I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.--Psalm 77:1-3
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!--Matthew 7:11
Ecclesiastes 6:1-9
This passage is actually one of the more depressing parts of Ecclesiastes. The writer seems to come to the conclusion that all of our striving is just "smoke." (The more traditional translations use the word "vanity.")
The funny thing is, I can relate so much to the things he says. "I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad." (Verse 1)
Who can disagree with that? Only someone with their head in the sand, I tell you. Things are bad. The economy is going south quickly. Crime is up. Weird things are happening all around, with politicians all the way down to "normal" people, whatever that is. Then he says, "And people feel it."
I've listened with much cynicism to radio reports that try to paint everything so rosy. Our local "Christian" radio station refuses to use the word "death" or any of its derivations. I get such a kick out that, then it kind of makes me angry, because death is a natural part of life. Their news stories sound so contrived when they say, "So-and-so is no longer with us," or "So-and-so lost their lives." It's all part of trying to gloss over reality, and reality is that people die.
The writer of Ecclesiastes notices that God showers people with blessings, but then it doesn't seem like they are able to enjoy them. Someone else winds up getting the joy out of their blessings. He actually says that a stillborn child is better off than a man who sires hundreds of children, but gets no enjoyment out of life.
I believe the crux of the passage is vers 7: "We work to feed our appetites; Meanwhile our souls go hungry." The ESV says it this way: "All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied."
There it is. All the work we do is designed to satisfy something that will not be satisfied.
I know how depressing all this sounds. But the point of hope in it all is that if we work for something higher, we can be satisfied. Sure, we need money to feed our families, and physical appetites must be fed. But that is not the point of life. The point of life is best defined by this modified version of the Westminster Confession: The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.
Let us enjoy God. That is a resource that is infinite. And we can enjoy God, even if our physical appetites remain unfulfilled. And they are exceedingly greedy. I know this from experience.
So take heart, even in the midst of the hopelessness of this passage by the writer of Ecclesiastes.
Enjoy God. Glorify him. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
Grace and peace, friends.