With much wisdom, comes much sorrow. The more knowledge, the more grief  — such is life “under the sun” where God is absent from the picture.

In the text before us we see Solomon making a series of ‘better than’ statements, which speak about using discernment regarding the way that we should live; which, of course, is according to the will of God. 

In this text, Solomon is letting us know that there is know way to escape the vanity of our existence. There is nothing that can, or will, satisfy us. No amount of arguing or complaining will change that. This life is a short preparation for a long existence with God.

Having wealth is one thing. But the ability to enjoy it and be satisfied with it only comes from God. Because only He can give us the ability to enjoy what He has given us. At the end of the day, we need to look at God to provide for our money and to help us enjoy it. We need to ask Him for a godly attitude towards towards money so that we can discern the difference between what money can buy and what it can't so that we can steer our hearts clear of the love of money.

Solomon begins his book with a seeming litany of complaints. But as we progress we begin to see the wisdom of his thoughts across a diverse range of subjects. Now however, Solomon speaks to one of the most important applications of his book — worship. More specifically, the state of our hearts and minds when we come into the house of God. For when our hearts and minds are focused on the glory and character of God, only then will we worship Him in a manner that is truly honouring to him.

As Paul Simon said in his song I Am a Rock, sometimes it is easier to hide in your room within the safety of your womb; you have no need of friends because friendship causes pain. It is true that relationships can cause immense grief and pain. But like Paul Simon, should we become rocks and islands (because rocks and islands never cry nor feel pain)? Solomon has a very different idea. Because whilst it is true that islands don't cry or feel pain, they also do not feel joy or have the ability to laugh.

By the grace of God it is better to live in contentment for what He has given us rather than to live in envy of all that we see around us. This is the conclusion that Solomon reached while contemplating the problem of injustice, which we saw last time.

But in the passage before us, he turns to what we call the ‘rat race’. And he uses hyperbole to put across the point that envy is one of the greatest motivators for success. 

Solomon is completely right in that life is indeed filled with injustices. He is also completely right in that if this life is all there is, if we share the same eventual fate as animals, then life is indeed meaningless and full of despair.

After all, like animals, people also die. Thus, because humans and animals share the same mortality, we could say that mankind has no advantage over animals. And if this is indeed the case, then all is vanity. So how can we be certain of going to heaven and not going down into the dust?

Pursuing happiness down the road of pleasure doesn’t work — that’s what Solomon would have told the makers of the movie of ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’! Today we’ll look at several areas where Solomon tried to find happiness. But whilst all his journeys gave him great pleasure, the destination frustrated and wearied him.

‘Under the sun’ is Solomon’s way of saying that he is looking at life from a humanistic point of view. He’s intentionally ignoring God and considering life in isolation of Him. Most importantly, Solomon is saying that without God in the picture, everything is meaningless and pointless. Without God everything seems futile and a colossal waste of time. Like the proverbial hamster on a wheel, we go round and round all the time, but we don’t seem to get anywhere.