1 There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. 2 God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.
3 A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. 4 His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name, 5 and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. 6 He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?
7 All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. 8 So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?
9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
So the preacher's bad day continues and he blames God for his mess. What little theology he has isn't very good at all. Does he really think his discontentment is because of God? Or, is it because the preacher has messed up and he is unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions? It is the latter of the two, of course, and the preacher isn't the only person to be a part of the fellowship of people who blame God for their own mistakes.
The preacher does stumble on to an exceptional bit of wisdom that all of us need to hear:
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have.
No comments:
Post a Comment