The Lucky Ones
Ecclesiastes
4 starts off with a really hard teaching.
Okay, it doesn’t start off too bad.
Solomon realizes that the oppressed really don’t have much of an
advocate. That’s true – and
unfortunate. But then Solomon realizes
that the oppressor doesn’t have an advocate either. Who is really going to step up to someone
rich and powerful and tell them that they are wrong? Won’t most people fear becoming the next
victim if they step out of line like this?
So Solomon arrives at the conclusion that the dead are more fortunate
than the living, because their time on earth is completed. Then Solomon arrives at the hardest teaching
of all: the unborn are the most fortunate because they haven’t had to be a part
of this world.
Now don’t
get me wrong. I hear what Solomon is
saying. This is a world that is full of
the effects of sin. This is a world
where corruption reigns supreme. You
can’t live in this world without feeling the unfortunate effects of sin. So from that perspective I can completely buy
into what Solomon is saying. Better to
not feel the effects of sin at all than to feel them for a long time.
However, I
don’t also want to get sucked into the depressive state that such an
understanding can bring about if we take it too far. God created this world and called it
“good.” Yes, we screwed it up and sin
entered the picture and there are parts that are not good. But we can still see God in each other and in
the world around us. God desires us to
enjoy seeking Him in creation! So while
I can agree that the less time spent under the oppression of sin is better, I
can also say that if we live life genuinely focused on God our perspective will
be such that we can deal with the unfortunate effects that sin has on our life
in this world.
Solitude
Then
Solomon moves on to speak about the vanity of working alone. Sure, it is true that when I work alone I get
all the glory to myself. As a human, I’m
going to confess that I can be a little like that self-monger who loves the
glory. It’s nice to succeed and know
that the success was “all because of me.”
But the more I talk about it in this paragraph; can you not hear the
set-up for vanity coming about? I set
myself up completely to become wrapped up in how great I am. I set myself up to become addicted to the
praise of others – eventually needing more and more praise to feel just as
satisfied. It is a vicious and vain
circle.
However,
working with others is not necessarily so vain – although vain dynamics can still
be brought in if allowed. If I have
other people, I can learn to recognize their gifts rather than assert my
own. I can learn to help exhort other
people in using their skills rather than sit back while people exhort me. If I stumble, someone is there to help catch
me before the errors of my ways drags me too far down. If things are going poorly, then another
person can be there to help me see the bright side and game plan a way to
happier times.
There is
much benefit to cooperation and teamwork rather than self-mongerism. As Solomon says, two will stand together and
a cord of three is not easily broken. When
we learn to stand together we are able to resist this vain world much more
easily.
Station and Status
The last
paragraph in this chapter may seem to be about youth and the elderly, but it is
really about status. The old and foolish
king may think that everyone adores him because of his status. But the reality is that people don’t rejoice
in the status of another. They might try
to get close to a person of status, but they do so only to attempt to raise
their own status. Think about it. Why do we want to see celebrities and get a
picture of them? We do it so we can say
to everyone else, “I was this close to so-and-so.” Or we do it so we can get a picture with them
and convince ourselves that we must be important. Or perhaps we are hoping that out of their
wealth and status they will bequeath something upon us. No, people don’t rejoice in the status of
others for the sake of altruism. People
rejoice in the status of others for the sake of their own status. When a person’s status goes down, many of
those who once “stood with them” will seek greener pastures.
However,
the poor wise youth has no status. That
youth won’t have to deal with people being his friend for all the wrong reasons. He won’t have to worry about when he’ll drop
out of favor. He has his wisdom and can
live his life accordingly. Status is
something about which the poor but wise youth will never have to worry about
being caught in the trap of vanity.
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