Dear Church,

EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS

Have you ever dreaded reading some of the chapters in the Bible? I must confess I have. There is this book, Ecclesiastes which I seldom pay attention when I spend my quiet time reading the Bible. It's not my favourite book in the Bible but I just read it so that I can continue reading the rest of the Bible. Maybe I do not understand what Solomon was writing about or I was just ignoring what he has to say. The first few verses of Ecclesiastes are not pleasant and will certainly dampen a reader's mood. Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless (NIV).

I often ask myself how everything can be meaningless. If everything is meaningless then there is no need to work, no need to enjoy life and have a family. All of us might as well be "inactive" because everything done under the sun is meaningless. You have to serve God full time to find any true meaning in life. But, this is not the way things works. So these few verses must be for those who have a calling in their life and not for me.

Wrong. I had recently finished reading Ecclesiastes again and this time I was blessed. Coincidently, my wife also had completed reading the book and she was blessed too. What happened? We found that everything is still meaningless but with a few caveats. In Ecc 8:15, Solomon in fact recommends joy and contentment as encouragement for us as we live on this earth. We must learn to accept each day as it comes and also to learn to take pleasure in what God has given us. While all of us will die (Ecc 9:2), Solomon says we must enjoy life as God's gift while we are still able to because the future is so uncertain (Ecc 9:7-10). He further wrote that you should live joyfully with your wife for those who are married.

But God has to be there. Without God, what we have from wisdom to riches is nothing. Praise the Lord. Wisdom without God is meaningless. Riches without God is also meaningless. When God uses what little we have, be it wisdom or riches, it becomes all we could ever want or need. So, there is no need to strive aimlessly as God can still use us to serve His divine purpose as long as we love Him.
What about risk and opportunity in life? Should a Christian lead a sedentary life because everything is meaningless? Certainly not! In Ecc 11:1-5, Solomon says that life is full of opportunities and we must learn to seize them, not merely playing it safe. Just because life can be uncertain does not mean that we should do nothing about it. We need to learn to trust God and put our faith in Him in life's pilgrimage. There is no such thing as perfect timing or conditions (Ecc 11:4). If you are still waiting for the perfect church, you will never be able to find one. If you are waiting to join a perfect ministry in church, you will never serve.

Solomon also advocates us to seek God. A life without God will result in bitterness, loneliness and hopelessness. A God-centered life is fulfilling because there is hope of eternal life. Solomon further said that we should make our strength available to serve Him when we still have it. Do not waste it on meaningless activities that can become bad habits. In Ecc 12:6-8, the Bible tells us that we should appreciate life as a precious resource to be use wisely given the fact that death can come to us suddenly and unexpectedly.

In conclusion, Solomon encourages us that we should enjoy life but we still have to obey God's word. While recognizing the evil and injustice that surround us in life, we are not to be dismayed but maintain a positive mind-set towards life and build a strong faith in God.

In the last two verses of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 12:13-14), Solomon in all his wisdom said that those who do not have any purpose or direction in life should fear God and keep his commandments. Those who think life as unfair should remember that God will judge every person's life to determine how he or she has responded to Him and he will bring every deed into judgment. Everyone will have to stand before Him and be judged for what they did in life.

Ecc 12: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Verse 14, For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (NKJ)

Serving Him with Delight,

Chow Quee Iee
Deacon/Treasurer
River of Life Sanctuary

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