The Futility of Life Without God
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 (ESV)
1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind:
2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.
3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.
4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered.
5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he.
6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?
7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.
8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?
12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
For reflection’s sake, consider the following questions:
“What if your parents gave you a hundred million dollars?
How will you use it to your fullest advantage?
Will this great gift ensure your happiness in life?”
When you think about it, you and I have also been gifted by God with a very precious gift worth even more than a million dollars: the life we possess. According to the Bible, its value is more than all the money in this world. Listen to Mark 8: 36-37:
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Indeed, what a blessing! Yet, tragically, many are wasting it and living miserably instead of enjoying life to the fullest. Are you one of them?
This morning, we will continue to talk about what Pastor Jerome started last Sunday, emphasizing “The Emptiness of Affluence.” You will easily see the connection if you go back to Ecclesiastes 5:19-20:
19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.
20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
In other words, according to these verses, wealth does not guarantee enjoyment in life but the gift of joy that God gives. Yes, it is only God who can provide us with joy and satisfaction in life. Have you already learned this truth? If you need more convincing, we can move to Chapter 6. You might feel that King Solomon is being redundant, but the reality is that we need repetition to ensure that we get it. As the saying goes, “Keep hitting the nail until it really sinks in.” Parents need to keep repeating themselves to their children. Pastors keep repeating themselves because the Bible keeps repeating the same themes. So, as we cover chapter 6, our theme is: “The Futility of Life Without God.” With our limited time, let’s first highlight verses 1-6:
I THE SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD: (vs. 1-6)
When you examine the first six verses, King Solomon once again deals with the substitutes people choose instead of simply seeking God. There are at least five of them:
Wealth – (v. 2) – “a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires . . .” The word “wealth” here suggests that the person has a lot of money to spend.
Possessions (v.2)
Honor (v.2)
Many Children (v.3) – “If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many . . .”
Long Life (v.3, 6) “Even though he should live a thousand years twice over (v. 6)”
With all these substitutes, many Bible scholars like Dr. David Jeremiah believe that this passage is autobiographical for Solomon. This means that he is the one who thought that these things would bring him happiness and satisfaction in life.
Let’s reflect on this truth for a minute. Would you agree with me that if a poor person is telling you not to be caught up with wealth, more possessions, etc., you can dismiss him and say: “The only you can say that is because you don’t have any.” But during the time of Solomon, he was the richest person in the world. He was able to buy everything he desired. He did not withhold anything from himself. But still, all he had did not satisfy him. Isn’t it that Jesus said the same thing in Luke 12:15:
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
The context of this verse is that one guy from the crowd approached Jesus while He was ministering and asked if He would be kind enough to help him and his brother settle their dispute over their inheritance. Evidently, this person was going through many difficulties because of his inheritance. But to his surprise, Jesus, instead of helping resolve his issues, gave a lesson about the rich fool. I’m sure we are all familiar with the story, right? It talks about a farmer who had an enormous harvest, so he made plans to expand his barns and told himself, “Soul, you ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, and be merry.” But God’s response to him was: “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:13-21).
What’s the point? There’s no guarantee that what you have acquired or worked for here on earth you will be able to enjoy, especially when you have taken God out of the picture. Have you already learned this critical truth? Or, just like many, you are not satisfied with what you have because you think having more can guarantee your happiness. I remember reading a story about Joseph Heller, who wrote the book “Catch–22,” which became popular in the 1960’s. At one time, he was invited to a party by a billionaire, a hedge fund manager, in Shelter Island, New York. During the party, another well-known author, Kurt Vonnegut, commented on Joseph, hoping he would be jealous, and said that their host had made more money in a single day than what Joseph had earned from his famous novel, Catch-22. To this comment, Joseph answered, “Yes, but I have something he will never have — ENOUGH.”
What a profound response! I believe that we will never be happy with God if we always think He has not given us enough. This leads me to my second point.
II THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD: (vs. 2, 7-10)
Another critical truth we need to acknowledge as emphasized in the text is God’s sovereign rule over us. Let’s go back to verse 2 and read these words, “God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;[a] it is a grievous evil.”
Again, as we have seen earlier, the person in the text has so many things going for him. However, in God’s sovereignty, He withheld his joy and allowed somebody else to enjoy what he had worked for. Can this really happen? Indeed! One possibility is that people can work and give themselves to saving everything, hoping that one day they can enjoy it. Then, sickness hits them, and they are left disabled and invalid.
Another application of the phrase - “stranger enjoys them.” In the Old Testament, again and again, God has allowed His people to be invaded by foreign powers, and they were the ones who enjoyed what they have worked for. Here are two example verses:
Jeremiah 51:51
‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face,
for foreigners have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.’
Lamentation 5:2
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.
This is tragic, but God often allowed this to happen to compel His people to acknowledge that their covenant with Him involved their responsibility to honor and glorify Him only and not serve other gods. In return for His required commitment, He promised to deliver and bless them. The point is quite plain—if we fail to include God in our lives, He can decide to withhold joy from us and allow other people to enjoy all the things we have worked for.
Then you have verses 7-10 – “All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.” So, King Solomon establishes again that if we are not careful and allow our appetites to run wild, thinking by having something, we will end up happy and satisfied, we will be disappointed, and it is only chasing after the wind.
Have you ever tried chasing after the wind? Were you able to catch it? So, it is a futile endeavor. Now, don’t miss verse 10, which says in a way, “God has already ordained the end of human beings, so we cannot argue Him who is much greater than us.”
The apostle Paul reminds us of the same truth in Romans 9:20:
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
God, being our creator, has the right to decide over our lives, and we cannot argue with Him about how this life ought to be lived! I love what John Jay Chapman, the prolific author of the early 1900s, said about God’s sovereignty:
“God governs the world, and we have only to do our duty wisely and leave the issue to Him.”
Are you prepared to do just that? Again, we can never be happy and satisfied if we continue to contend with God and fail to acknowledge His sovereignty over us.
III THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD (vs. 11-12)
Lastly, let’s finish this up by looking at the last two verses – “The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”
After clearly discussing the fact that life can be a seemingly endless and pointless cycle of pursuing the things we think will satisfy us without God, the preacher now hopes that people with their short lives will entrust their lives to Him for two essential reasons:
He truly knows what is better for us – “For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life . . .”
He knows what the future holds for them – “For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”
This is an excellent argument for why we can be satisfied with God. More than anything else, He is the only person who can claim these two things about us. Solomon concludes this chapter by exposing something about us that causes us to keep craving for more. More than satisfaction, we are also insecure about our future. We fear a day will come when we can no longer sustain ourselves and enjoy our lives. Do you have this fear? If this is true with you, I trust you will stand confidently on the promises of His words:
Psalm 34:8-10
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Matthew 6:31-33
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
The Old and New Testament Scriptures say the same thing: if we anchor our lives in the Lord and honor Him, He will never fail to provide for our needs today and tomorrow. He will always be sufficient for us. The question is whether we will look to Him and fully entrust ourselves to Him.
As I close, I pray we will not live without acknowledging God. If we are doing this, it is not yet too late. We can still make the necessary changes to place God where He should be in our lives. Let’s remember that our choices and actions today will ultimately impact our future happiness and fulfillment. Allow me to close with the lyrics of the hymn that always reminds me of God’s amazing goodness in my life:
Love of Christ so freely given,
grace of God beyond degree,
mercy higher than the heaven,
deeper than the deepest sea! [Refrain]
Refrain:
All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
and the fairest of ten thousand
in my blessed Lord I see.
Every need His hand supplying,
every good in Him I see;
on His strength divine relying,
He is all in all to me. [Refrain]