Grateful for Godly resources

Over the past few weeks we have been working through Ecclesiastes and Solomon has made a contrast between the perspective of living under the sun. You can go through life recognizing the creator and enjoy His creation or live a life of emptiness and ignore the reality of God.

This Sunday we are in Ecclesiastes 4 and this passage like last week may have some familiar verses. The outline of the chapter is straight forward: it is better for us to live with contentment (Ecclesiastes 4:4–6), to lead with a teachable spirit (Ecclesiastes 4:13–16), and to work in partnership with other people (Ecclesiastes 4:7–12).

In this chapter Solomon is going to direct our attention toward the importance of work management in relationship to our lives. Verse 4 seems to set the stage for the uncontrollable pursuit we tend to find in our hearts. 

Ecclesiastes 4:4
And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 

We work hard to impress people. We want our family’s applause, our friends’ praises, and our co-workers’ respect—but we also want to come out on top and beat them in the game of success. As a result we put in longer hours and parade our successes in front of others—all because of envy and pride. Yet Solomon makes a clear conclusion: “But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”

The wise option is to choose contentment in our own life and fight to genuinely be happy for others. There, we will find the Lord’s blessing. And there, we’ll find meaning, wisdom, and a true display of gratefulness.