American Idols: #1 Work
Ecclesiastes 2:17-23
We’re beginning a new series tonight entitled "American Idols." You may be familiar with the popular Fox television show where contestants show off their singing talents and vie to become the next "American Idol." You’d have to have been on another planet to miss all the news in our area as the 2nd winner to receive the coveted 1st place & "American Idol" title was Ruben from Birmingham. Driving thru B-gham recently I saw a huge billboard rooting him on!
The series that we’re beginning tonight will not be a talent competition based on singing talents (I’m sorry to disappoint), but it WILL be an exercise in asking "of all the idols out there in our society, which one is THE American Idol?" That is, which one most correctly characterizes the culture of America at this turn of the century?
Is it ... WORK? Is it ... FAME? Is it ... WISDOM & EDUCATION? Is it ... YOUTH? Is it ... MONEY & WEALTH?
Let me introduce you to a friend . . . Ben A. Workaholic. He’s the 1st contestant in our little competition and its him I want us to judge tonight.
...Discourse with Ben ...
Meet: "Ben A. Workaholic"
Jim: Good evening, Ben. Welcome to "American Idols"
Ben: I’m glad to have taken some time out of my hectic schedule to be here, Jim.
Jim: Tell us a little bit about your schedule, since you mentioned it.
Ben: Well, I’m glad you asked. I’m up and out of the house by 5 every morning. Just a cup of coffee and a rush to the office. Its good to beat the rush hour, you know? You get more done that way. Usually there’s a meeting with my staff at 6 o’clock to talk about what we need to talk about in our 7 o’clock staff meeting. Then, by 8 o’clock we’re ready to start the day.
Jim: You mean you have to have a meeting to discuss what you need to discuss?
Ben: Lots to do, Jim! Lots to do!
Jim: Well, after a long day at work, I’ll bet you really enjoy some down time when you get home.
Ben: You bet! I’m usually home by 10 o’clock in time to catch the Money Market Report on C-Span!
Jim: Well, I mean .. You probably really enjoy time with your family when you get home, right?
Ben: Oh, sure do, Jim! My wife’s usually around doing something around the house while I’m having dinner and watching Money Market Report. BUT before I do anything, Jim, when I get home- the first thing I do is march right up to the kids room and give them a kiss on the cheek! That’s important to me!
Jim: I’ll bet they’re really glad to see you.
Ben: I’m sure they would be if they were ever awake. But they know I’m at the office for them! Roof over their heads! College to plan for! Lots to do, lots to do!
Jim: Well, what about your wife? How’s your relationship with her these days?
Ben: Well, Jim, I’ve got to be honest with you. We’ve been married a long time (you’d have to ask her just how long) and it hasn’t ALL been a bed of roses. There was a time just a few years back when the road to paradise got a little rocky if you know what I mean.
Jim: I understand, we all have ups & downs I guess. What did you do?
Ben: Just what needed to be done, Jim! I came home one day and gave her a shiny, brand new CREDIT CARD, and BOY has that made all the difference in the world!
Jim: That worked, huh?
Ben: You bet! Now she has something to do on the weekends while I’m at the office.
Jim: You’re at the office every weekend?
Ben: Right! You wouldn’t believe how much a fellow can get done when nobody else is around to bother him!
Jim: Well, Ben. Before we let you sit down- and I appreciate you’re participation in our little competition- let me ask you, do you enjoy your work?
Ben: What? What do you mean?
Jim: I mean, is it fun?
Ben: I don’t understand the question. Could you be a little bit more clear?
Jim: Well, Ben, maybe we ought to just conclude by asking you, in your own words why do you believe that YOU should be named America’s #1 ‘idol’?
Ben: Well, Jim, because I’m just one of millions who are living just like I do.
Before we evaluate Ben’s interview, let’s talk just a little bit about idols . . .
We’ve not gotten there yet in our study of the Ten Commandments, but we all remember that the 1st & 2nd commandments state: "You shall have no other gods before me." & "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them!"
If you’re like me, you’ve envisioned physical ‘idols’ like the golden calf that the Israelites had just fashioned and had begun worshiping. You might think of Native American traditions where the worship of animals were a part of their religion or today’s naturalistic religions that worship nature and other created things. And you might think that you are far removed from that type of ‘idolatry’ and so these words from God’s Ten Commandments mean little to you. But wait! Think about why idolatry was so wrong. It wasn’t because a golden calf or an eagle or nature itself are EVIL things. Its because God demands the total allegiance of His people! And anything which threatens to distract that allegiance away from God can become an idol! i.e. anything that we put in our lives in place of God; or simply above God is an IDOL; and is something that we’ve got to remove!
Just as in Israel’s day, there are many things today in our lives which can threaten to distract our allegiance away from God. I mentioned a few above and they will become our contestants in the following weeks. But tonight, I want us to look particularly at the idol represented by Ben. . . that of one’s work/ sometimes one’s career.
From a very early age, I remember being asked the question, "What do you want to BE when you grow up?" A cursory glance thru my Mom’s scrapbook of my childhood shows that at various times I wanted to be a policeman; a fireman; an actor ... even once I think I wrote down that I wanted to be President. NEVER did I intend to be a preacher! I remember stressing out over it in Junior High when everyone around me seemed to know what they wanted to be and we took Aptitude tests to determine our strength areas. I had no idea. I knew only two things for certain: I wanted to make lots of money and I wanted a job where everybody loved me. But, why all the focus on what we want to BE?
Now, I understand, its because we typically confuse who we ARE for what we DO! What do you typically talk about when you’re trying to get to know someone new? Once you’ve got their name, don’t you usually ask, "And what do you do?" "Oh, I’m a preacher." or "I’m a doctor." "I’m a lawyer." Its as if what we do defines who we are. But is that right? What really makes you who you are? Okay try this . . .Who is Michael Jordan? (Basketball player) Who is Christina Aguilara? (Famous pop singer) Who is Clark Gable? (Famous actor)
But NO! What they do (or did) isn’t who they ARE! Its what they DO!
The problem that I’m getting to is that many times we try to find our identity and ultimate satisfaction in DOING . . . in our work/ careers. But, while I preach, Preacher doesn’t define who I am. I preach BECAUSE of who I am. The problem is that many people don’t understand that ... and they continue out there striving to find meaning and ultimate satisfaction in working. And that’s destructive.
The wise old teacher of Ecclesiastes knew this to be true!
Eccl 2:11 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. (NIV)
See, these six ‘contestants’ are not new contestants in the American culture. They’ve been around AT LEAST as long as the book of Eccl. has been. My guess is even much longer than that! The ‘Teacher’ (the best way to translate the author’s name in 1:1) I think is probably Solomon, the wise and successful King of Israel; David’s son. Though some disagree with that notion. Regardless, this Teacher seems to have a fairly negative outlook on life. He has sought meaning in life and finds very little meaning in the places where he looks. In fact the refrain that runs throughout the book, "Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is Meaningless!" The book of Eccl. is so relevant for us today because the Teacher looks in the very same places many of US are looking. Many different ‘idols.’ One of those places is in one’s work/ career. Let’s see what he says about that.
Eccl 2:17-23
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?
23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. (NIV)
He says ... Work ultimately is Futile!
One works and works and works and for what? What ultimately does he get for all of his toil & labor? Eventually he will die and he will have to leave it all to someone else ... someone who hasn’t worked for it! That’s not fair!
I really hate bumper stickers, but sometimes you can find some real good theology on them! Have you seen the one: I’m spending my children’s inheritance. I like that! Why work and work and work, just to leave the fruits of your labor to others? What are you laboring for? The most toys? I like the one: He who dies with the most toys, still dies. Solomon would have liked that one.
The point: You can’t take it with you! So, what are you working so hard for? Ultimate meaning & satisfaction is NOT to be found in work or career. Many a person has gotten to the end of a long and highly successful career to find a marriage broken apart; grown children they missed watching grow up; big expensive homes, but with no one to share the things they’ve afforded with! How sad!
Now, we may need to pause here and remind ourselves that WORK is a necessary and even a Godly exercise! One has the responsibility of caring for one’s family ... that involves work. One has the responsibility to not be a drain on others, to support oneself ... that involves work. But the point of the Teacher here is that work is a means to an end; it is NOT the end itself; ULTIMATE SATISFACTION WILL NEVER BE FOUND IN WORK.
Eccl 4:4 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. (NIV)
He says ... the motivation itself is wrong b/c it springs from envy!
Work is the result of rivalry between man & his neighbor! (NAS) We know this to be true, don’t we? At least in many cases? In the 1930’s there was an intense rivalry between Walter Chrysler (founder of the Chrysler Corp.) And Jakob Raskob (the founder of General Motors) to build the world’s tallest building. When the Chrysler building was completed, it soared to a staggering 1,064 feet making it the tallest building in the world ... for a few months at least! But, partly because some plans were kept under wraps until the very end, Raskob’s Empire State Building rivaled it by almost 300 feet when it was completed just a few months later at 1,350 ft. You tell me that work isn’t the result of rivalry b/w man and his neighbor!
How many of us live our lives trying to keep up with the Jones? We’ve got to have a new car, because everyone on our block has a newer car than us. We’ve got to have a certain size house, because everyone we know our age has a certain size house. We’ve got to have a job making X amount of $$, because everyone we know is making at least X amount of $$. Or we’ve got to get our kids the right clothes because after all, all their friends are wearing the name brand stuff. So we work, and work, and work.
Many young couples find themselves in nice, big houses with no furniture and in debt up to their eyeballs living month to month with both having to work because they’ve bought into this rat race! Credit is the most aggressively marketed product in America today! The average American is in debt more than $38,000 according to Consumer Report’s Money Book. The average credit cardholder carries a balance of $8,367 from month to month. (That’s a 160% increase since the past decade) paying an average of 18.3% interest. If you’re doing the math that amounts to $929.70 a year in interest payments ALONE! So there’s no wonder we have to WORK! Why do we do it? But is there any doubt that ultimate meaning and satisfaction in life IS NOT to be found here?
Eccl 4:7-8 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: 8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless-- a miserable business! (NIV)
He says ... for what are you working?
The Teacher uses an example of a man (all alone) who works to no end; every day he’s at the office working away; every night he’s burning the midnight oil; but to what end? He has no children to spoil. He has no wife to lavish with gifts. Yet he works and works and works- never content with all that he is achieving and all that he is getting from his labor. And it never occurs to him to ask, "Why?" For him, his work is his life ... his god. Do you know people like that? Are you someone like that? I have a friend who is a CPA and he was recently telling me of the partners in his firm who work seven days a week! They work half a day on Saturday and then come in again on Sunday! Why not just work a full day on Sat. and take Sunday off, I wanted to know? It sounded like men who just enjoy working! I wondered about their families, though! "But, where is the joy?" The wise old Teacher wants to ask.
Eccl 5:18-20
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. (NIV)
He says ... Work in the proper perspective should bring enjoyment!
It is a great blessing to be able to work/ earn a living in something that you enjoy doing. Dave Ramsey writes that people should (1) Find something they enjoy doing and (2) Figure out a way to make money at it. You’ll do better at something that brings you joy, than in something that is a drudgery for you. The Teacher here is saying that we should feel good about our work; but recognize that ultimately it doesn’t bring satisfaction to life. When we have put WORK in its proper perspective, when we’ve NOT made it our god, then it CAN bring us joy and happiness.
Is WORK the "American Idol"? I’ll leave that for you to decide. We have five more candidates that we’ll meet in the coming weeks.
But for tonight (as with every night I suspect) we’ll conclude as the Teacher does in 12:13.
Eccl 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. (NIV)
The truth is: there is only ONE God and ONE source of ultimate meaning in life ... Life in God!It is certainly NOT to be found in WORK/ career
Have YOU found meaning in God? Or have you still been looking for it somewhere else?
The Teacher of Eccl. would like to save you a lot of trouble tonight by just telling you; you won’t find it where you’re looking, unless you’re looking for it in relationship with God- who created you; who loves you beyond what you can know; and who has given his Son so that he could have you.
Stop looking other places. Look in the only place you’ll find it!
