How to Avoid Dead End Living

Ecclesiastes 6

Ecclesiastes, Part 11

Solomon has brought us many places and in all of them he has found vanity, all except one. This leaves us a hint to the ultimate conclusion he will make in the end of the book, for whether Solomon has brought us to:

The courtroom and saw injustice;
The Marketplace there was imbalance;
The Highway there was loneliness;
The palace there was foolishness and lost power;
In riches there was neither security, happiness, or contentment but often oppression, frustration, and DEAD END LIVING.

Solomon has seen the monotony of life and the futility of wealth.
Everywhere Solomon has looked has brought him to a dead end, all except one place. Where was it? Where did he look and not see vanity? In the worship and fear of God. Fearing God is not vanity!

In chapter 6, however, Solomon again sees the futility of life. He is living in a fog. All his journeys have led to a dead end. How can we elude dead end living?

1. SEEK RIGHTEOUSNESS, NOT RICHES! v.1-6

Notice how Solomon compares a rich man with a baby born dead. In verse three he speaks of an "untimely birth" and then verses 4-5 he talks about that little baby born in stillness.

What can cause a man to have it all yet not enjoy what he has? How does Solomon compare a rich man with many children to a baby born dead?

What good are riches without enjoyment? Solomon paints a picture of a man who has labored his whole life so that he needs and wants nothing, yet he does not have the power to enjoy what he has. He has money, he has a huge family, 100 children, he has lived for 2,000 years, and he has lived many years, but he has "seen no good" (Ecc.6:6). In other words, he did not live a life based on doing right. Therefore, he did not enjoy his wealth, and the 100 children cared not for him. He was born in vanity and he departed in darkness, or no one cared for him at the time of his death. Solomon says that a baby born dead (an "untimely birth" in verse three speaks of a baby born dead) is better than a rich man who has no one to bury him! Verses 4-5 refer to the still born child. The baby is born uselessly and departs in darkness and never sees the light of the sun, but at least has more rest than the rich man who does not enjoy his wealth and then dies without receiving any respect! Then, both go to the same cold grave where their flesh goes back to the dust. Once they are in the grave, who is better off? Is this a common problem? YOU BET! What can cause a man to have it all yet not enjoy what he has?

1. DEATH or DISEASE, Luke 12:20

2. DOMESTIC PROBLEMS, Prov.15:16; 17:1
Proverbs 16:8 says, "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right."

In other words, seek righteousness, not riches, because riches in themselves will not provide contentment, security, or true happiness. Righteousness will bring peace. They are soulmates, like humility and happiness. "Righteousness and peace have kissed." Psalm 85:10.

Many make plans to live it up, and think they need riches to really enjoy life, they need everything in place, and all their problems solved. We don't need to plan to live, we can start living now, because righteousness is available right now, through Jesus Christ! He is our righteousness! You don't need to think, well, if I get married, then I can really begin to live, or when I have children, life will be satisfying. NO, the truth is, if we live a life of practical and positional righteousness, we will be living!

2. GRASP REALITY, NOT FANTASY! v.7-9

Read verse seven and ask: Does a man labor for his mouth alone? Is Solomon's perspective proper?

What does Solomon compare in this verse. What is the difference between the sight of the eyes and the wandering of the desire? How do we set goals and have dreams? What if those goals are not realized?

There is an old familiar saying, "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." Many people think that to really enjoy life their fantasies must be realized, and so they never attain satisfaction. Solomon is saying, It's better to have little and really enjoy it than to dream about much and never attain it. It is better to enjoy what you have than think that you will enjoy what you do not have. If we do not learn to enjoy what we have, which is a gift from God, then we will never enjoy what we do not have.

It is not wrong to dream great dreams and attempt great things for God. But we must enjoy what we have and not be constantly disappointed in all we don't have. Contentment is a gift of God, that ability to be self-contained, needing nothing from the outside. As believers we can be content because we have the indwelling Christ! Christ is all I need!

Those who seek only riches and live only by fantasy and dreams will find a dead end. There is a third essential to avoid dead end living,

3. WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT! v.10-12

The British poet, Joseph Addison said, "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for." Do we not have all this in Christ?!

Now, faith is not fantasy. Faith is founded upon what is written, not what we see. Our faith is founded upon the Rock, the life of Jesus and the Word of God! We need faith to deal with the great questions of life:

Verse ten is a difficult verse to unravel, but it has the idea of this: Who is in control, God or man? Does man try to fight against God? What men in the Bible fought with God and lost?

A. GOD IS IN CONTROL:

The idea of verse ten is this: God is sovereign and has determined all that comes to pass a long time ago! Even what man is has been known by God. Man may want to be in control, but he is not, will not, and will never be. It is also a known fact, that down through the centuries, many have fought against God, and all have lost: Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, and Herod, who was eaten of worms. God of course, is the one and only in control. Is.45:9, "Woe to him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands." Many do contend with God, they fight against Him. But he is in control. We must accept that by faith.

B. GOD KNOWS WHAT IS BEST:

Who can tell you what decisions you ought to make in a difficult situation, or what direction you ought to go? God has a will for our lives. Jesus said His Father's will was His meat, or satisfaction. Is your satisfaction the will of God? True success is finding and doing the will of God. We must walk by faith to live this out! Paul asked, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

C. GOD KNOWS WHAT IS NEXT: v.12b

God knows what will be after him under the sun. There is life beyond this sun. There is heaven, with streets of gold, and mansions beyond compare, with foundations of all precious gems. God knows our future, our day tomorrow, and He knows all the way to our day of death! Let us walk by faith, and not by sight.