Part 2 of 3
In our previous article, we looked at the four sections of Ecclesiastes 10:8-11:6. We saw that life is uncertain and accidents can happen, foolishness is to be avoided because it leads to destruction, good rulers are a blessing but bad rulers are a curse, and risk and uncertainties ought not to deter one from investing.
In this article and the next, we want to learn four lessons from this text.
Four Lessons
First, we ought to work hard even in light of life’s uncertainties.
As Christians, we ought not to be paralyzed or incapacitated by the fear of the unknown. Yes, accidents can happen as we go about our daily lives and labours. And yes, we do not know how the future will unfold and if our particular labours will bear fruit or not. Nevertheless, we are not to be foolish and do nothing. The preacher speaks of the foolish farmer who will never ever get any farming done as long as he keeps worrying about the weather and how it will affect his seedtime and his harvest.
We don’t know if our labours will bear fruit in a particular area but we do know for sure that if we do nothing, nothing is going to happen. There is no reaping without sowing.
In our Lord’s parable of the talents, recorded in Matthew 25, the master entrusted his three servants with varying amounts of money to take care of and manage. The first two servants were faithful and fruitful in their use of the master’s money, and they were both commended and rewarded when the master returned.
The third servant, however, was unfaithful and unfruitful in his management of the one talent, which was actually a very large sum in those days. And so on the day of reckoning, the master said to him, “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.”
This third servant was afraid that if he invested the money, he might lose it and so he decided to hide it away and do nothing with it. That was a foolish thing to do, and he was rebuked and chastised for that. Notice how the Lord called him a slothful or lazy servant.
Uncertainties in life ought never to be an excuse for inactivity and idleness. That may be the way of some unbelievers but that is not the way of God’s people. And that is especially so in the work of Christ’s kingdom.
Christ calls us to a life of faithful and diligent service in His kingdom. He calls us to invest our lives, our talents, our efforts, and our resources in things of eternal value, and to do so while we have the time and opportunity.
The farmer who keeps waiting for the perfect weather before he does anything is foolish because not only will the perfect weather or season never arrive, but in the meantime, he is wasting his time and allowing valuable opportunities to slip away – opportunities that will never come again.
Furthermore, by failing to work hard, he will miss out on God’s blessings for his life for God has ordained that His blessings come to His people ordinarily by means of faithful and diligent labours.
Chapter 10 verse 18 tells us that by much slothfulness the building decays and through idleness of the hands the house leaks. This principle of blessing through hard work is really rooted in creation. If Adam and Eve wanted to continue enjoying the beauty and blessings of the garden, they had to work hard at cultivating and tending it. This was the case even before the fall and the entrance of sin into this world.
It’s true that we now live in a fallen and broken world, but this principle of sowing and reaping continues to operate.
So the first lesson from our text is simply this – work hard for the Lord in every area of life and especially in the work of His kingdom. Do not delay or procrastinate. Nothing will be accomplished unless you do and the time to work is now. Work while we can because the time is coming when we will not be able to do so. Or as our Lord Himself said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
But always remember that all our hard work and industry is not ultimately for ourselves but for the Lord. We are not seeking to build our own kingdom or to make a name for ourselves. We are seeking the glory of God and the building up of Christ’s kingdom.
Second, in light of the uncertainties of life, we ought to take wise precautions and labour prudently.
This lesson is hinted at in quite a few verses of our text. In chapter 10 verse 10, we are told that the person who does not sharpen his knife or axe will have to use more effort to get the same job done. Then in the next verse we learn that the failure to use one’s skill at the right time may lead to disastrous consequences like a snake charmer being bitten by a snake. In verse 15, the preacher observes that the fool is exhausted because he is ignorant even of something as simple and as necessary as finding his way home.
Then in chapter 11 verse 2, we are essentially advised, in light of the uncertainties and risks involved, to diversify our investments and resources, and not put, as it were, all our eggs in the same basket. And finally in verse 6, we are told to plant our seeds both in the morning and in evening since we do not know which batch will germinate and produce the food that we need. This verse carries both the idea of hard work as well as the idea of working prudently and wisely.
Christians are called not just to work hard but to work wise too. Again, this is true not just of our work in the world but of our work at home and in the church as well. Of course, we are not to adopt unbiblical methods and ways of doing things but rather we should seek to increase in our understanding and application of God’s word, and seek to work within its boundaries.
I’ll like to highlight just two principles here for our consideration. First, it can be very helpful to seek the wisdom and counsel of other brethren in the work of the Lord. Often, while we are doing the work, we do not realize that our own knives or axes have become blunt, and are thus not cutting as effectively as they can, and they need sharpening.
Twice in the book of Proverbs, Solomon tells us that there is safety in a multitude of counselors (Prov. 11:14, 24:6). It’s helpful to stop and evaluate ourselves from time to time, and to invite others around us to help us in our evaluation. And we should be humble to accept their critique and counsel.
Then another principle we can draw from this text is that of flexibility and diversity. There are often several ways of doing things and we should be willing and open to utilize them rather than to be fixated on just one way. The preacher speaks of giving a portion to seven and even to eight, that is, diversify your investments and efforts in light of a lack of information about the future.
As long as the word of God has not revealed to us exactly how we should go about something or that there is only one right way of doing it, I believe we would do well to allow for flexibility and diversity.
Now working wisely does not mean that accidents won’t ever happen or that there won’t be any setbacks, failures or unexpected outcomes. There will be as long as we’re living in a fallen world. This leads us to a third lesson, which we will consider in our next article.