is how it looks. This is how it feels. This is how it seems.” The first two chapters seem to be based on Solomon’s personal experience, and quickly, I want us to see Three Common Experiences (Headline) from Solomon’s experience:

Life appears “meaningless.”

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

Ecclesiastes is meant to function as the counterbalance to the book of Proverbs. If it’s misunderstood, the book of Proverbs can lead to disappointment and even disillusionment. Proverbs teaches us that God has designed the world in an orderly manner and that we can thrive if we learn that order and live by it. But, Ecclesiastes is here to remind us that God’s design has been broken by sin so that now there is disorder in his word. Proverbs seems to teach that all the right ways ought to lead to all the right outcomes. If I work hard, I should always have plenty. If I love uprightly, I should always prosper. But, Proverbs is a book of wisdom, not promises. You may, in fact, raise your children in the way they should go, and they could still depart from it. Why? Because disorder has found its way into God’s perfectly designed creation. And, if you don’t realize it, then life seems to lose its meaning when a noble life seems to lead toward ruin. That’s what’s meant by “All is vanity.” This disordered world can make a noble, godly, devout life feel meaningless. It can make good and evil, success and failure, wealth and poverty all appear arbitrary, random, and meaningless. So, in his introductory poem, Solomon asks three questions that all point to this same experience of meaningless:

Does my “effort” matter?

Ecclesiastes 1:3-7 “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.”

Proverbs seems to teach that life is all about cause and effects. Do this, and you’ll receive that. Of course, life usually happens that way, but not always. And, that’s when it gets confusing. That’s when it feels meaningless. Every day, men toil under the sun (likely an illusion to the curse in Genesis 3). They show up at 5am at their shift, and they go home dead tired. Mom’s spend the day working only to come home and have to cook dinner and help with homework. Yet, when you look at everything around you, it just seems like nothing you do really matters, doesn’t it? That’s the observation here. The sun does the same thing every day. The wind does whatever it wants to do whenever it wants to do it. The streams keep flowing, but the oceans never fill. People come and go, but nothing really seems to change. So, if that’s the case, does anything I do actually matter? Like, what’s the actual return on investment here? Proverbs can make us feel like we have some control over our outcomes through our effort, but the reality is that we have no real control at all. So, what’s the point?

Some of you probably felt that way coming to church this morning. It’s so much work, and our kids don’t seem to listen. What’s the point? Nobody notices, or even cares, how much I sacrifice so what’s the point? I work 60 hours a week only to feel like a failure and a loser at the end of the day, what’s the point? “All is vanity.”

Does my “endurance” matter?

Ecclesiastes 1:8 “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”

Romans 8:19-20 “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope”

The meaninglessness of life isn’t just experienced in the lack of impact; it’s found in the exhaustion that comes from trying. All of the earth is tired, and the creation includes humans. Many commentators have wondered if this is the passage that Paul bases Romans 8:20 upon, which I often quote to you. We might re-write it to say, “The creation was subjected to vanity, meaninglessness, weariness.” The reason Ecclesiastes needs to be paired with Proverbs is that we can leave Proverbs with a theology that’s too neat and too tight. A + B = C. But, that’s not actual human experience, is it? Actual human experience is complex, difficult, messy, and disappointing. And, if you aren’t expecting the complexity of human experience, if your theology isn’t messy enough to handle your business going under or your child getting sick or your husband abandoning you, then the difficulty of those terrible experiences will spiral into the despair of meaningless. You’ll be asking, “Why do I keep trying? Why do I keep pressing on? Why do I keep making myself tired? What’s the point? “All is vanity.”

Does my “existence” matter?

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.”

And, so, it lands on a question of existential crisis. If what happened yesterday is going to happen today and if what happens today is what’s going to happen tomorrow, then it’s not just a matter of my effort or my endurance that’s in question. It’s me that’s in question. Why do I matter? What’s the point? I may discover the cure for cancer, but everyone will still die. I may perfectly protect my kids, but they’ll still suffer. I may exercise diligently and eat healthily, but I’m still going to lose my health. That is, all of life amounts to live like everyone else has lived, suffer like everyone else has suffered, and be forgotten like everyone else has been forgotten. So, who am I, and what difference does it really make? It’s interesting. We all think that our lives don’t matter unless our greatest aspirations are reached. Yet, Solomon, as someone who reached every goal he set, says that even our greatest accomplishments aren’t that great, don’t change anything, and will be soon forgotten. What’s the point? “All if vanity.”

Nothing seems to “help”.

So, Solomon does what comes natural. He tries everything “under the sun” to answer these big questions. Humans are meaning-makers by nature, and he details his experience of seeking meaning in all the ways people do. That is, he tried to overcome the disappointment of his life, but nothing he tried seemed to help. He discovered what you’ve discovered.

You can’t “learn” enough.

Ecclesiastes 1:13-14 “And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.”

Ecclesiastes 1:18 “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”

Some personalities, and Solomon appears to be one of them, are prone to think that the only thing that is needed to answer the gaping hole in their soul is more knowledge, more books, more study, more degrees. The “under heaven” phrase reminds us that he’s not talking about godly wisdom but secular wisdom. That the belief is that if I just have find the right guru whose written the right book or produced the right podcast, then I can resolve the disappointment I have with my life. And, Solomon says that he’s studied more than anyone, learned more than anyone, and sought intellectual insight more than anyone; yet, the only thing that he knows more fully is that he doesn’t know enough. That trying to attain enough knowledge the fill the hole in the soul is like chasing after wind — you’re tired, frustrated, and gain nothing. In fact, we know this is true. Many of our geniuses are famously depressed (“much vexation/increases sorrow”). A higher IQ is considered a risk factor for mental illness like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. You can’t learn enough.

You can’t be “free” enough.

Ecclesiastes 2:1 “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.”

Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Perhaps, if there’s one value American society places above every other, it’s freedom. So many think, if I can just have greater freedom, if I can just do what I want without recourse, if I can just have the financial freedom to acquire all that I want, then I’ll know what it’s like to be truly satisfied and happy. And, Solomon tried that. He “tested” hedonism for himself and gave himself perfect freedom. He thought, “If I can do whatever I want, I’ll be happy.” So, he drank as much wine as he wanted and attended as many parties as he wanted and had as much sex as he wanted. But, he needed more so he thought, “I can have whatever I want, then I’ll be happy.” So, he built great buildings and many palaces and beautiful gardens so that every other king saw that he was the greatest king. And, having done whatever he wanted to do and having bought everything he wanted to buy, he realized he’d been chasing the wind again.

The idea of western freedom can compound your disappointment with your life. You think more time out with the girls or more wine tastings in Napa or a return to the fraternity days will help you feel happy and satisfied. You think if you can just buy new clothes and a nicer car and a different house, then you’ll have what you need. But, one party at a time, one drink at a time, one purchase at time, the gaping hole in your soul only shouts louder, “It’s all vanity! It’s all meaningless!” You’re chasing wind.

You can’t be “important” enough.

Ecclesiastes 2:16-17 “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.”

So, Solomon thinks that maybe a greater legacy is the answer. Maybe the answer is to pursue wisdom and wealth that you might leave behind a great inheritance and legacy. Except he realized that it’ll all be squandered at some time in some way by somebody. You may build a great kingdom, but the next king can ruin it all. Solomon knew that personally. You may have a great name, but your descendents can quickly ruin it. In fact, your name won’t be remembered that long at all. I wonder how many here can name all of your great grandparents. Memory fades within a generation, doesn’t it? Even our greats aren’t really remembered. What do you really know of George Washington? Could you name five facts? Let alone the kind of husband and father and friend he was. We’re living our lives trying to impress people who would skip our funeral for a football game. You can’t be important enough. Chasing a legacy is chasing the wind. “It’s all vanity.”

You can’t “work” hard enough.

Ecclesiastes 2:18 “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,”

Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 “What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 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.”

If half of America thinks that happiness comes from total freedom, the other half believes it comes from work. You can remember from our time in the Song of Songs that Solomon was something of a workaholic coming home to his wife far too late. And, Solomon had important work to do. Sometimes, it’s not just that we think we need to work; we think we need to do important work, and then we’ll be happy. Solomon was the king. There’s no job more important to the daily wellbeing of others than that. Yet, here at the end, he says, “I hated my toil...” He says, “I worked all day, and I worried all night for what?” He worked, but he can’t enjoy it very long. He worked, but the drive to work seemingly prevented him the enjoyment of what he’d worked for. He came to the realization that would help us all: You’re working all of your life for your kid’s yard sale. The achievement that comes through work dangles in front of us like a carrot: if I just work a few more hours, if I just travel a few more weeks, if I just keep going a few more years, then I’ll have enough, then I’ll be secure enough to rest. But, it turns out to be wind you’re chasing, not a carrot. And, we teach our children the same values. We teach them how to achieve and be successful instead of teaching them who they are and whose they are. And, our kids end up with a room full of trophies and an identity crisis. I wonder what our kids will do with all of the trophies we traded their faith for. It’ll prove vanity. Chasing after the wind.

The ending place of every attempt was the same: disappointment, disillusionment, and, ultimately, death. Experience teaches with enough time that every pursuit to fill the gaping hole in our souls only leads to more and more disappointment until there is total despair and only death to come.

Meaning comes by “faith”.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 “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? 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 12:13-14 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

The Teacher’s landing point is to place the Proverbs back within their intended context. In other words, the answer to the gaping hole is not to stop trying or to stop enjoying pleasure or to stop working hard. It’s not to give up on the wisdom that Proverbs offers. The landing point is to not think that you can control the outcome of your life through them. All of the experiences we just discussed are how we seek meaning, but they’re also ways in which we seek to take control of our lives. They’re ways we seek to reassert control. They’re ways in which we seek to guarantee ourselves the outcomes that we want. That is, the wisdom of Proverbs can be twisted so that they appear to give us control of our lives apart from faith and a need for God. But, this strips them of their context. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. That’s the point that Solomon wants us to get here.

Meaning doesn’t come through “control”; meaning comes by “faith” in God’s grace. Answers to the big questions of life don’t come by us reasserting our control but by relinquishing our control. When I can recognize God’s sovereignty over all things and his hand in all works, then I can eat and drink and enjoy the good things of life. The good things don’t satisfy me. God does. They’re just reminders of how good He is.

You see, Ecclesiastes is longing for an “immortal” body and an “imperishable” Kingdom. Ecclesiastes needs the resurrection. And, if we’re going to keep living wisely and working hard and pressing on in the face of disappointment and frustration and setbacks, that’s where our hope must be found, too. But, if there is an imperishable Kingdom that this life prepares us for and there is a resurrection so that our bodies will live there forever to enjoy it, then nothing we suffer through is vanity. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” So, by faith, don’t chase after the wind. Chase after the Kingdom.