Sermon Preached at Grace Community Church (EPC)
Sun City Grand, Surprise, AZ
Sunday, August 12, 2001
by the Reverend Cooper McWhirter
An Age of Nonsense: “Success is in the Eye of the Beholder”
Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
Growing up I use to tell my dad I didn’t care what I did when I grew up just so long as I was happy doing it. Dad’s response was always the same. Half-jokingly, he'd say [that]: “The only happy people in life are the ones incarcerated in institutions wearing straight-jackets.” And, to some degree I believe he meant it, because in the final analysis my dad was a very unhappy man.
Was I being naïve in wanting to be happy? Is happiness a worthwhile pursuit? Or, is happiness just a fleeting emotion? The older I get the more I am convinced that happiness is not an end in itself. Happiness or, perhaps a better synonym would be “contentment,” is the result of honest labor. Hard work, dedication, initiative is an attitude that yields dividends. Or, as the recruitment ad for the U.S. Army used to say, “Be all that you can be!”
Someone once said that for a person “to be happy in his work, three things are needed: he must be fit for it. He must not do too much of it. And he must have a sense of success in it.” And this is what I believe Solomon is telling us in this passage.
Speaking of work, in a sermon entitled, “A Healthy Attitude Toward Work and Money,” Bill Hybels, the Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, remarked “that most people spend four to eight years going to school to learn how to do it. Once we are done with learning how to do it, most Americans will spend a minimum of 80,000 hours – or 10,000 days – of their lives doing it. If we don’t do enough of it, we risk losing what we have. If we try to do too much of it, we risk losing our health and our families. We can starve if we do too little, and we can burn our selves out if we emphasize it too strongly.” He closes by saying, “Even though we spend years learning how to do it and decades actually doing it, finding the right balance of work and wealth in our lives … is one of the most difficult challenges that we face in our culture.”
Apparently, this was a concern of Solomon as well. God’s word tackles this dilemma head on. So, if we listen carefully to what Solomon is saying, we’ll gain some helpful insight as to how we should evaluate success in life.
In this portion of chapter five, Solomon is explaining the subtle differences between the benefits of success and the secrets of success. In our culture, today, it’s easy to see the benefits of success. Just look around you. It’s the person up the block who lives in the largest house, he drives the fanciest car and owns the sleekest boat at the marina. His corporate offices are on the top floor. Even his secretaries dress better than the pool of secretaries down the hall. He carries more country club memberships in his wallet than you have grocery store coupons in your purse. His kids attend the most exclusive schools. He doesn’t just own stock in the Fortune 500, he’s part of the inner sanctum of the Fortune 500 with golden parachute clauses worth millions! You get the idea. In America, the benefits of success are rather obvious!
Solomon, who calls himself Qoheleth, which means “preacher,” was very much aware of the benefits of success. As we spoke about last week, God blessed Solomon with great wisdom. His knowledge and expertise spanned numerous subjects. Scripture tells us that Solomon was also the wealthiest man who had ever lived. His income in gold alone, based upon current prices, came to over $330,000,000 annually [based upon information from 1 Kings 10]. He owned a large fleet of merchant ships, which carried precious cargo from all over the Mediterranean. Once every three years these ships returned carrying gold, ivory, precious linens, spices and exotic perfumes. He traded with Arabian kings and noblemen from all over the known world. He owned mines and rock quarries both in Israel and other countries and had foreign investments in diamond mines and forests.
He built a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with the finest gold. The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. His throne was exquisitely made by the finest craftsmen and scripture tell us that “Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.” [1 Kings 10.20]. All of King Solomon’s goblets were made of gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made of pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver held little value in Solomon’s day. His personal stables were ornately decorated with imported tiles and porcelain and heavily laden with precious metals, and housed 4,000 horses and chariots. In other cities, Solomon stationed 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen who were part of his official entourage. And although it took a construction crew of 150,000 Israelite men, 3,600 supervisors and thousands of foreign laborers seven years to build God's Temple, this pales in comparison to the thirteen years it took to build Solomon's palace.
And so, in the autumn of his life, Solomon surveyed his vast holdings and his incalculable wealth. He concluded that this was all sheer madness. Vanity of vanities! Wealth is a lousy way to gauge success. For although wealth may accompany success; success in one’s occupation should never be measured by how much wealth a person accumulates.
And that is why Solomon concludes that: THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH IS FUTILE.
In verses 10 and 11, Solomon tells us that the person who loves money will never be satisfied with the money he/she has. There is an insatiable desire that feeds on itself. In other words, the more one has, the more one wants. The sin of hoarding and covetness never says “enough!” There is always something more, something newer, something nicer ... something ... anything.
Solomon makes this observation. The more one owns the more he is owned by what he owns. If a person is not careful, it will not only consume his waking hours, but it will disrupt his sleep at night.
Jean Paul Getty was born in Minneapolis in 1892. He was educated in California and attended Oxford University. He became an independent oil producer in 1914 and held presidential and directorial positions with several oil companies during the 1930’s. From 1942 until 1961 he became president, general manager and principal owner of the Minnehoma Financial Corporation and then in 1948 he became president and principal owner of the Getty Oil Company. From the Second World War to his death in 1976, Getty was considered one of the richest men in the world. He began collecting fine art during the Great Depression when people were forced to sell valuable possessions for only pennies on the dollar. Eventually, he owned one of the finest private collections of paintings anywhere in the world and established the J. Paul Getty Museum on his estate in Malibu in 1974. Here was a man who had it all. Or, did he?
He had three failed marriages and numerous mistresses. From these relationships he sired two legitimate and some speculate several illegitimate children all whom he deliberately avoided. He had few friends and acquaintances. Neither business colleagues nor competitors held Mr. Getty in high regard. He was cold, calculating, ruthless and uncaring. At his death there were few mourners and even fewer after his last will and testament was read. The bulk of his estate was left to his foundation and to the museum named after him. But, like the title of the Broadway play, “You Can’t Take It with You!” In verse 15, Solomon reminds us that we were naked when we came into this world and naked we will depart. We can take nothing with us.
Cemeteries have always fascinated me. Arlington National Cemetery is truly a site on hallowed ground. Row upon row of white crosses, each one representing a person that had once dreamed dreams. I have visited numerous civil war battlefields and I have walked cemeteries that date back before the Revolutionary War. And I have yet to find a single marker that showed how much a person earned in his lifetime.
The only lasting legacy is what we can impart upon those whom we love. Our name, our reputation, our values, how we conduct ourselves while in the living years. And herein lies the SECRETS of success.
In the closing verses of this passage, Solomon discloses what really determines a person’s success. In verse 18, he tells us that the secrets of success must begin with having a balanced perspective. To labor, to toil under the sun is a noble endeavor. To work with our hands, to learn a craft, to be a homemaker, a housewife, a mother, these are noble aspirations. But, regardless of our aspirations, we must find fulfillment in them. To work hard, to hone our skills, to take advantage of our God-given talents brings a two-fold reward. For not only does it bring purpose and meaning to our lives, but the greater good is that it brings glory to God.
And that is why Solomon tells us that: THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE IS REWARDING.
To those who succeed in their field of endeavor, they should be commended and recognized. And if wealth and prosperity should follow after them, then this should not be the cause of envy. Rather, it should prompt the rest of us to pursue excellence in all that we do. For this, too, is a gift of God. People should take pride in their accomplishments without becoming prideful. People should enjoy the fruits of their labor without hoarding them.
One of the finest Ruling Elders I have been privileged to meet was a member of the church we attended while I was a student at Covenant Seminary. He was neither boastful, nor prideful. In fact, it was as if he deliberately made himself inconspicuous. Therefore, I won’t acknowledge him by name, but only by his initials, GP. He was a very successful businessman in St. Louis. He earned a great deal of money. He invested his money wisely. He lived life prudently. GP, his wife and three children owned a home that was tastefully furnished, but it was not ostentatious. Their two cars were mid-sized, late model, American-made automobiles. They were for go; not for show. They lived their lives comfortably, and yet they gave sacrificially. They gave far beyond what any pastor could ever hope for or expect from parishioners. It was gratifying that both the husband and wife were in agreement as to their financial support of their church and other worthwhile organizations. They were in one accord. And yet, to my knowledge, this man never insisted upon his views being held above those of others. He held himself accountable to God and he expected the same from his pastor and his fellow elders. One day this man will leave a lasting legacy that will be far more meaningful than all the Getty’s of this world.
To eat, to drink and to be merry is not sinful. God wants us to enjoy what life has to offer. He desires that we live life to the fullness. But, unfortunately, many of us have difficulty discerning the difference between what is healthy and what is harmful, what is adequate and what is excessive, what is productive and what is destructive.
Notice, too, that we have little time by which to decide the course of our lives. Verses 15, 18 and 20 all speak of the brevity of life. We have only a few years to make a difference. Our epitaph will either leave a favorable or an unfavorable mark with those whom we love. Ultimately, as the title suggests, Success is in the Eye of the Beholder and the Beholder is the One who created you and me. He is the One who formed us in His likeness. And so while we breathe the breath of life, let us resolve to seek the secrets of success rather than pursuing the benefits of success and therein lies the secret!
Let us pray ...
