[Ecc 4:1-6] Better One Handful With Tranquility (Lim)

Ecclesiastes 4:1-6

 ¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
       I saw the tears of the oppressed—
       and they have no comforter;
       power was on the side of their oppressors—
       and they have no comforter.

 ² And I declared that the dead,
       who had already died,
       are happier than the living,
       who are still alive.

 ³ But better than both
       is he who has not yet been,
       who has not seen the evil
       that is done under the sun.

 ⁴ And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

 ⁵ The fool folds his hands
       and ruins himself.

 ⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
       than two handfuls with toil
       and chasing after the wind.  

             Solomon continues with his observation of life here on earth.  He has seen many things in life and is willing to share with us his conclusions.  These words are not easy to accept for they sound depressing.  Look at verse 1.

             Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter.

 

            Solomon saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun.  As we look at our world today, we can see that this oppression is still taking place all around us.

 

            Even in our modern world, sinful human nature still persists and causes much harm to others.  There are those who oppress the less fortunate for financial gain.  There are those who oppress women for pleasure.  There are those who oppress the vulnerable kids for personal satisfaction.  And there are streaming tears from those who are oppressed.  Tears are flowing freely even this day from all those who are abused and violated.  We encounter these stories everyday from around the world.  We are shocked at such depravity and wrong done to another human being.  And in many cases, we are helpless to do anything about it until these stories surface.

 

            Power is on the side of those who traumatize others without a hint of remorse.  And in most cases, those who suffer the most have no recourse as they have no comforter.  There is no one on their side to voice their sufferings and pain.  From despotic leaders of rogue nations to gang bosses who treat people with such callousness and contempt, we can only stand from afar and watch such scenes. 

 

            Solomon looks at such injustice in midst of life and provides his take on it.  Look at verse 2.

           
           And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.

            This is an interesting perspective coming from Solomon.  He is not saying this lightly.  He observed and thought about all things and makes this comment.  Although death is something to be dreaded, in this particular context, there is a blessing associated with death.  When our life here on earth comes to an end and we depart from this world, we ought to accept that as a blessing from God that our work here on earth is over and that we can enter into the lasting rest.  As long as we live in this world, we will suffer from the ill effects of human depravity and sinfulness.  But when our life here on earth ends, so does all our suffering from the effects of sin ends as well. 

            That is somewhat comforting to know.  For those who believe in Jesus Christ and have eternal life to look forward to, death is not something that should bring fear but serene sense of peace as we will join our Lord and Savior in heaven.  Death for believers means our work is done and we are going home. 

            Solomon however is continuing with his thoughts in verse 3. 

            But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

            This verse is quite troubling for believers.  When we look at this verse from one perspective, we only see the depressing view about life itself.  Solomon seems to say that those who have never been born are actually better off than those who live and those who died after their life here on earth.  In a sense that is exactly what he is saying.  However, if we were to examine his words, we cannot ignore what follows after this.  Solomon also concludes his thought with a phrase, “who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.”  Solomon is trying to be intellectually honest about his analysis of life in general.  Some may disagree with his views but we cannot deny that he has a point. 

            When you look at life in general, from our birth to death, we are exposed to all kinds of things throughout life.  We can attest to seeing evil being done under the sun.  From playground bullies pushing around another toddler for toys to grown men mugging others for drugs, we have seen human depravity at work.  Whenever we hear or see evil carried out in our world, we are affected by these events. 

            Although we are not directly impacted by these incidents, we are somehow touched by these things.  We are not same as a result.  All these things leave their marks on our psyche.  From forming stereotypes to building prejudices, we become more jaded and cynical because of all the things we are exposed to.  So in a sense, Solomon is simply saying that not having been born, we would not have witnessed all the evil done under the sun.  And then he takes us to verse 4.

            And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

            Solomon is really cutting through everything and is trying to reach the core matter here.  All labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor.  Think about this for a moment.  Is this not true if we are truly honest with ourselves?  From our formative years, we have been in competition with others.  Our parents reiterate the importance of grade we receive from teachers.  More often than not, they want to know how we did in relation to other students.  We grow up constantly comparing our grades to others in the class.  We work hard to earn high marks so we can assess ourselves as perhaps better or smarter than the other kids in the class.  When other kids do better on the tests, we envy our friends.  This starts early and never ends, it seems.

             As we grow up, we compare our status in society with others.  We make a value judgment in many cases based on how much we earn from our different vocations.  We then become envious of those who seem to have more successful careers than we have.  So we strive to do better and in the course of doing so, once again we compare ourselves to others around us.  So the vicious cycle goes on even this day.  We envy other’s success and their achievements. 

            Solomon would say this too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  We cause our own misery by this kind of activity.  In the end, this is all meaningless.  We compete with others and achieve success but what have we truly gained? 

            There is always cost involved with what we gain.  We pay something for something.  Nothing is gained without cost.  In order to pursue success, there is a price to pay.  People have achieved success at the cost of broken relationships, ruining of health and loss of personal integrity.  There are those who have achieved success without the above mentioned cost but there is never any gain without paying something in the transaction.  When we go to a grocery store, we can’t simply walk away with what we want.  We have to stand at the cashier’s line and pay for what we have selected in our basket.  No one has achieved something without paying the price in most cases. 

            The question is whether whatever one achieved is worth the price that was paid for it.  Solomon would not judge anyone regarding this.  He would simply say from his perspective that all the efforts in pursuit of success or achievements are nothing more than chasing after the wind in the end2.  Regardless of what Solomon concludes at the end of his life, there are and there will be plenty of people who would want to find out for themselves.  And they will in the end.  So, this verse 4 addresses those who are the high achievers in life.  One might even call them workaholics.  But he also mentions something about the other extreme as well in verse 5. 

            The fool folds his hands and ruins himself.

            On the other hand, we have those who simply show no initiative whatsoever.  These are the people who simply choose to live life as lazy people.  They fold their hands and Solomon characterizes these people as the ones who ruin themselves.  On one hand, we have people who out of envy pursue success but on the other hand we have people who simply choose to do nothing.  People who fall into this category are the ones who do not see the value in going out and work.

             In many cases, these are the ones who depend on others to carry them.  They may feel that they are entitled to certain standard of life without working to achieve that standard.  Any society will always have people who fall under this category.  They do not work but expect something from society and others.  They do not go out and work but expect others to take care of them.  They fold their hands and ruin themselves. 

            As Christians, we believe God has placed us in this world for a reason and for a purpose.  Our purpose in this life is to glorify God through everything we do and we would not be glorifying our God through our laziness.  Our Heavenly Father worked and commands us to work.  When we were banished from the Garden of Eden, we were mandated to work the fields which from then on produced thorns and thistles.  From that time on, we work hard to sustain ourselves.  By the sweat of our brow, we eat.  Nothing is easy.  Work is never easy.  But we must go out and work to support ourselves and our families.  So we have laziness on one hand and workaholic on the other hand. 

            Look at verse 6. Solomon does not want us to fall into either extreme.    

            Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

            There is always strife when we are not at peace with ourselves.  Some people work hard their entire life and suddenly die.  Is there something to gain from such a life?  Who knows?  On the other hand, there are some people who live poor their entire life as well.  Who can say one is better than the other?  Tranquility is finding that equilibrium where you avoid the either extreme.  To lust after enormous wealth may be just as futile as someone who does not work at all.  Finding contentment and satisfaction is valuable in our present economic situation. 

            Life with great wealth may be tempting but Solomon sees it as nothing more than chasing after the wind.  Living as Christians, we find happiness and satisfaction with our daily sustenance and living to please God.  When we become more ambitious in building our wealth at all cost, than we lose tranquility.  When we become greedy and envious, we fall into this foolish and self-destructive path that leads us astray from our relationship with God.  Sometimes it is not necessarily a blessing when we acquire so much wealth that we no longer have peace in our heart.  We fall into that trap of desiring even more and never finding contentment. 

            As we get older, we realize just how temporary our life here on earth truly is.  The photos we have taken of ourselves and our children are testament that those times can never return back to us.  Those days of playing with our little ones and when they thought of their parents as the greatest heroes quickly fade away as they grow up.  But those times of their child-like innocence can be treasured memories for us as we grow older.  Spending time with them and building strong bonds with our children also are investment of time and energy.  When we busy ourselves in pursuing our own dreams and goals without regard to our family, we lose a great deal when those precious moments are gone.  I don’t think anyone regretted time spent with one’s own children in dying moment.  In most cases, they regret all the missed opportunities. 

            Apostle Paul reminds us in I Timothy 6:6-9.

            But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For, we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 

            Even as we struggle in our current economic crisis, wealth we’ve tried to accumulate over the years with good intentions have quickly evaporated to the tune of trillions of dollars in US.  We as a nation have lost significant wealth.  People are becoming more pessimistic about the future and we are frustrated.  We work so hard and yet wealth we were trying to build has vanished in a very short period of time.  In final analysis, we must acknowledge that perhaps we have not enjoyed the present moment that God has given us but were more interested in chasing after the wind. 

            As we think about this passage, we probably don’t want to repeat the errors of people Solomon observed in his time.  We understand that our life here on earth will always have challenges and that our path will be difficult at times.  However we should remind ourselves that we are His children living here on earth for a time that we might glorify Him and enjoy Him while we live.  And when our days here on earth come to an end, we can just as freely leave this world and be united with our Lord and Savior in His Kingdom.