Life is more complex than good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people, something that may have been consistent with the general view on life at the time of the writing of Ecclesiastes (it certainly is a philosophical world view that is prevalent in many cultures today). A revelation in this strange, Biblical book, is the fact that life is more complex than that. Life is a concept that develops from the abstract, moving to the practical outcomes, and culminating in leading us to finding meaning in a divine God. The questions through which this revelation is found outlined by Ecclesiastes, questions written well over two thousand years ago, are the same questions many of us are asking today.
Within this framework the author views human beings living in a world that is in every way out of human control (a rallying cry for our own generation). Nothing that people do or have is ultimately lasting. All things that happen in the world are confusing and incomprehensible. Yet, in all of this, Ecclesiastes acts almost like an observation tower, reflecting on the people and the world in which they lived. They were preoccupied with all sorts of social and economic issues, much like us today. Although they were confronting new economic possibilities and perils, the real issues that they faced were, in fact, nothing new (Ecc. 1:9-10). Others had already wrestled with life’s inconsistencies, contradictions, and absurdities. People in every generation and every place had always been, and always will be, caught in a world that is beyond human control. In such a world, Ecclesiastes proclaims the absolute sovereignty of God, who freely gives and freely acts. How much more does that apply to us today? Some of us feel like we are jelly fish, caught helplessly in the tide of life, with little or no control.
In summary, what Ecclesiastes is saying is this: enjoy all the material things of the world. There is nothing wrong in that. They are gifts from God. However, remember that these things cannot last forever nor can they give real lasting happiness. The purpose and meaning of life cannot be found in any of these things. So, acknowledge God as the source of all enjoyment; He alone can give meaning to life; He alone can give eternal significance to our lives. That in itself brings joy and eliminates any sense of pessimism.
Posted by down2earth 
