Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
At which he toils under the sun?
What has been is what will be,
And what has been done is what will be done;
And there is nothing new under the sun!
Eccl 1:2-3,9 RSVCE
By Chris D’Souza –
Have you ever woken up in the morning and muttered, ‘Hmm, another day, same grind! What’s the use of getting out to work?” Let me be honest. I have.
Qoheleth, the writer of Ecclesiastes probably felt like a statue or tree that has witnessed hundreds of years of cyclical, seasonal monotony. We might even accuse him of flirting with cynicism, maybe even despondency. But that is just how we know that the Scriptures are both accommodative and practical.. They deal with real people displaying real feelings and emotions in a real world filled with both joy and sorrow. Our God comes and meets us at the very point of our experience – our valleys, plateaus or peaks…. The Bible doesn’t present a rosy picture or fake the experiences of its characters. It helps us reckon with our reality and offers us the grace to change.
Qoheleth is trying to make the point that that trust in one’s own ability to discover existential meaning in life apart from God will inevitably lead to bitterness, cynicism, and hopelessness. As the philosopher Immanuel Kant pointed out – we perceive reality through our own experiences and thoughts. Here is where we can ask the Lord to straighten out our perceptions and then align them to the point of reflecting His own….. This is what will bring about the shift in paradigm – from a world-encrusted focus to a God-facing one. And this is just what the Psalmist did. He begins by dwelling on the swiftness of this life almost as an affirmation of the message of Ecclesiastes.
He observes the same repetitive patterns in nature and mulls over the transience of material things. However his quest lands him at the feet of God – in prayer and petition acknowledging Him as the Source of hope and fulfilment. This ignites a spark of hope. ‘Each morning fill us with your faithful love, we shall sing and be happy all our days’ (Ps 90 v14).
Yes, we have a real world with real frustrations to reckon with. But to match it we have a Real Saviour who triumphantly said, “I have overcome the world!” To bring meaning to our work, let us reflect upon and imbibe the words of St. Paul “ Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Col 3:23).
Prayer: Lord, whatever the state of my emotions and perceptions today, give me a heart of wisdom to take the long range view. Help me see value in the work that you have blessed me with and determine to fill up each day with positive motivating thoughts and offer You the best I can with my heart, mind and hands. In Jesus name, Amen.
Chris D’Souza is Director at Lead Strategic Development Pvt Ltd. which is affiliated to Lead International. He can be reached at: [email protected]