The Hebel of Prosperity

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“……….The wise man who knows God knows what is good. The good is to see life as a gift, enjoy it as a gift, and then leave what comes after to God. You don’t know the future, so trust God. …….. we are a moment, but God is eternal. We are a vapor, but God is forever. We are limited; God is without measure. The fulfillment we long for is not in the money we earn or the achievements of a career. A happy life is not found in just a little bit more…..enjoy life as God has given it to us. If we don’t, it would have been better for us never to have been born.” -Brian Borgman

 

Ecclesiastes 6

Earning money through labor is one of the primary reasons we work. Work is a gift. Money is a gift. God provides through the gift. However, both money and work are easily spoiled by expecting more from them than they can give.

Qoheleth knows truth which impacts and shapes life does not come easily or quickly. It’s not learned the first time around. Worldviews are formed through repetition, not one lecture. Truth must be kneaded into our hearts and minds. Although this chapter seems like a downer. He does not want us to spoil the gifts of work and money. He does not want us to waste our breath.

Satisfaction NOT Guaranteed – In chapter six, we encounter one of Qoheleth’s hypothetical yet all too common characters. This person has everything: wealth, possessions, and children. Then he dies. What is missing in his outwardly blessed life is the ability to enjoy the blessings. The prevalent evil in view is as overwhelming as it is common. God gives a man everything. This man lacks nothing. He not only has everything he needs but everything he desires. But one thing is missing, and it is that God has not granted him the grace to enjoy the abundance. Instead, a foreigner, not a family member, who did not work for any of it, enjoys it all. Qoheleth examines this situation and concludes it is hebel and a severe affliction.

Sometimes the mere breath is just a breath, but when it is compounded with affliction, it is a grievous evil. This hebel weighs heavy on mankind. What advantage has the man to whom God has given everything and yet not the grace to enjoy it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

There is much more to life than outward blessings. The stillborn, who is better off than the man who could not enjoy God’s gifts, is now described. The child comes in a vapor, goes out in darkness, and in darkness his or her name is covered with obscurity. “The name in Hebrew thought is more than a label; it includes the personality and the character. The still born has no chance to develop a character or acquire a reputation.” The stillborn never sees the sun, that is, never has a chance to enjoy life. But the stillborn is still better off than our guy in Ecclesiastes 6:1–3 because at least the stillborn finds rest.

Now Qoheleth, in a hyperbolic flourish, says even if the rich guy lives a millennium, twice, he still goes to the same place as the stillborn. One thousand years would be the perfect life. Even if this rich man has two perfect lives with all his blessings, he still dies. “It is the quality of life to which Qoheleth is referring, not its duration. If one is denied enjoying one’s life, then one is better off never entering the world at all.”

There is no inextricable link between prosperity and God’s favor. This smashes the conventional paradigm…..The rich guy might have a warehouse stocked full of cans of peaches, but if he doesn’t even have a Swiss Army Knife can opener, he is to be pitied. A graceless man with a big bank account and a full quiver is the picture of sadness.

Full, But Still Hungry – We work to eat and eat to work. But working is never what ultimately satisfies the appetite. This section serves as a summary and underscores the truth that if life is reduced to working to eat and eating to work, it will leave us unfulfilled…Qoheleth never gives up on wisdom because wisdom is always better. Here he refers to wisdom as “seeing eyes” since they express the ability to perceive and enjoy life. Having that sight is better than wandering appetites. The continual motion, the fluctuations, and the vacillations, driven by desire, are never satisfied. The wise have a fixed gaze, firm priorities, a perspective on life and the grace to enjoy it. The wandering heart of unfulfilled appetites drives to and fro. Qoheleth then concedes, but this too is hebel and chasing the wind. Both the seeing eyes and wandering desire are a vapor. So although wisdom is better, it still doesn’t resolve hebel.

Boxing with God–  “whatever has come to be has already been named.” By this he means that things in this life are settled. The nature of man is unambiguous: he is a breath, a beast, and profoundly limited. Our ability to dispute with God over any of this is an illusion. Our arms are far too short to box with God. “Man cannot escape his limitations, nor can he completely unravel the world’s anomalies (cf. 1:15). He may, like Job, wish to debate the matter with God, but God is altogether greater.” Our arguments, our retorts, our rebuttals are a vapor. Or as the NET puts it, “The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?” (6:11). This verse reminds us that talking, arguing, and debating, will change nothing. We are slow to realize this and the multitude of armchair philosophers and theologians, along with a few lawyers, railing against God only pile up the hebel. A mountain of vapors is still a vapor.

The final verse is one that clearly demonstrates hebel is not futility or meaningless. This verse tells us that we have only a few days and that we spend them like a shadow. In these few days, who knows what is good?

The sage of Ecclesiastes has already answered this question (2:24–26; 3:12; 5:18). The wise man who knows God knows what is good. The good is to see life as a gift, enjoy it as a gift, and then leave what comes after to God. You don’t know the future, so trust God.

This passage is a dark part of the forest, and it reminds us that we are a moment, but God is eternal. We are a vapor, but God is forever. We are limited; God is without measure. The fulfillment we long for is not in the money we earn or the achievements of a career. A happy life is not found in just a little bit more. As Qoheleth brings this leg of the ride to an end through a dark tunnel, he reminds us to enjoy life as God has given it to us. If we don’t, it would have been better for us never to have been born. Indeed, as Jeremy Taylor warned long ago, “God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy.”-Brian Borgman

 

 

 

 

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

Worship: Be Slow to Speak & Quick to Hear

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God is the fountain of all our joy. He is the One who gives us the capacity to enjoy the good gifts He has given. We should experience both gladness and gravity in His presence, both joy and awe. But coming into His presence is a dangerous thing. It is dangerous to think that we can use God to get more gifts or get more joy. It is dangerous to be in His presence and think what we have to say is more important than what He has to say. Brian Borgman

 

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

The lesson so far has been if we are going to enjoy this short life, we must see all its various elements and aspects as the gifts of God. Joy in living comes from a God-centered, God-ordered life. Qoheleth tackled those parts of life that threaten to deplete our joy. He then relentlessly pointed us to God. His audience, ancient and contemporary, may conclude that what we really need then, to round out our lives, is some religion.

After all, if we can’t enjoy life without God, maybe we need a little more God in our lives. This is dangerous logic because God is not to be trifled with. Yes, life revolves around Him, and our response to Him in worship is vital in our short lives. But worship is also dangerous because we are dealing with God. The God to whom we must give account, is not the cosmic grandpa, nor the divine Santa Claus. He is God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Qoheleth would have probably nodded in agreement with Gordon Dahl’s famous statement: “We worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” Playing at worship is a half-hearted, shallow effort to curry favor with the Most High. Playing at worship uses vows to manipulate the Creator for one’s own ends. This is trifling with the God who alone can empower us to enjoy the gift. When we use worship as a means to an end, we are playing with a “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). As my fellow pastor, Daniel Corey, has said, “Worship is the most dangerous thing you do in the course of a week.”

Going to church? Guard your steps! This is a word of caution to the careless. When you go to worship God, be prepared, be intentional, have a sense of both gravity and gladness. As you enter the doors, realize that what you have to say pales compared to what God has to say. Draw near to listen and listen with care (Luke 8:18). An acute awareness of His holiness will cause us to come before Him in reverence and awe. Our God is worthy of our undivided hearts, undivided worship, and listening with all our heart, with a determination to obey.

We must be intentional and careful as we pray, sing, and respond to the Word. Being hasty in word and impulsive in thought is a clear demonstration that we are not thinking about the glorious One we have come to worship. When Qoheleth says, “For God is in heaven and you are on earth,” this should not be construed to mean that God is distant but simply that He is God. We are dust, we are mere human beings, we are sinners. God is God, exalted and transcendent. The fool pours out words in worship; the wise man ponders what he hears. The wise man is there is to listen, not to blab. The wisdom of James 1:19 certainly applies: we should be quick to hear and slow to speak. This is not a call to walk silently into church with some kind of pious quietude, but it is a call to take worship seriously and prepare one’s heart and mind. It is a call to stand in awe of the Creator/creature distinction.

David Gibson remarks, “When I live with the reality of God, the God in heaven who has my heart open before him like an open book, I stand in awe of him, and this takes concrete form in the kind of words that do and do not leave my mouth.” One of the many banes of our contemporary church culture is that worship has been turned into entertainment and God is belittled.

God is the fountain of all our joy. He is the One who gives us the capacity to enjoy the good gifts He has given. We should experience both gladness and gravity in His presence, both joy and awe. But coming into His presence is a dangerous thing. It is dangerous to think that we can use God to get more gifts or get more joy. It is dangerous to be in His presence and think what we have to say is more important than what He has to say. We should prepare our steps that bring us into His presence. We should be prepared to listen. Playing at our worship will not only fail to satisfy our souls, but it will also endanger our souls. As we prepare our hearts for worship, let us remember we are coming to the living God, who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). Let us remember we are coming to hear the living Word of God (4:12). – Brian Borgman

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Hebel of Envy, Loneliness & Politics

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Politics brings no lasting change. Oftentimes it is nothing more than a debacle of the fickle. It challenges our joy if our joy is in human kings. It appears to challenge God’s beauty if we are expecting any son of Adam other than Jesus Christ to bring hope and change. We need to guard our hearts against these realities that threaten the enjoyment of the gift of this short life. They may be dark hues in His masterpiece, but the truth is that none of these challenges put a dent in God’s beautiful plan. – Brian Borgman

 

Ecclesiastes 4:4-16

Envy (4:4-6) – Labor is a gift, but it becomes an idol if it is fueled by envy. The man Qoheleth has in view is skilled and works hard, but he works hard just to get on top. He is simply driven to be better and have more than his neighbor. This man sees what Jones has, wants it, and wants more. This is more than merely “keeping up with the Jones.” This is a matter of trying to leave the Joneses in the dust, choking on their fumes. But it is a vapor and trying to shepherd the wind.

But, how much enjoyment can one have making sure that all one’s competitors are beaten back down the hill of success? What is the point of being on the top bunk in a death row cell anyway?

Some might say, “You are right! No reason getting devoured in a dog-eat-dog world. I am not going to be greedy; I am going to relax and play video games!” Qoheleth says that is the response of a fool. Idleness is not the answer because it is folly and self-destructive. As we learn in Proverbs, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man” (Prov. 6:10–11).

Excessive toil may be foolish and counterproductive, but we are fools if we fold our hands, wait for a government check, and starve to death.  Qoheleth reminds us that neither the sluggard nor the envy-driven workaholic is a model for anyone. The way of wisdom is found in Ecclesiastes 4:6. Do not be consumed with envy and rivalry and work your life away because you want to be richer and better than your neighbor. But don’t sit at home and play Candy Crush all day either, boasting how non-materialistic you are. The way to really live this life which God has given you is to balance your toil with rest. Take a day off. Remember the Sabbath. Rest and relaxation are vital for enjoying the gift of life which is filled with so much labor.

 

“To have a heart that we can trust, and into which we can pour our griefs, our doubts, and our fears, is already to take the edge from the grief, and the sting from doubt, and the shade from fear.… Joy also demands that its joy should be shared.… A simple generous friendship will thus add to the joy and will divide the sorrow.”  – Hugh Black

 

Loneliness (4:7-12)  The next portrait in Qoheleth’s gallery of “challenges to enjoying the gift” is the guy who is married to his work (4:7–8). Qoheleth says he sees another vapor under the sun and that is the person who has no dependents. Perhaps this man has no spouse, certainly no son or brother. He is alone. And yet he works himself to death. There is no end to his toil. He is never satisfied with money, and he has never asked the right question, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” How much misery could be averted if only we asked ourselves the right question? Even though there was no one with whom to share his life, this lonely person devoted himself to endless labor. A lonely life is a sad life, no matter how much money a person has.

Doug Wilson observes, “A man works hard to make a pile and doesn’t stop to ask a very basic question—why am I doing this? He can’t afford to marry or have children, because they would take him away from his work. He cannot afford to have friends because all their motives would be suspect. He could buy dinner for everyone in the restaurant, but no one wants to sit with him. That’s all right, because he doesn’t want to sit with them either.” In the end, marriage to one’s work is a miserable marriage, and toil makes a lousy spouse.

The Blessing of Companionship (4:9–12) Companionship is also the gift of God, and it makes life and labor sweeter. Unless the benefits of hard work are shared with someone you love, toil has no gain. When kept within the perspectives of hebel, blessings shared become blessings doubled.

This famous passage, appropriately read at weddings, is a picture of the comfort and strength of companionship in a harsh world. There is safety in companionship. There is better profit in companionship. There is warmth in companionship. A third cord is even better. The third cord is often thought to be another person, even the Lord Himself. It is noteworthy that Qoheleth does not label companionship as hebel. Friendship is invaluable. It is the antidote to the lonely life of the workaholic.

Hugh Black summarizes the blessings of friendship, “To have a heart that we can trust, and into which we can pour our griefs, our doubts, and our fears, is already to take the edge from the grief, and the sting from doubt, and the shade from fear.… Joy also demands that its joy should be shared.… A simple generous friendship will thus add to the joy and will divide the sorrow.”

Politics (4:13–16) The final challenge to enjoying the gift and to God making all things beautiful is politics. Some might think if we could get the right king, the right president, the right congress, the right parliament, then all would be well. But politics are a vapor too. With the vaporous nature of politics comes frustration with politics. Qoheleth, who knew politics, admits that one kind of politician is better than another. The poor man comes from the people and knows the plight of the people. He is a common man, but he is also a wise man.

The old foolish king doesn’t listen to anybody, won’t receive counsel, and assumes the “riff raff” doesn’t know anything. The poor wise man is a real success story…..He has humble origins but ascends to the throne. His approval ratings are through the roof. Everybody loves this guy. The phrase “no end to all the people, to all who were before them” could refer to the king’s popularity.

But the reality is that “today’s hero is tomorrow’s bum.” The sentiment that “happy days are here again” is a vapor. The reign of a good king is as temporary as a breath. It is true that some rulers are better than others.  We should want good, wise, righteous leaders. We should resist tyrants. But presidents come and presidents go. The “great hope” for the next election will have his disaffected followers in time. They will want a fresh face.

Politics brings no lasting change. Oftentimes it is nothing more than a debacle of the fickle. It challenges our joy if our joy is in human kings. It appears to challenge God’s beauty if we are expecting any son of Adam other than Jesus Christ to bring hope and change. We need to guard our hearts against these realities that threaten the enjoyment of the gift of this short life. They may be dark hues in His masterpiece, but the truth is that none of these challenges put a dent in God’s beautiful plan.

We should not ignore oppression or injustice. We should not tolerate envy, greed, or isolation. We should not be consumed in politics as if it were our only hope or only interest. Instead, we should receive rest and companionship as gifts from God’s gracious hand. With grateful hearts, we should look to Him alone. As David said, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Ps. 20:7). –Brian Borgman

 

 

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

 

Recommended Resources:   “Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches us to Live in Light of the End” By David Gibson. ;    “Don’t Waste Your Breath: Ecclesiastes and the Joy of a Fleeting Life”  By Brian Borgman