[Ecc 6:7-12] For Who Knows What Is Good For a Man In Life? (Lim)

John C Lim

Ecclesiastes 6:7-12

 ⁷All man's efforts are for his mouth,
       yet his appetite is never satisfied.

 ⁸ What advantage has a wise man
       over a fool?
       What does a poor man gain
       by knowing how to conduct himself before others?

 ⁹ Better what the eye sees
       than the roving of the appetite.
       This too is meaningless,
       a chasing after the wind.

 ¹⁰ Whatever exists has already been named,
       and what man is has been known;
       no man can contend
       with one who is stronger than he.

 ¹¹ The more the words,
       the less the meaning,
       and how does that profit anyone?

 ¹² For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?

            Ever the philosopher, Solomon takes us through some topsy-turvy rollercoaster in this passage.  With his incisive look at the nature of man’s life, he points out some hard truths that we may not be willing to acknowledge.  As we look at this passage, we realize that Solomon is a believer who openly contemplates some perplexing insights that may be quite troubling to us.  Look at verse 7.

⁷All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

            He begins with a conclusion in this verse.  Solomon proclaims that everything we do is basically for our survival or our existence.  We work in order to care for ourselves.  Is this not true?  Everyone living on earth understands that without effort, we cannot feed ourselves.  From farmers to people in factories, we are all working everyday so that we can earn reasonable compensation to pay for food, clothing and put roof over our head.  Ultimately, it is all about our own survival in this world.  From birth until now, everything we do is directly related to taking care of ourselves.

            We go through the school system so that we will have jobs when our school days are over.  Jobs enable us to work specified amount of time for agreed upon amount of compensation.  With what we earn, we have the freedom to allocate our resources as we see fit.  Some will expend more than they earn and find themselves in debt.  Others will expend less than they earn and find themselves with surplus or savings. 

            Among those who work, some discipline themselves to strategize on how they can increase their wealth and therefore are wise in their allocation of their resources.  Through their prudent and judicial management of their resources, their wealth increases over a period of time.  But Solomon would look at all our effort and simply declare that our appetite is never satisfied.  Although there is nothing inherently wrong with good decisions regarding finances, Solomon would say that there is something that we thirst after that cannot be satisfied. 

            People work hard and valiantly attempt to accumulate wealth but their appetite is never satisfied.  We have this constant hunger for more wealth and because of this strong drive, we may become wealthy someday but we are never fully satisfied.  There is never enough in our mind.  We are always pushing ourselves to get more. 

            We set a goal of saving $1,000 but when we reach $1,000 goal, we set up another goal for $5,000.  When we reach $5,000, we then set up another goal to reach $10,000.  This basically goes on perpetually.  Once we reach one goal, we set up another goal and attempt to achieve that.  So, our appetite is never satisfied and we continue to push ourselves to next level.  And when we get to that level, we find that we are still not satisfied so we continue to set for ourselves another goal.  Solomon makes such observation and is sharing his perspective on this. 

            That which we seek after is none other than eternity that has been placed in our hearts.  All the wealth in the world will not enable us to live on forever.  Our appetite can only be satisfied when we find Christ in our lives.  He is the only one who can fully satisfy all our longings.  If we don’t have Jesus in our life, we have nothing.  And when we have Jesus in our life, even if we don’t have anything in the world, we have everything.  All the gold in the world is useless when our life is through here on this earth.  No matter how much wealth we accumulate, there will never be peace in our heart unless we have Jesus Christ in our heart. 

            And then Solomon jumps from his current thought to a different thought.  Look at verse 8.

What advantage has a wise man over a fool?  What does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself before others?

            Solomon thinks about life in general and draws this conclusion.  In ultimate sense, there is no advantage between a wise man and a fool.  It is a rhetorical question he is posing here.  In the second part, what does a poor man gain by knowing how to conduct himself in front of others?  When we think about this question, we come to the same conclusion that there isn’t anything a poor man gains by knowing how to conduct himself before others.  It is actually silly to think that some protocol that a poor man follows would be advantageous to him.  We are not all that different from one another if you think about it.  Some can be considered wise and some as fools.  Is there a whole lot of difference between the two ultimately?  Not really. Then, look at verse 9 as Solomon continues.

Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

            Here is something to think about.  There is a connection here between what Solomon said in the previous verses and this verse.  He comments it is better for the eyes to see than for there to be a longing without realization.  What we can perceive and sense with our eyes is preferable to what has not been achieved.  In a sense, it is better to have a bird in hand than two in the sky.  Often times, we hear people talking about how they will achieve and accomplish such and such.  However, these are simply just silly boasting without any merit. 

            Our longing for something in our heart continues to drive us to achieve.  We work diligently to be able to provide for ourselves and our families.  And we acquire what we consider important and that which enhances our standard of life.  If we make more money, we have the choice to afford better quality items for ourselves.  We can actually go out and buy what we need from the store and bring it home.  When we have it, we are able to lay our eyes on it.  From seeing such items in our home, we derive certain satisfaction.  However, if we cannot buy such item and all we can do is long for it; that can be considered roving of the appetite. 

            There is wisdom in finding satisfaction with what we have in present reality.  As we look at what we have in terms of earthly possessions, we can rejoice and be thankful for what we have instead of being dissatisfied with our lot and constantly be in turmoil thinking how we would like to have more.  That will not achieve anything positive but merely tortures us by reminding ourselves what we don’t have instead of what we already have.

            As Christians living in this world, we can just as easily torment ourselves by comparing what we have with what other people have.  When we compare ourselves with others and envy them, our heart can be described as roving of appetite.  People who covet and envy others never find contentment and satisfaction.  They are always more concerned about what they do not have than what they already have.  This can lead them to untenable situation where they will never find happiness as they can never be satisfied. 

           We realize that even some measure of satisfaction from this life is nothing more than chasing after the wind in the end.  All that we have which we can see and touch are only temporary not everlasting.  This is why Solomon claims even that is chasing after the wind.  We would wonder if there is more or if there is something better in this life.  Obviously there is something far greater than all the satisfaction that we can get from this life.  This is eternal life through Jesus Christ.  This is the only pursuit that will have a happy ending.  Nothing in this world can compare with that assurance of spending eternity with our God. 

            Life though satisfying from contentment in this life has its limits.  We can only eat three meals a day and can only wear one set of clothes at a time.  When we are asleep, we are not so concerned about the quality of our mattresses.  We can all attest to how delicious a simple meal was when we were famished.  We remember how much we appreciated a warm thick jacket in the middle of the winter even if it was of drab color and unstylish.  We remember having the most restful sleep even when we were sleeping on ground while camping.   

            As we think about what Christ has done for us in freeing us from the grips of sin and reconciling us to God, we can look forward to our eternal home in heaven.  Whether we have much or little in this world is not that significant in the end.  As we all die someday, it is not about having the most toys when we die.  Even as we live in this world for a measured time, we can lead thankful and joyful lives when we can see with our spiritual eyes what we have already because of what Christ has done.  Eternal life is not something we are uncertain of but it is something that has become real because of Jesus Christ. 

            In verse 10, Solomon subtly reminds us of God as one who is stronger than we are.  Look at verse 10.

Whatever exists has already been named, and what man is has been known; no man can contend with one who is stronger than he.

            Here we have to understand what Solomon is implying.  We may even see this as God’s providence at work in our lives.  As mere mortals, we are not as noble as we think.  What we are have been known to God from the beginning.  We are sinful creatures if left alone to our sinful nature will make a mess of our lives.  It is only by the grace of God we are who we are today doing what we do.  Because of unmerited intervention of God, we have been awakened through the work of the Holy Spirit and have come to acknowledge ourselves as sinners before God.  And through the grace of God, we were able to receive God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

            God’s providence is at work even now in our lives.  God in His divine mercy allows us to have our being.  We cannot argue or contend with God regarding our lot in life.  Finding satisfaction and contentment with what God has given us is the key to meaningful life.  Without such understanding, we would be spinning our wheels to no gain.  Once we come to realize and accept God’s providence for our lives, we can indeed find fulfillment and meaning through everything we do.  When we do not acknowledge God’s hand in our lives, we continue to strive for more with unquenchable appetite and never find true satisfaction.  It is as if we are drinking sea water to quench our thirst.  More we drink of it, thirstier we get.  And Solomon says in verse 11 with some resignation about the futility of many words.  He is passionate about what he is saying but in the end does it really make any difference?    

The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?

            Solomon has spoken many words drawing conclusions about life as he sees it.  His words have come from wisdom God had given him along with his own life’s experience.  Yet he wonders how all those words that he has shared would ultimately benefit anyone.  He knows he has said many things thus far and momentarily takes a stock of all that he has said and contemplates if what he said would make any difference in the minds of hearers.  Usually, when more words are spoken, less effective words become. However, these are not Solomon’s words of human wisdom.  These are words of God spoken through Solomon that we regard them with a sense of reverence.  Finally Solomon concludes in verse 12.

 For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?

            Solomon is now truly pensive as he takes time to question meaning of life.  He views life that we live as passing through like a shadow.  And the days we live are few and meaningless.  And he asks who would know what is good for a man in life.  We are thrilled when things go the way we want and yet are crushed when things don’t turn out as we hoped.  Yet, in ultimate sense, who truly knows what is good for us.  When we get our way, does that always mean it is the best thing for us?  When bad things happen to us, does that mean that it is absolutely the worst for us?  We are quick to evaluate our current situations and draw hasty conclusions.  Yet, if we chew on Solomon’s words, we can see that everything is not always as they seem from the outside.  At times what we consider truly terrible may turn out to be much more beneficial in the long run.  And what we considered great at the time can turn out to be much more harmful for us than we would have ever imagined.  So we can be somewhat more cautious and prudent when we assess our situations. 

            Indeed these are philosophical questions that Solomon is willing to contemplate.  It takes courage and openness to engage in such endeavor.  As Christians, we also struggle with life’s issues when we take a moment to reflect on life’s puzzlement.  At times, all our hard work seems so insignificant and meaningless that we lose motivation to continue.  As we look back at our own life, we know what we had to do to get here.  All the hardship and challenges we overcame have left their marks on our life. 

            And we wonder as Solomon what will happen under the sun after we are gone.  We may live to 70 years or 80 years but then what happens?  We know we cannot live on this earth forever.  There will come a day when we must depart from this world.  The world we know will continue on long after we are gone from this place.  And yet, we do not know what will happen.  We build our version of Babel towers in our lives thinking that these towers will stand only to realize that we don’t know what will happen to our benchmarks once we are gone. 

            How we view our life here on earth can either inspire us to live fully or dishearten our spirit to such degree that we succumb to defeatist mentality.  Solomon is not trying to discourage us but for us to be candid and honest with our assessment of life here on earth.  We are mere mortals visiting this place for a finite time.  Once our stint here on earth is done, we go back to where we came from.  Our eternal home is not this earth but a place that Jesus Christ has prepared for us.  We will someday go to our heavenly home.  If and when we truly understand this reality, our life here on earth takes on a different meaning. 

            No matter how successful or unsuccessful we are in this life, everything comes to an end.  As we feed our appetite for all that this world has to offer, we know that all these quests will never fully satisfy our longing for something more.  Realizing this simple truth will free us from the burden of pursuing our worldly appetite sooner allowing us to live fruitful and productive lives even as we enjoy what God has given us. 

            We are here to live fully while recognizing this life is not the lasting life.  Even as we work and live in our world, we never forget the transitional nature of our life here on earth.  We live here but with an understanding that we are not to attach ourselves so tightly to this world that we would fear leaving this world.  Whenever that time comes for us to depart this world, we would do so with a sense of relief and anticipation of better world that awaits us.