PENnED

Read: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

Everything that this guy (“son of David, king in Jerusalem,” 1:1) said in this passage–indeed in all of Ecclesiastes–should be read in view of his conclusion in chapter 12:  ¹³ Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind     

When we do, then we get the idea that everything we do should be done in awe of a good God whose good commandments we should keep, and a God who “will bring every deed into judgment” (12:14). And when we do, then everything becomes not meaningless. Indeed, as Christian believers, everything we do becomes meaningful when done to the glory of God. “So,” as the Apostle Paul told believers, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Life is meaningful when lived according to its purpose.