The Teacher Looks at Work
Introduction
Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed. Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed. WEEKEND. Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed. Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed. Get up, go to work, go home, go to bed.
Around and around it goes, seemingly endless and aimless. One step forward, two steps back. Like a cd caught in an endless loop. And for many, it is boring beyond words.
Have you seen the movie "Groundhog Day"? Bill Murray is an obnoxious, petty, and venial local weatherman. A perfect role for Bill Murray, really. He grudgingly goes to a small town festival to do his report. Yet he is caught in a blizzard, and when he wakes up, he begins reliving the same day all over again. He does the whole boring, meaningless day again. And when he wakes up, he has to do it again. He is caught in an endless time loop. Every day is a repeat of that banal day.
Then he realizes that there is power and freedom in the ever repeating day. There are no longer any consequences to his actions. He can do what he wants without repercussions. So he does. He throws himself into hedonism . He seduces women, he gets drunk and drink drives, he commits robery, he gives full vent to his obnoxiousness and abuses people. But no matter how much he does it, and how low he goes, it is all unsatisfying.
So in attempt to get out of the day, he attempts suicide. But he cannot. He still wakes up on groundhog day. Again and again he tries to kill himself, but it doesn’t work.
Then he starts using his endless day for more constructive pursuits. He learns to play piano and speak French. He uses his enormous knowledge of the day to befriend people. Again and again he tries to save the life of a homeless man.
Ground hog day only ends when he is able to convince the woman he loves of his predicament, and she stays up with him all night to break the loop.
Well, some of the observations of "Groundhog day" were made 3000 years ago by the teacher. The writer of Ecclesiastes nowhere is called Solomon in the book itself. But he looks for all the world like Solomon.
Let me read for you chapter 1 verses 1-3.
The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vapour of vapours says the preacher. Vapour of vapours. All is vapour! What profit does a man have for all his labour in which he labours under the sun?
‘Ecclesiastes’ is a Greek word meaning ‘one who gathers’ A teacher is a gatherer. He gathers people to teach them. The Hebrew word is ‘Qohelet’. Solomon, for example, gathered the people in 1 Kings 8 to dedicate the Temple, and taught them the meaning of the temple.
In Ecclesiastes, the teacher teaches those he gathers the things that he has learned from his vast experience and observations. And the teacher observes that under the sun everything is ‘vapour’. It disappears, it is temporary. And therefore, it is meaningless, as the NIV says. Or it is vanity, as the older versions and the ESV say.
This teacher is both a worker and a thinker. He thinks about his work and whether it has made a lasting difference. He wonders whether it means anything in the great scheme of things.
The teacher is running an experiment. He wants to see what is worth doing during his few meaningless days under the sun. And one of the things he throws himself into is work. He gives himself to workaholism to numb the meaningless. Chapter 2 verses 3 to 6:
I searched in my heart how to cheer my body with wine, my heart still guiding me with wisdom, and how to take hold of folly, until I might see what is good for the sons of men to do under the heaven all the days of their life. I made great works for myself. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them with all kinds of fruit. I made reservoirs of water for myself from which to irrigate the forest of growing trees.
Work as Vapour
And after doing all of these capital works projects, and after engaging in all this ‘national stimulus’ of frantic activity and work, his experience was this: Chapter 2 verses 10 and 11, over on page 2:
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done, and on the labour that I had laboured to do. And look, all of it was vapour and a striving after the wind, and there was not profit under the sun.
There was no profit in the work, no real and lasting gain. There was the temporary distraction in all the work. But nothing lasting.
This is why the teacher’s first declaration, after all this working and thinking is that it is ‘vapour of vapours’, ‘vanity of vanity’, and ‘utterly meaningless.’ Vapour of vapours, all is vapour! What profit does a man have from all his labour under the sun And the answer is nothing. He asks the same question again in chapter 3 verse 9.
What profit does the one who works have in that in which he labours? And the answer is nothing.
This is a very pessimistic opening. These are the words of a bitter, cynical, grumpy old man, looking back on his life with a measure of regret. This is not the only thing the teacher says about work, but it is the first thing. And so we ask the question, ‘why is our work under the sun meaningless?’ Why is there no profit or gain?
There are a couple of answers to this, but there is one fundamental answer.
Mind-numbingly Repetitive
The Teacher's first answer is that, it simply vainly repeating itself, and adding nothing new. It doesn’t really add anything or change anything. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verses 8-10:
All things are full of weariness. Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearting. That which has been is that which will be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing which men can say, See this is new? It has already been, in the ages that were before us.
All our work is meaningless because none of it is new. It just goes round and round again.
Building sandcastles on the beach is a great way to keep our little boys occupied. In fact, little boys love moving sand around so much that we invest in sandpits for our kids. But the thing about making sandcastles is that you know that it will not be there tomorrow. The tide or the wind or other beach lovers will remove every trace of your labour under the hot sun. All your work has flowed away into the sea and there is no remembrance of it tomorrow. Now you can put up with this for one day or even a week of your holidays. Oh well, at least it keeps the kids busy. But will you go back to it everyday? Will you make it your life's work, the ambition and driving force of your work? Will you put your back into the new day's work under the hot sun knowing that tomorrow morning it won't have made a scerick of difference?
What is your career? Oh I move sand from one side of the road to the other? Do you find it fulfilling? No it is pointless and boring beyond words! It is meaningless, and utterly wearisome! That’s the first reason.
My job at home is to do the laundry. It is never ending. Every day there is more washing to wash, hang out, dry, fold, put away. It has to happen if we are to wear clothes. There is some satisfaction in the work. There is something about having a nice folded set of towels, or having put the boys clothes in the correct drawers. But give it a day, and there will be another stack of clothes to wash, dirty clothes to pick up, messed up clothes to replace and fold.
Death
However, the basic answer that makes our work a meaningless vapour is death. Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 verses 18 to 23. It’s on page 2, 2nd and 3rd paragraph.
And I hated all my labour in which I laboured under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man that will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labour in which I have laboured, and in which I have shown wisdom under the sun. This also is vapour.
Therefore I gave up my heart completely to despair about the all the labour in which I had laboured under the sun. For there is a man who labours with wisdom and knowledge and skill, yet he will leave it as a lot to a man who has not laboured in it. This also is vapour and a great evil. For what does a man have from all his labour and the striving of his heart in which he labours under the sun? For all his days are painful, and his work is grievious. Even at night his heard does not rest. This also is vapour.
You work hard and work sleeplessly for a fortune. With labour and toil you accumulate an inheritance. But then you die. And then it is inherited by some worthless individual, who hasn’t earnt it, but has authority over everything you have strived for.
One generation makes it, one generation consolidates it, and one generation loses it.
And so the teacher sees that if we think that work is what we are living for, death renders our work meaningless.
We have all heard about workaholism. It is a particular temptation for us men. It is throwing ourselves into our work and hoping that we get meaning and purpose in this, and avoiding the pain of our temporary existence. Maybe my career will give me significance. Maybe I can make an impact, make a difference.
Before I went to bible college, I worked on a legal dictionary. My job was to edit legal definitions. But laws change. A new government, new legislation, a new court case. And what do you think eventually will happen to all this work? No-one will look at it. It will be too old. It will simply gather dust on many shelves. And then it will be pulped or thrown out, or kept for only antiquarian interest. It will not last. It was just a vapour. Just as the morning mist disappears in the heat of the day, so must all our work. And no matter how many heritage orders or historical libraries or how much antiquarian interest there is, soon enough it will disappear.
Think about your job… Doctors… All your patients will soon be dead. Lawyer… same. All the fights of your clients won’t matter in the grave. Fireman… We could just skip the whole process, because most people end up cremated anyhow. Prison warden… Eventually all your prisoners will be dead. Mechanic… Petrol is on the way out. Just like we don’t need a smithy anymore, one day we won’t need you. One day no-one will need to know the stuff you know. Farmer… Well, in the end all your food rots or is eaten or is thrown out, and those who eat it won’t be here in a hundred years. Driver… you are just forestalling the inevitable. For the thousands of miles you cover taking stuff that will make people’s lives better will not save them in the end.
The Profit of Work
Now, all this is particularly pessimistic. And we might say, ‘what’s the point?’ Yes, thank you for the reminder that we are going to die. So shall we all give up now, go down to the pub, and eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.
For the teacher, that would be a mistake. Or we might say, sure that is true, but there are some benefits in the intervening time. And that would be true, too. And in fact, the Teacher gives us some positive teachings about work.
In fact, what the teacher has been doing is conducting an experiment. He is saying, if I think about life ‘under the sun’, that is, without reference to God, what do I come to? But many times throughout the book he ‘ups periscope’, so to speak. He does recognize that God is in heaven. He does look and compare the difference that God makes. And he does see that there are ways to live a wise life under the sun.
First of all, he says that a wise way to live is to work diligently. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 12.
The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much. But the fullness of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
Hard work allows a person to sleep well, and that is a good thing. Or chapter 10 verse 15:
The labour of fools weary every one of them, for he does not know how to go to the city.
A foolish person cannot even do a basic task, and gets tired of it. And you don’t want to be a fool. Or chapter 10 verse 18:
By slothfulness the roof sinks in, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.
The reason that the house is in such a bad state is because of slothfulness, idleness, laziness. Too much sitting in front of the TV, and too little work on keeping the house going. Or chapter 11 verse 4:
He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.
No, I won’t sow my seeds today… there’s a bit of wind. Oh, look, I won’t go in the fields… it might rain. Instead, he says in chapter 11 verse 6:
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they will alike turn out well.
To live wisely in our world, you need to put your hand to work. Diligent work is the way to succeed. And because you don’t know what God has decided, it is good to diversify your investments. If this one fails, at least that one might succeed.
Moreover, he says it wise to live in the moment. Even in regard to God, it is wise to enjoy the things that God gives. It is good to enjoy the day to day innocent pleasures that God gives.
Chapter 3 verses 12 to 14:
I know that there is nothing better for them, than to find pleasure and to do good as long as they live, and also that every men should eat and drink and find pleasure in all his labour. This is the gift of God. I know that whatever God does will be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor taken from it. And God has done this, that men should fear him in his presence.
It is wise to rejoice and find satisfaction and pleasure in the work God has given us. This is God’s gift, that we enjoy our work. That we enjoy food and drink. That is why we thank God for our food. God gives us these good things, the good things that we need, so that we will fear him. That we will respect and honour him.
Or chapter 3 verse 22.
Therefore, I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should take pleasure in his works; for that is his lot.
It is good to enjoy a job well done, to be satisfied with doing a proper job.
But in the end, the lasting significance of our work is only found in God. We see this in chapter 3 verse 11, where the teacher says,
He [God] has also set eternity in their hearts, yet in such a way that men cannot find out the work that God has done from the beginning to the end.
God has set eternity in our hearts. We know that there is more to life, than get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, get up go to work, come home, go to bed, DIE… Our hearts tell us that this cannot be all there is. We want to live forever. We feel that death is not a natural part of life, but an aberration, an alien imposition upon the life God has given us to live. We feel that our life should go on forever. We long for eternal life, and not this vapourous, transitory life that death brings. And yet we see that God has built frustration and futility into our world.
And the New Testament tells us that God has done this so that we will hope. We will not put our hope in what our eyes see. God has given this present world over to futility and vanity and frustration. In the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8: 21-25:
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21 NIV)
God has put eternity in our hearts, that we might see that this is not all there is. We look forward to the future world, the new heaven and the new earth. There we will not experience the frustrating thorns and thistles of life under the sun. There we will not need to diversify our investments so as to avoid losing everything in a stock market downturn. There we will not see death but freedom as God’s sons.
The very last words of the teacher show us what is the wise way to live in this world. The teacher gives us his bottom line on page 10, last paragraph.
This is 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 shall bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
Do you want to see that our lives are eternally important? Do you want to prove that everything we do matters and has a lasting significance? This is what the coming judgment tells us. Even though our work will disappear off the face of the earth, the dictionaries will be pulped, the figs will rot, the lives we want to save or correct or do justice to will die, there is a final judgment. And nothing we have done will be skipped over. All our work will be revealed and assessed and rewarded, even if it is hidden. And it is wise to live in accordance with this.
One way to live wisely in light of the judgment is to seek forgiveness. The teacher has observed in chapter 7 verse 20:
Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that does good, and does not sin.
We must remember that we are sinners about to face judgment. And we sense that our sins deserve punishment from God.
But the good news is that we know more than the Teacher in Ecclesiastes. The teacher only analysed life under the sun. He could only tell us what he saw under the sun. But God in heaven above has told us more than the teacher knew. We know that Christ died for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18) We know that Jesus Christ was delivered over to death for our sins, and raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25) For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16). We hear Jesus’ words in John 5:24, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.’ We hear this wonderful promise and rejoice. This we know, that there is hope for us sinners in the judgment. And because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know that our labour is not merely vanity and vapour and meaninglessness. We too will rise again. Jesus died for our sin, and was raised for our justification. And likewise, we died with Christ, and we were justified when he was. He and everything he has done is our righteousness. And so death is not the end, but resurrection from the dead is our end. Our work is not meaningless. Because of the great day of judgment and the resurrection of the dead, our labour in Christ is not in vain. So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul concludes.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV)
Our lives are not meaningless and futile. And neither is our work. Because Jesus will raise us from the dead, and God will judge us in Christ, by faith in Christ forgive us for our many sins, and reward us for our good works done in faith. So our labour in Christ is not in vain. Let’s pray.