“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the grave), where you go.” (v.9)
Just weeks before he was to collect a $1.5 million inheritance, a 43-year-old Australian construction worker died when a wall fell on him. Witnesses said the backhoe operator had taken shelter from a brisk wind when a brick wall collapsed on him.
This may be the kind of untimely misfortune that caused Solomon to wonder about the futility of life (v.2). He knew that we face uncertainty throughout our lives (v.12), and that security seems impossible to come by. So Solomon concluded that if we are wise, we will live for the moment. Yet living only for the moment was not Solomon's ultimate resolution to his dilemma.
Eventually he came to realize that there is only one solid foundation for living with uncertainty. After facing his own sins and distractions, he concluded, "Fear God and keep His commandments" (12:13). That's the only wise way to live for the moment--realizing that God will give eternal value or loss to everything we are now doing or thinking (v.14).
While it is certain we can’t earn our way into heaven by doing good works alone, we can bring a little heaven to earth, by doing all the good we can in life.
The Truth: “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)
Just weeks before he was to collect a $1.5 million inheritance, a 43-year-old Australian construction worker died when a wall fell on him. Witnesses said the backhoe operator had taken shelter from a brisk wind when a brick wall collapsed on him.
This may be the kind of untimely misfortune that caused Solomon to wonder about the futility of life (v.2). He knew that we face uncertainty throughout our lives (v.12), and that security seems impossible to come by. So Solomon concluded that if we are wise, we will live for the moment. Yet living only for the moment was not Solomon's ultimate resolution to his dilemma.
Eventually he came to realize that there is only one solid foundation for living with uncertainty. After facing his own sins and distractions, he concluded, "Fear God and keep His commandments" (12:13). That's the only wise way to live for the moment--realizing that God will give eternal value or loss to everything we are now doing or thinking (v.14).
While it is certain we can’t earn our way into heaven by doing good works alone, we can bring a little heaven to earth, by doing all the good we can in life.
The Truth: “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)
