TCN's Biblical Journey - July 3 - Everything is Meaningless!?

 Today's readings are Proverbs 28-31 and Ecclesiastes 1.

Everything is Meaningless!?

  I must admit that I am not a fan of Ecclesiastes. It is one of the most depressing books in the Bible. The reason for this is found in the phrase “under the sun,” which shows the perspective from which this book is written. The perspective is from a man without God and it is pitiable.

So, what does this depressing book do for us?

I believe it gives us insight into the lie: “if I only had more, did more, if I was smarter, if I had no unfulfilled dreams then I would be happy and content.” Solomon had everything a person could want, and this is his writing. Solomon had it all and in this first chapter he sums it up in the term, Meaningless (or vanity).

So why is this book even in the Bible?  

One thing we find in the Bible is honesty. It is honest about its heroes and the people who are supposed to be serving God. It was honest in Proverbs about the way creation was intended to run, and here it is honest about how life actually looks. Without God and God’s heavenly perspective, life is meaningless. 

I wish I could be encouraging about what you are going to read, but I doubt you will be. However, it will give you the truth of what the world looks like without God. It may even give you insight into why people who seem to have it all kill themselves or do wicked things. 

I can't leave you on a downer. Life isn't just what we see. There is a God and a heavenly perspective. There is hope for life is more than what we see. 

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash