Work is Good, but it Ain't Everything
Work is Good, but it Ain't Everything
Ecclesiastes 4:4-12
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The Workin' Man's Blues
Merle Haggard sang about “the Workin’ Man’s Blues,” and that could be Solomon’s theme song today.
He shows us three kinds of “vanity” in the workplace. In 4:4 he sees the envious. They get after it. They even pick up a couple of side-hustles. They accomplish a lot and make a nice living. But they’re not very happy. Why? They are driven by envy. Chasing some ideal lifestyle they think everyone else has—this car, that house, those trips. They may be 'successful,' but they’re exhausted, dissatisfied, and eyeballing everyone else with jealousy.
In 4:5, Solomon watches the bum. He doesn’t envy anybody—but he also doesn’t hit a lick at a snake! He just folds his hands while everyone else works. This is also foolish: he has nothing to eat himself, and nothing to share with anyone else! The rest of us have to keep him up!
Finally, Solomon sees the workaholic (4:7). He never stops. He burns the candle at both ends to squeeze in a few more hours, make one more dollar, and get a tiny edge. We admire his work ethic after watching the bum! But the workaholic is so driven that he neglects all his relationships. His home is in shambles. His wife leaves him. His own kids are strangers to him. He has no real friends. Talk about the Workin’ Man’s Blues! With so many ways to go wrong with work, how can we work wisely and not in vain?
He shows us three kinds of “vanity” in the workplace. In 4:4 he sees the envious. They get after it. They even pick up a couple of side-hustles. They accomplish a lot and make a nice living. But they’re not very happy. Why? They are driven by envy. Chasing some ideal lifestyle they think everyone else has—this car, that house, those trips. They may be 'successful,' but they’re exhausted, dissatisfied, and eyeballing everyone else with jealousy.
In 4:5, Solomon watches the bum. He doesn’t envy anybody—but he also doesn’t hit a lick at a snake! He just folds his hands while everyone else works. This is also foolish: he has nothing to eat himself, and nothing to share with anyone else! The rest of us have to keep him up!
Finally, Solomon sees the workaholic (4:7). He never stops. He burns the candle at both ends to squeeze in a few more hours, make one more dollar, and get a tiny edge. We admire his work ethic after watching the bum! But the workaholic is so driven that he neglects all his relationships. His home is in shambles. His wife leaves him. His own kids are strangers to him. He has no real friends. Talk about the Workin’ Man’s Blues! With so many ways to go wrong with work, how can we work wisely and not in vain?
Work is Good
First, work is good, so enjoy it (3:22). Work—whether you collect a paycheck for it or not—is part of your “lot” as a human being. God made you to work because he created you in his image (Gen 1:26–28). And in Genesis 1, we meet a God who loves to work. God formed a plan for creation, he executed that plan over six work days, and then he stepped back to take satisfaction in what he had done. God made us to do the same thing!
Whether you are wiring houses, balancing the family budget, mowing the lawn, writing a sermon, potty-training a two-year-old, teaching English, baking a cake, or grooming a poodle—when we work, we reflect the image of God. This is why work, even with all its frustrations on this side of the Fall, can still be so satisfying! Work can fill us with a sense of accomplishment and dignity and worth, because we are doing what God made us to do. So why not enjoy it? Whatever your hand finds to do—even if it’s not all that exciting, doesn’t show immediate results, or doesn’t pay much—do it with all your might, do it unto the Lord, and do it with joy. Work is good!
Whether you are wiring houses, balancing the family budget, mowing the lawn, writing a sermon, potty-training a two-year-old, teaching English, baking a cake, or grooming a poodle—when we work, we reflect the image of God. This is why work, even with all its frustrations on this side of the Fall, can still be so satisfying! Work can fill us with a sense of accomplishment and dignity and worth, because we are doing what God made us to do. So why not enjoy it? Whatever your hand finds to do—even if it’s not all that exciting, doesn’t show immediate results, or doesn’t pay much—do it with all your might, do it unto the Lord, and do it with joy. Work is good!
But it Ain't Everything
But work also ain’t everything (4:6)! Like all of God’s gifts, we can easily make work an idol. We can worship our work. We can look to work to do for us (supply our needs, give us meaning and purpose) what only God can. Like all idols, work will just keep demanding more and more but is never able to give us rest for our souls. This is why we have to constantly put work back in its place! Remind yourself regularly that work can never satisfy the deepest longings of your soul. Only God can! So make sure you are making time for God, both privately and in public worship with your church. Also, while hard work is so admirable, only God can work 24/7! We have to rest from our labors, to remember that we are not God! “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.”
So Clock Out
So work hard! But then clock out at 5 if you can and leave your job at the fencepost with the Lord. If 'the competition' works till 7—let them! Make a little less and eat supper with your family. Then get some sleep. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses (they aren’t happy either). Learn contentment in Christ. Work is good, but it ain’t everything!
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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church
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