The other day I decided to read Proverbs since I’ve never
read through the whole thing. Well, Solomon is my new favourite bible
character. I was already a big fan after hearing about his prayer for wisdom
years ago, but Proverbs blew my mind.
Anyway, next thing I know, I’m done. I had somehow read
through all of Proverbs in one sitting, but even stranger is that I wasn’t
done. I still wanted to read more, so I began reading Ecclesiastes all the
while praying that it wouldn’t depress me, but that I would be able to see the
beauty behind it. Big surprise, God was faithful.
Ecclesiastes is the most freeing and inspiring piece of
literature I have ever read, and I haven’t stopped writing “and this too was
meaningless” on every surface since.
You read through Proverbs and hear all about the importance
of wisdom and how to achieve and act in it. It’s a loving letter from father to
son, king to prince, to pass along much of the wisdom that Solomon had acquired.
And then comes Ecclesiastes.
Opening with “Meaningless! Meaningless!” you quickly catch
on that this book is rather different from the last. I’m not going to explain
the whole thing to you (mostly because I think you should read it yourself,)
but I absolutely loved it for three main reasons.
First, it’s beautifully written. While I’m not much of a
poetry enthusiast, I love some good, classic literature. But, I
always forget what a beautiful book the bible is. There’s some pretty dang good
stuff in there.
Second, it’s how I think. There’s much comfort in know that
you’re not “the only one.” A lot of the thoughts in Ecclesiastes are things
that I’ve wrestled through, and it’s extremely encouraging to know that I’m not
the only one who’s felt this way.
Lastly, it’s freeing. After reading Proverbs, you feel a bit
of pressure to do better, to stop being an idiot. Proverbs equips you to be
wise and make wise decisions, but then Ecclesiastes take off the pressure. Yes,
being wise is great, but in reality, when you get to the end, it’s meaningless;
it’s just a bonus. If you’re dumb sometimes, like me, it’s okay. If you screw up sometimes, like me, it’s okay. If you don’t have the answer sometimes, like me,
it’s okay. Most of what we do in this life is meaningless, so take a chill
pill.
I think this is one of those things that can’t be understood
solely through words; it’s one of those ideas that just hits you, and you suddenly
get it. Once you do, it’s so freeing. I have nothing to lose in risking it all,
so I’ll live this life to the full. I’ll do crazy stuff that a younger me would’ve never expected. I’ll try, and often fail, at things that will blow people’s minds.
Maybe I’ll change the world, maybe I won’t, but I’m not too worried about it. After
all, this too is meaningless.
I denied myself nothing my
eyes desired; I
refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labour,
and this was the
reward for all my toil. 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.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
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