Ecclesiastes 2:15-26
It is true what the author said in the passage. Everything we do under the sun is vanity. All the hard works we have put out and toils we have experienced leave us nothing in the end. If we are to think only the end results, we would find that all our works in this world is vanity, because we will eventually depart from this world and leave behind everything that we have earned. Moreover, the author reflected to himself that he would eventually leave all the good works he had done in toils to his successor, who might be incapable of handling them. If we only consider that end itself, it is true that in the end we have not done anything because nothing lasts forever. However, I realize that there are at least two reasons why we should still live and give our best in life, although we know that all will perish in the end.
First, do not see the end products as the motivation of our work. See God as the motivation of our life! When we do everything for Him, all things seem to make sense. God does not ask the end products, He asks for faithfulness, perseverance, diligence, patience, and thanksgiving. God knows that the material results will perish. Moreover, He is the Creator and the Owner of the whole universe, so why would He need our works when He can do better than we do? But, what He wants is characters, values, attitudes, and faith. If we start each day with this kind of mindset, we can do anything without being bored, distressed, or hopeless, because we know that our works are not to yield the results at the first place, but to praise God in Heaven.
Second, related to our work for God, we work not merely to pill up wealth, gather skills, receive benefits, become famous, seek honor and respect, collect rewards and praises, or other things that the author of Ecclesiastes had described as vanity at the end of the day. Indeed, if we work for these worldly things we will realize about the vanity of our life soon or later. But, we should work in order to build our characters, to give other people opportunities to feel love and experience comfort, to make this world a better place to live until God comes again, and to make ourself useful to others, to the world, and to God. If we have these ambitions behind every work that we do, we will not see our works as vanity. Our body may decay, but our spirit with our characters and faith remain. The gifts we give to others might not last, but the experience of being loved and cared for last forever. It may even lead people to God. So, it is wisest to pursue these higher purposes.
Let's do our 'homework', not worrying what we can get from doing it, but what we can contribute through it. Learn to give rather than receive, and be thankful!
