Bible Study Solomon's Pessimism

[Beetow]

.
● Ecc 6:1-2a . .There is an evil I have observed under the sun, and a grave one it is
for man: that God sometimes grants a man riches, property, and wealth, so that he
does not want for anything his appetite may crave,

Here we go with that "gift of God" thing again; but these are typically a genre of
gifts that Solomon observes "under the sun" rather than in the sphere of true
providence. Just because somebody is rich is no indication their prosperity was
engineered by God. Even career criminals, Wall Street barracudas, predatory
lenders, and corrupt politicians are often rich; no thanks to God. Some feel the
Kennedy clan is blessed-- yes they are very well off, but only due to grandpa Joe's
lack of scruples.

● Ecc 6:2b . . but God does not permit him to enjoy it; instead, a stranger will
enjoy it. That is futility and a grievous ill.

That is the classic "the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name
of the Lord" attitude. Calling any act of God "futility and a grievous ill" would
normally be considered accusing God of sin, except that in this case, Solomon
doesn't really mean it that way. To an intellectual, the concept of God is merely
academic; and an "act of God" is really no more literal than pie in the sky or the
man in the moon.

A common example of this "evil" about which Solomon spoke is someone who
worked hard all their life, saved and invested wisely, and then one day WHAM,
during a routine physical exam, their doctor shocks them with the life-changing
news they have on-set Alzheimer's. Guess where that person's savings and
investments will end up now. Yes, towards medical attention and long term care.
The health care system, and it's medical professionals, will make a big dent in their
life savings.

● Ecc 6:3-6 . . Even if a man should beget a hundred children and live many years
- no matter how many the days of his years may come to, if his gullet is not sated
through his wealth, I say: the stillbirth, though it was not even accorded a burial, is
more fortunate than he. Though it comes into futility and departs into darkness,
and its very name is covered with darkness, though it has never seen or
experienced the sun, it is better off than he-- yes, even if the other lived a
thousand years twice over but never had his fill of enjoyment! For are not both of
them bound for the same place?

One advantage a stillborn child enjoys over and above the living is that although it
never had a chance to live; it doesn't know what it missed either. In its case,
ignorance is truly bliss. The person who had the means and the wherewithal to
enjoy life, but failed to take advantage of it before they died, will suffer
unspeakable mental anguish throughout eternity for missing their chance to enjoy
life before it was too late. In that respect, the miscarried child is much better off
because it has more peace of mind than others even though it never owned
anything; no, not even so much as a name to call its own.

I knew an older man once who owned a very expensive wrist watch that he
reserved for special occasions. Well; that is short sighted if you ask me. He should
wear that nice watch whenever he gets the chance because life is so uncertain.
People should enjoy their nice things while they can rather than wait till they're at
the point of death. Life is not a do-over. You've got live it as you live it: not wait till
a more opportune moment; which, as sometimes happens, quite possibly may
never come. Carpe Diem: seize the day. People who put off living life to its fullest
till later often find out it's too late to do so.

● Ecc 6:7-8 . . All of man’s earning is for the sake of his mouth, yet his gullet is not
sated. What advantage then has the wise man over the fool, what advantage has
the pauper who knows how to get on in life?

Food and water are two things in life that, like sleep, cannot be taken just once
because once is not enough. You have to eat again, you have to drink water again,
and you have to sleep again. That is a law of life for both the stupid and the
intelligent, for both the rich and the poor regardless of age, race, religion, and/or
gender identity. No one is exempt from that law-- all are equal in those respects;
and all the money on earth can't buy people an exemption.
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Ecc 6:9 . .What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is
futility and a striving after wind.

Sometimes I think the most content people are the blind because they go shopping
with their heads instead of their eyes. People invariably buy things that are far
more expensive than what they could get by with if they had to.

* Apple Computer pioneer Steve Jobs once said: "People don't know what they
want till you show it to them."

This same weakness of the eyes will compel a boy to marry a beautiful girl who is
totally wrong for him. The Creator made women to be a man's very best friend
first, his lover second, and the mother of his children third. But some men just can't
get past a girl's looks; and as all women know, when it comes to love; men use
their eyes much better than they use their brains. They often pick a wife without
thinking because looks mean almost everything to the average man; and a
woman's personality is only secondary, if it's taken into consideration at all.

* There's currently a surplus of "leftover women" in China; not because of a
shortage of men, but because the girls put off marriage until they completed
college and their careers were blooming. Well; now those successful women are old
maids because quite a number of suitable men in China prefer to start a family with
younger women instead of those pushing 30.

● Ecc 6:10 . .Whatever happens, it was designated long ago and it was known that
it would happen; as for man, he cannot contend with what is stronger than he.

I guess you could call that attitude fatalism.

Some things really are predestined and often we just have to face the facts; e.g.
old age and death are two of life's unpleasant realities. Everyone is stuck with
debilitation and there's no use in fighting it. Menopause is another chipped-in-stone
fact of life that is just as real as the air we breathe all around us. If couples aren't
careful, and let too much time slip by, menopause will steal away their chances for
a baby.

Some people enjoy toying with death and go hiking in the wilderness all alone
and/or jump off high places with bungee cords and wing suits, and/or zip down a
snowy mountain just inches ahead of an avalanche on boogie boards and/or free
climb the vertical face of Yosemite's Half Dome. Some say people like that have a
death wish. No, what they really have is a wish to flirt with death and live to tell
about it. Their attitude is: If you aren't walking on the edge; then you're taking up
room.

Personally, I don't want to die like a fool. People who tempt fate by participating in
extreme sports are just asking to be dead and/or crippled for life before their next
meal-- and then what? Is existence strapped to a wheel chair and a respirator really
anybody's idea of fulfillment?
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Ecc 6:11-12 . . Often, much talk means much futility. How does it benefit a man?
Who can possibly know what is best for a man to do in life-- the few days of his
fleeting life? For who can tell him what the future holds for him under the sun?

* Solomon's comment pertains to a man's time "under the sun" rather than after
his death.

They say for every action there's a reaction; and that's generally true. But who can
really predict the repercussions of their decisions? In other words: when a butterfly
flaps its wings in England, does it put in motion other acts of nature that eventuate
in a typhoon in Samoa?

Life isn't like a chess game where the masters can see twelve moves ahead. No, life
is oftentimes a gamble. A young fellow contemplating the risks and responsibilities
of marriage once lamented to me how chancy it is to get married in these days with
the world in such turmoil and the economy uncertain. But I said to him: Life goes
on.

My friend realized of course that life does go on even under the extreme threats of
nuclear war, terrorism, air and water pollution, drug cartels, road rage, brown-outs
and water shortages, insane oil prices, acid rain, pandemics, activism, crime,
prejudice, drive-by shootings, global warming, unemployment, economic collapse,
and reactor melt-downs. People do manage to somehow cope and keep going.

Well, not long after that, he married his best girl; who proved to be just the right
one for him too. His pretty bride made him forget all about the dangers of lay-offs,
spiraling medical costs, and mortgage debt. My young friend never felt better in his
life. Carpe Diem
_

 

[Beetow]

.
● Ecc 7:1a . . A good name is better than fragrant oil,

A companion to that saying might be a proverb also authored by Solomon.

"Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig is a beautiful woman bereft of sense." (Prv
11:22)

Cosmetics, fashions, jewelry, hair, manicures, wonder bras, pantyhose, killer
curves, and/or Spanx and scents can't make up for a bad name. No matter how
dolled up, or shined up, nor how good a person smells; if they are a pig, they will
continue to act like a pig and be known as a pig. Better to be a plain Jane with a
sweet personality than a super model who affects everyone around her with a
witchy demeanor.

● Ecc 7:1b-2 . . and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to a
house of mourning than to a house of feasting; for that is the end of every man,
and a living one should take it to heart.

Nobody under the age of twenty-one is ever going to take that one seriously.
Birthday parties and beer busts are far more fun than funerals; although as I get
older, I tend to dread my birthdays more and more. When I was young, birthdays
were fun, and getting older was exciting. But aging is not so fun anymore. Age is
turning me into an ogre, and I can't stand the sight of myself in a mirror; especially
one of those large full-length bathroom mirrors they invariably install in motel
rooms.

But a funeral can really make one's self aware of our own mortality in a very special
way. My dad passed away in 1972, mother in 2006, my favorite nephew in 2015,
my kid brother in 2016, and my eldest brother in 2018. All those passings disturbed
me because I realized the grim reaper was closing in and picking off my kin one by
one. At 81 and diagnosed with esophageal cancer; it won't be long now till my own
number comes up and leaves my wife of 44+ years a widow.

● Ecc 7:3-4 . .Vexation is better than revelry; for though the face be sad, the heart
may be glad. Wise men are drawn to a house of mourning, and fools to a house of
merrymaking.

Those kinds of "wise men" are well known as party poopers and wet blankets. While
it's true that revelry can't make a person truly happy on the inside, it would still
seem a much better choice than one's mind dwelling upon Death. You know; it's
only natural that Solomon would believe that mourning is better than revelry
because he was a gloom-caster to begin with.

Solomon didn't even know how to have fun. The problem is; he was just too
intelligent for his own good. He really needed to get out and paint the town once
in a while, ride a pony, stroll the beach, roll the dice, joust a windmill, drop a coin
in a wishing well, go boating, dangle a worm, --anything but dwelling upon the
futility of life under the sun. No wonder the poor man was so negative!

In the movie "Titanic", Leonardo DiCaprio convinces Kate Winslet that there is more
to life than being rich, privileged, and pampered. He suggests she learn to ride a
horse like a man and learn to spit like a man. Sure: why not take off the Spanx,
lose the Silkies panty hose and Jimmy Choo heels, and try something silly like
skipping a stone across a pond?

I once heard Billy Graham say: The smallest package in the world is a man all
wrapped up in himself. Well . . amen to that! Billy was so right. And I would add
that the most unimportant man in the world is one who is totally self-absorbed.
Some people really need to get out and do a little mixing and have a good time
once in a while: break the monotony, do something stupid, get out of their rut; live
a little.

But Solomon just couldn't do it. There are some people not only fun-impaired, but
they can't permit themselves to indulge in fun. It's like a mental block-- a hang-up.
They're afflicted with fun-impotence. They feel guilty about having fun, they scorn
fun, and look down upon themselves for letting any into their lives.
_