God is Greater Than…Work: The third trap to consider is thinking that pursuing a life of work accomplishments or career achievements – the productive life – will lead to lasting meaning and satisfaction. But is this true? We were made to do good work, but work can become a trap if it becomes our main source of identity and security. Recorded on May 15, 2022, on Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, by Pastor David Parks.
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This message is part of our “God is Greater Than…” sermon series. There are several common traps that human beings have fallen into for thousands of years. Traps of believing that certain pursuits are satisfying enough to take the place of God in your life. But in the end, these pursuits reveal themselves to be ultimately meaningless and lead to a hollow and deeply unsatisfying life. Our series will examine the traps of pursuing pleasure, wisdom, work, and wealth before coming to the conclusion that God is greater than all.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re focusing on, The Greatness of God. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series called “God Is Greater Than…” And we’ve said that there are several common traps that human beings have fallen into for thousands of years. These traps are traps of faith, of believing that certain pursuits are big/important/satisfying enough to take the place of God in your life. But in the end, these pursuits lead to a life of hebel, the Hebrew word translated as meaningless; ultimately, these pursuits lead to a life that is hollow and deeply unsatisfying. Our series will examine the traps of pleasure, wisdom, work, and wealth before coming to the conclusion that God is greater than all, and it’s only in him that life has meaning/significance which will last forever. Today, we’ll consider the trap of pursuing a life of work, of accomplishing more and more, something we might call the productive life. Now, again, how could it be such a bad thing to be a productive person?? How could the pursuit of a good job or a fulfilling career become a trap? If you have a Bible/app, please open to Ecclesiastes 2:17.
Ecclesiastes 2:17–26 (NIV), “17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. 24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
In this series, we’re assuming that King Solomon is the author, which means that Ecclesiastes was written almost 3,000 years ago. And we’ve said that King Solomon decided to go on a journey of discovery. He went on something like a quest to understand everything that is done under the sun — a phrase that means basically everything done in this broken world apart from God. And he did this in order to find out what, if anything, is truly meaningful, what among all the possible activities really matters in life — what really gives us meaning under the sun? He considered the hedonistic life, a life of pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. Then he considered the intellectual life, a life of pursuing more and more wisdom and knowledge. But neither way of life brought lasting meaning. What did he try next? Look back at v. 17.
Ecclesiastes 2:17-19 (NIV), “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.” Let’s pause here. So next, on this journey of discovery, King Solomon considered his vocation/work, we might say his career. According to the Bible, work can be in the home or outside the home. It can be paid or unpaid. But what did he find? He found that this too was hebel, meaningless, a vapor or breath. And what did Solomon do for work, again? Of course, he was the king of ancient Israel, but he also happened to be the king at the height of Israel’s power and influence in the world. But then, Solomon was not content to simply rule over the nation he was given by his father, David. We saw a few weeks ago that Solomon also did many building projects. He built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem for the worship of Yahweh God. He built a palace for himself, orchards, pools, and many other things. Solomon oversaw a huge trading empire as well. He had a fleet of ships that ran trade all over the Mediterranean region and became extremely wealthy. Additionally, because of his God-given gift of wisdom, he served as a consultant to many other kings and queens of other kingdoms. Whatever anyone had at the time, Solomon had more. He was maybe one of the most productive on the planet at the time. And yet what was his assessment of all this productivity? It’s not very uplifting, is it? I hated life. Why? “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?” You work and you work and you work. You build and you scrape and you spend your blood, sweat, and tears, and what do you get in the end? The knowledge that someone else will end up with everything you’d done or built. And who knows what they’ll do with it?? If they are wise, then maybe they’ll take the work or the company or the project forward. But if they are a fool, then maybe they’ll squander everything you worked so hard to achieve. This too is meaningless. v. 20.
Ecclesiastes 2:20-21 (NIV), “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.” Part of the problem with a life spent in the pursuit of productivity, a life of career, is that it just takes so much work to become good at anything. Usually, it takes years and years to build your knowledge in a particular field (teacher, sales, electrician, or even being a mom or dad). And then it takes years more to hone the appropriate skills for that field through experience. And then it takes years more to accumulate the wisdom that comes with a mastery level of performance or credibility in any industry. King Solomon knew these things. He knew how long it took to build “wisdom, knowledge and skill” and he certainly achieved all three. But he didn’t experience the satisfaction or meaning that he was looking for. It still seemed like it was all for nothing since no matter how much wisdom, knowledge, and skill you might earn, you still will one day be gone, in another position, or maybe retired, but either way, you’ll leave your work to someone who didn’t toil for it as you did, who didn’t earn it. And again, you can only hope that they’ll be wise. v. 22.
Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (NIV), “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.” Another problem with a life of pursuing your work/career, the productive life, is that it takes such a mental toll. Not only is it often physically exhausting to work (I like the word toil, it just sounds like sweat is involved.) but then it’s also mentally exhausting. Solomon describes this as both anxious striving, as grief, and pain, and it keeps you up at night. Even at night, their minds do not rest. Have you ever had a hard time sleeping with something going on with your work? I have. But what comes of all this anxiety and sleepless nights and grief and pain? Love, joy, and peace? A life without worries or cares? No! We’re still in this broken world, trying to figure out how to survive in this life under the sun. But what can we do? Is this just how it is or is there a different way to work? Is it only ever grief and pain or is there something more? Let’s finish with v. 24.
Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 (NIV), “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” So two things to mention quickly here. First, Solomon isn’t now taking up the hedonistic life in place of the productive life. Eat, drink, and be merry is the slogan of the life of pleasure, but here, Solomon envisions the pleasures of life being a gift from the hand of God. And that God is the source of provision and of joy. So this isn’t the hedonistic life under the sun, this is a redeemed view of a life of pleasures. In light of the fact that a life of pursuing advancements and achievements in your career will not bring lasting or ultimate meaning and satisfaction, don’t be afraid to stop working from time to time to enjoy the pleasures of life. The second thing to mention is that v. 26 is a proverb. That means that this is the wisdom of how life works in general, not a guarantee of how life will work. Sometimes godly people, people who please the Lord, have successful careers and are able to build up their wealth. But sometimes ungodly people do the same. And other times, through their fault or through no fault of their own, godly people just are not able to get ahead in their vocation or in their finances. But in general, the one who loves the Lord and seeks to obey him and follow his way in life is one who is able to find success in many areas of life. Responsibility/faithfulness in one area of life tends to increase your responsibility/faithfulness in all areas of life. And to the one who is responsible and faithful, very often, more will be given. But in all these things, Solomon is discouraged. He’s down. “I hated life,” he says. He describes his work as labor and toil, as filled with grief and pain. He found that it does help to enjoy the pleasures of life. But still lands in the mindset that just about everything he worked to accomplish in his life was hebel.
But is this true? Does it really not matter to God how we work or what we’re able to accomplish with our careers in or outside the home? I really don’t think that is true. So how do we, as followers of Jesus, how do we think about our work or approach our careers today? First, as in the last few weeks, we must see how this way of life can be a trap. Why is it such a tempting thing for people, for us, to make our work/career something so big and important that it starts to take the place of God in our life? Before I continue, I’d like to share with you or remind you about my work history. I haven’t always been a pastor. I didn’t dream of being a pastor when I was a kid. But for the past 11 years, I have been a church planter and pastor, and I’m so grateful to the Lord for his calling on my life. But before that, I was in sales and sales management for about 7 years at a tech company. And I loved that work. I loved the industry and I loved the people and I loved the strategy and payoff of selling to big companies. Before the calling to vocational ministry, that’s what I thought I was going to do with my life. But before the business world, before that, I was in a touring rock band for 4 years. The band started with guys I had known since middle school. And we loved to write and record music and tour and build up our fan base. Throughout my life, I’ve done all kinds of things for work, I’ve cleaned bathrooms and I’ve stocked pop machines. I’ve made sandwiches and pizzas and delivered the Bargain Bulletin on my bike. I love to work and I love to work hard and I love to see the fruit of my work. But the truth is, for so much of my life before I became a pastor, I really didn’t have an understanding of how my faith impacted or intersected with my work. As a result, this is really something that is near to my heart for you. I do not want you to miss this. Why? Because our work is what we spend the majority of our waking hours, for most of our lives, doing. And if we fail to make the connection between our faith and our work, then our faith will have a huge blind spot in our lives. And in the years that I’ve worked as a pastor, I’ve talked with so many people about what you do for work and how you think about your work and what the struggles are with your work. My conclusion, based on both my experience with faith and work and from my conversations with you, is there are two main reasons why our work or our productivity becomes a trap for us. First…
Work can become our main source of identity. What’s typically the first thing that people ask you when they meet you? (And what do you do?) Why do people ask that question so quickly? Why not first ask about where you grew up or who your family is or if you’re a Packer fan or not? Maybe in Green Bay, the order is a little different, but I think we go so quickly to the “what do you do” question because what we do for work (again in or outside the home, paid or unpaid) goes so deep down to the core of how we see ourselves and our identity. This is especially a problem for our culture. The US is the most productive country in the world, as measured by GDP, by quite a bit. We’ve been the main source of innovation and technological advancement in the world, at least since WWII. We get stuff done. And we pride ourselves for our productivity. So the productive life, a life of pursuing work and a career above everything else, is one of the easiest traps for us to fall into. It’s the water we’re swimming in. It’s all around us every day. But when your career is the main thing that defines you, your main source of identity, this is not good. This is not a stable identity. It’s just not big enough. After all, King Solomon reminded us that no matter how much wisdom, knowledge, or skill we have in our work, we will not be able to work forever. And if we can’t work, maybe there’s an accident, or maybe we get sick, or maybe we just physically can’t do the work any longer and need to retire…then what?? Do we lose our sense of self? Many people do. Human beings were meant to do good work. Work was in the garden of Eden before the fall to sin. And God has created us to do good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do. But our work was never meant to define us. Only God can do that. Only our creator God. Only our Father in heaven can give us an identity that can never be taken or shaken, that is to be a child of God through faith in Jesus. It doesn’t matter what might happen in our careers, good, bad, or ugly, nothing can take away our identity in Christ. Second…
Work can become our main source of security. Just as work can become our main source of identity, so can our work become our main source of security. This does touch on the issue of wealth. Because, to a certain degree, the more wealth and resources we have, the more stable our lives tend to be. If an emergency comes up, and you have money in savings, that is a very good feeling. But next week, we’ll deal with the trap of wealth, so we won’t say much more about that here. But Solomon wrote, “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” And he agrees with what the rest of the Bible envisions for life in this created world where God is a living and active creator who is involved in providing and sustain the lives of the creatures of his world. Besides the trap of letting what you do become who you are, the other trap is confusing your career for your creator. It is our Father’s world, and life wouldn’t exist without him. Every breath is due to his provision. Every blessing in life is a gift of grace from his hand. Our work is the usual means by which God provides for us, but we must not confuse the vehicle of the provision with the provider himself. If God wanted to provide food directly from heaven, he has before and he would again, I’m sure. But most of the time, he chooses to provide through the natural laws and processes of human life. Should we work hard and get a good education and try our best to grow and improve our wisdom, knowledge, and skills in our work? Of course. This would be one of the ways we could bring glory, honor, and praise to God, and could provide very well for ourselves, and bring wealth and other resources to be a blessing to other people in the world. This is a very good thing. But is our work a good replacement for God our creator? Of course, not. The Lord is our refuge and our strength. The Lord is our protector and provider. The Lord is God and our career is not. So refuse to fall into the trap of work, the trap of the productive life. You are so much more in Christ than what you do. And you have such a better source of security in the one who didn’t even withhold his one and only son from us. One who moved heaven and earth to save us from sin and death. Put your hope in Jesus. Look to him to find your identity and your security. Trust in him. He will never leave you or forsake you. Let us pray.