Futility Or Fulfillment

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, there was no profit under the sun.

kjv

Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard i had worked doing it and I realized that it didn’t mean a thing. It was the chasing the wind – of no use at all. (Good News Translation) Ecc. 2:11

The preacher declares that as he examined his life.

He was born of a woman

Worked hard at school to ensure he had a good education

Left school and went to college

And pursued farther his education at the loftiest of universities

Obtained the job of his choice

Only to find at the end

It was all for nothing.

Yes he had money

Yes he had accumulated wealth

He had laid out his plans

And achieved his goals.

But still, he felt unfulfilled.

He felt empty

He experienced no sense of fulfillment.

Is this the experience of one man and one man alone. No it is not.

Secular psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote “ About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness in their lives. This can be described as the general neurosis of our time.” Carl Jung: Modern Man in Search of a Soul.

One of the reasons why Rick Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” made it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list is the fact that his book has zoned in on this basic need within every single man and woman to discover why he is here and what meaning can be derived from life. It is the absence of meaning and purpose in the lives of so many people today, and especially in the lives of young people, that is causing so much substance abuse and promiscuity and suicide among the younger set. Dr. David Jeremiah- The futility of Life

A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT WROTE THIS SUICIDE NOTE

To anyone in the world who cares:

Who am I? Why am I living? Life has become stupid and purposeless. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. The questions I had when I came to college are still unanswered and now, I am convinced there aren’t any answers. There can only be pain and guilt and despair here in this world. My fear of death and the unknown is far less terrifying to me than the prospect of unbearable frustration, futility and hopelessness of continued existence. – Dr. David Jeremiah- The futility of Life

But what does Jesus have to say: In Luke chp. 12. He tells the parable of a rich man

Luke 12:16 – 20

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

But was it always so. When God made man he tended to the garden of Eden and felt fulfilled. But after sin entered, after he listened to the gift rather than the giver he became discontented and unfulfilled.

He felt naked.

He felt insecure.

He felt afraid.

Futility stepped in. Separation from God my friends bring futility. The Preacher tells us in Ecc. 3:11 That God has placed eternity in his heart. Surrounded by all the transient processes that occur around him, inside there is something that needs to be filled.

It is seeking to fill that space with the transient things of life that brings futility. Man has lost his way and have sought to find it in

Wealth

Status

Relationships

Achievement and even

Religious performance

But none of these can bring the necessary fulfillment that he desires.

Luke 18: 18-22

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?