Is Life Worth Living? A Look At Ecclesiastes

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of three books written by the wisest man that ever lived, King Solomon. He was gifted by God with great wisdom. By reading this book we have the rare opportunity to, sort of, “sit” under his teaching and learn, first hand, from his Godly wisdom.

Solomon examines the question, “Is life worth living? I think we all have asked this question sometime in our lives. In the beginning of the book, Solomon gave 4 arguments as to why life was not worth living. It was vanity. Life, under the sun (physical life without God in the picture) is monotonous, there is vanity in wisdom, wealth is futile, and death is certain for everyone and all living creatures. Then he reviewed these same arguments, putting God into the picture and found that life is worth living, after all: Instead of a monotonous life, it was adventurous, filled with unexpected challenges, occurring each in their own time and purpose. It was a gift from God and being able to enjoy it was also a gift. Even though man’s wisdom could not explain everything, it was better to follow God’s wisdom than to practice the folly of men, because He has everything in His control. Wealth could also have a purpose for the good of others and could be enjoyed to God’s glory. And, knowing that death is certain for all should motivate us to live life to the fullest and make the most of each day we have.

Solomon’s final conclusion at the end of the book is key to living life to the fullest. He admonishes us to fear God and follow His commandments.

When you bring in the good news of the gospel, life becomes even more meaningful, and it is worth living. If you know Jesus Christ as your savior, you can be satisfied, no matter what circumstances come your way, because “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” 1 John 5:12

God has given us His wisdom, His Word, to follow in our daily walk with Him. This earth is not our home, but we have an eternal home in heaven where all the labor we have done on earth is not in vain in the Lord. (I Cor.15:57-58) We need not fear death because Jesus Christ has conquered death (Rev. 1:17-18). And because He lives, we know that we shall live with Him.

Photograph: Janis sitting at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA.

Thoughts taken from the book: "Be Satisfied" by Warren W. Wiersbe

and Dr. Peter Colon's (my husband) class lectures on Ecclesiastes.