10.20.19 Ecclesiastes 5:8-20
Are you happy? Do you enjoy your life? A part of the American dream is entwined within our Declaration of Independence where it declares,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This appears to be the standard of life in our generation. Am I happy or not? Another question will then be, “What will it take to make you happy if you’re not happy?” Or “Why aren’t you happy?”
One of the things that strikes me about the show Fixer Upper is the genuine happiness that flows between Chip and Joanna. They seem to have so much fun together. Is it just a show? Or are they happy because they are so successful? Do you see something like that and say, “I wish I had that?” What does it take to get that?
Solomon tried to find happiness through achievement and pleasure. He wrote in chapter 2,
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
He was happy for a while, but then after it was all said and done, he was sad. Remember, this was a man who had about 700 wives and 300 concubines. He purportedly wrote this in his older age. Nobody could accuse him of not trying to live life to the fullest. But that didn’t cut it for him.
This writing has a number of factors that affect happiness or also cause sadness. Let’s look at the first one -
If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
One thing that angers people is the greed of government officials. Look at how government officials today make about 150,000 dollars a year but end up with millions in their bank accounts. How does this happen? It happens through corruption and greed and kickbacks for favors. This enrages so many people who don’t get any of the breaks. But Solomon says, “don’t be surprised at such things.” When you follow politics too closely it can drive you mad. You’ll want to point out this injustice and then the next. Listen to Glenn Beck some time and he always talks about blood coming from his eyes. Part of the lesson here is, “What do you expect?” Another point is, “What can you do about it?” What good does it do you to get all outraged over things that are beyond your control?
The second point is, even if you could get more just like they do - would it make you happy? Solomon says,
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Think of Solomon. You would think that after have five wives or ten wives (women were married to build coalitions with other governments), that sooner or later he would have said, “that’s enough.” But it wasn’t. It went to 100, then 200, then 300, then 400. It was never enough.
What about with you? How much money do you need to retire? How many improvements do you really need in your home? When will you be happy with what you have? You could think about this in all kinds of contexts. Your child makes the football team. He even starts. They have a good team. He has six tackles, but he missed three. They lost the game because they were beat by a better team. So he’s angry and sullen, and so are you. You’re angry with the plays. Your angry with the calls. Even if they win the conference, will that be enough? No, they have to win the State! Replace money with updates, wins, raises. The old word for it used to be mammon - stuff. Unhappiness often comes from that little word called “more.”
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
Even if your goods do increase, what good are they if you can’t enjoy them? You have a freezer full of food, but what do you do with it? Half of it gets freezer burnt and you have to throw it away. The more that’s in there the more you have to push to the side when you’re trying to find what you want. The rich man spends more time trying to maintain what he has or protect what he has than actually enjoying it. I think of a swimming pool. I don’t want a swimming pool. My neighbor has a perfectly fine one that they let me and the kids swim in for free. I don’t have to maintain it. I don’t have to fill it with water. I don’t have to fix it. Why would I want to pay for the luxury of having it in my backyard? I don’t want it that badly. If you spend your money on lots of stuff, what good does it end up doing you if you just have to insure it and you can’t enjoy it.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
15 Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
It is very troubling to elderly people who had to scrape and fight for every dime. They worked very hard and tried to be responsible with their money and save up a nice nest egg for retirement. But after all of that hard work, they go to a nursing home that charges sometimes over 2,000 dollars a month, and in no time at all their savings are all gone. They end up barely scraping by on Social Security after a lifetime of savings, having to sell their house and all of their goods. They worked all of their lives for that? Solomon made mention of this and other type of “misfortune,” and he called it a “grievous evil.” In the end, it doesn’t matter how much you have saved or whether you die with millions or with nothing. Why? Because you can’t take it with you anyway. Again, Solomon doesn’t sound too happy about all of this.
Millenials see this and they say to themselves, “I don’t want to work in a factory and be miserable.” They treasure vacations and traveling much more than older generations did. They saw how their grandparents never seemed to take time to go on vacations or get out and enjoy life and they say, “I don’t want to do that.” They don’t care as much about salaries and income and the size of their houses if it means working in a job that they hate.
Yet because of that they might be less trustworthy. They might call in sick more often. They might quit more easily when they are asked to do something they really don’t want to do. They don’t have any money in savings. It’s that same mentality that leads husbands and wives to say, “I quit. I’m not happy anymore. I’m leaving.” But life also carries with it responsibilities as well. People are depending on you to do your duty so that they can survive and thrive too. If you quit then you will be making other people’s lives miserable. Life isn’t all about you. A part of our Christian ethic is caring for others, even when it is difficult for us.
In some ways admirable that the younger generation doesn’t care about how much stuff they have. They aren’t driven by the almighty dollar. They live more for the here and the now. They want to enjoy life. But that being said, are they any happier than former generations? When life is all about what makes me happy, then I only look at life from a self centered point of view, and my sinful nature will never be satisfied in the end.
18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
It’s an interesting solution that Solomon finds to happiness. It isn’t in giving up on work or just living off of welfare. It is in finding satisfaction in toilsome labor during your few days of life under the sun. Happiness is found in enjoying your job and being able to use your wealth and possessions. It is in remembering AS YOU DO these things that these are also GIFTS from God to be able to have wealth and possessions and a job. Happiness is found in enjoying what you do for a living. It keeps you from looking back on what you could have done or what you should have done. You aren’t constantly looking forward to the next job or the next place. You are enjoying where you are at RIGHT NOW as a wife or husband, student or parent, employer or employee. Don’t get all worked up over how much you have or where it is going when you die. Use it to the glory of God right now.
Compare this to your mentality. I can’t wait to get out of school. I can’t wait to get my house paid off. I can’t wait to have children. I can’t wait to retire. I can’t wait to die. If only I hadn’t gotten married. If only I had graduated from school. If only I hadn’t bought this car. We are constantly unhappy about something in our lives. We are constantly wanting a change, thinking that only if I had this or that, I would be happy. But Solomon tried all that, and he lets us know by inspiration of the Holy Spirit - that kind of thinking is sinful. It’s all meaningless. What does this mean? We’re all sinful. We’ve all fallen into the trap of wanting what we don’t have.
That’s why we need to see Jesus and get a good look at Him. He saw the poor oppressed. He saw justice denied. He witnessed the greed of officials. Herod was as greedy and jealous as they come. He confronted it. He dealt with it. His life didn’t revolve around riches. He didn’t have a bank account. He didn’t have a home. He didn’t even have a place to lay his head. Yet He was happy to eat in different homes and go to weddings. He was happy to raise children from the dead and feed hungry people. He was able to sleep like a baby in the bottom of a boat in the middle of a storm. Why? Because He worked hard - He worked for people - everyone was His boss - as He came to serve them all. His life didn’t revolve around what He could accumulate, because He knew He wasn’t going to be here long. He was thinking about ETERNITY. He came here naked, and He died naked on a cross with nothing in His hands but nails. But when He breathed His life He was happy: happy that He had done everything God called Him to do: happy that our sins were paid for and salvation was won. Here was a man who lived with nothing and yet owned everything. He asked nothing of people and gave everything, and He was happy doing it. Even when we were taking His life and trying to take His dignity, He wasn’t filled with curses and anger. He accepted His lot in life: it was what He was born to do: to be the One who would be blamed for the sins of the world: and He did it with love and forgiveness - for us. He is the One who shows us why to live and how to live.
“What is it that makes you happy?” Usually it is stuff that makes you feel comfortable or good about yourself. What is it that makes you sad? People and things that make you miserable are usually attacking you or taking something from you. People attacked Jesus and tried to make Him miserable all the time. That didn’t matter to Him. What made Him happy was seeing us forgiven. The only way that could be done was through His own misery and death.
When you want to run from life because you’re miserable, maybe you ought to ask yourself, “What makes me happy?” It’s a God who loved me and died for me to bring me to heaven free of charge, so that I wouldn’t have to suffer and die for my own sins. That’s what makes me happy. I know I have a God who loves me and died for me to go to heaven. Isn’t that a happy thing? If He wants me to serve others in my family: and that is going to make me tired: I’m happy with that. If He’s going to take away my nest egg through sickness and suffering, well, He must know why. I’m happy with that. If I can serve others with nothing more than a smile because I’m broke and worn out, I’m happy with that too. When I have Jesus and His forgiveness I am the riches man in the world, no matter who I am in life or where I am. When I have God’s angels protecting me I’m the safest man in the world. I’m blessed by God’s grace. When I remind myself of that, then, and only then, will I be genuinely and deeply happy, even when I’m sad about so many other things in life. I still have Jesus. Happy, happy, happy I am. Amen.
