" I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11, ESV)
The Preacher now describes his unhappy pursuit of wisdom. Not unhappy because he failed to get wisdom, but unhappy because of the final result. With wisdom does not come joy but vexation and with knowledge sorrow. The ignorant, unthinking people may fill their days with trivial joy, but that is what it is. It is the bliss of soap bubbles. It pops and is gone in a moment and amounts to nothing. He who sees reality also sees the despair.
But it is not as if the Preacher didn’t go down without a fight. He took all that wisdom and used it to find meaning. He looked for it in pleasure, which he did not pursue like some reckless fool. He used the greatness of his knowledge and brilliance to perfect his hedonism. First, he sought for it in drink and laughter, but what are they to compete with the despair of life. He gave himself to career. He would build great towers and homes, construct vast and plentiful vineyards, create parks of lavish beauty, and dig sparkling pools. To this he added possessions: slaves, herds and flocks, precious metals. And to top it all off, he acquired the best entertainment. All his efforts were a success. That is, except for the small detail of producing significance.
Knowledge and pleasure, career and entertainment. These are things that men live for. These are the things that we give our lives to. And for what? That is Preacher’s dilemma. What end do they bring that makes all the toil worth while? He has already eliminated two possible answers. Toil to make a difference. That is the first option. But there is nothing new under the sun. We simply live in one unending cycle of futility. Satisfaction is the second option, but the eye nor the ear are ever satisfied.
You get smart to teach and write smart things to help others be smart and do smart things, but it makes no difference. Career, you decide, is what you will devote yourself to, so that you can give people good products, better homes, food to eat, or whatever. But it makes no difference. You’re just apart of the meaningless cycle of life and so are they. All that you do is perpetuate an illusion of meaning. You perpetuate a lie swallowed only by the foolish.
So you turn to pleasure. Maybe meaning is not found in thought or work but in fun. It’s a risky venture, for we all know that fun has little chance of making a real difference. Our only hope is if the pleasure would so take us, so satisfy us, that we would be utterly consumed by it. If the indulgence was so intense that it would drive us to embrace the despair as a fair exchange for the jolt of bliss. Many have taken this path, and they all have found the trade to be lacking.
So what are you doing with your life? That is the Preacher’s question. There aren’t really that many options when you get right down to it. And there are even fewer good ones
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