Eccl. 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

As I said last week, now is the time for living. Solomon is reminding us that God has set aside this time, this life, for us to not shrink back from the toil of life, but to live it actively, to set our hand to the plow, whatever God places in front of us to do and to do it with all of our might. Obviously this is broader than whatever employment we have or job we are doing, including prayer, evangelism, loving your family and neighbours.

One thing to make clear from the start: We need to set our works in the proper context. The gospel teaches that we are not saved by our works, but TO good works:

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. Titus 3:4-8

Now one thing I’m learning about the way Solomon thinks and presents his outlook on life, is that he leans more pessimistic (or possibly realist). This has been a challenge for me, because I am an optimist by nature. When I make an argument, I find it more natural to outline all of the positive points first, and then speak to the critical objections. Solomon does the opposite, and I’m finding it very effective. What Solomon does, is he’ll lay out a thesis statement, and then state all the problems with it first, but by the end, he’ll convince you that what he originally said is the only viable way forward, through all the trouble that may be. This isn’t a bad way to think. If you’re an optimist, and you think life is going to be all rosy, when you slam into the reality of life, you may be likely to give up. But if you’re a pessimist, or at least a realist, and you’ve gone into an endeavour with a realistic understand of all that can go wrong, then when you hit a wall, you’d more likely perhaps to be more like, “yep, I knew I’d hit you sometime.”

So let’s make a ledger this morning, a pros and cons list, and debate Solomon’s proposal: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” - Now you might paraphrase this to suit your own needs: “Why should I work hard?”, “Why get myself out of bed this morning?”

Reasons to Give Up

1. I Might Fail: It Won’t Always Pay Off (Time and Chance Happen To All)

Eccl. 9:11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

The first point on the negative side of the ledger. You may be the swiftest, strongest, wisest, smartest in your field, and it won’t matter because of worldly success comes down to timing and circumstance, time and chance. That doesn’t seem fair. It would b nice if the world was a pure meritocracy, that the harder you worked and the more you put in would automatically lead to success, but that is not the world we live in. I met a couple this week who are trying to move their home-brew operations into a full brewery in Barhaven. They might be the best brewers is the city. They may even be really good business people. And their business is still may fail. Calamity may suddenly like a trap set for fish or fowl. Now there may be a hint of encouragement here, for maybe you’re not the swiftest, strongest, wisest, smartest in your field, and you’re not going to be and there still is hope and opportunity for you to make it. That doesn’t much inspire the one who trying to put in the hard work to be the swiftest, strongest, wisest, smartest, so it goes on this side of the ledger.

2. No One Listens To Me: Even If You Have a Successful Idea, You May Receive No Credit: Solomon’s next point in the negative side is illustrated with a story:

Eccl. 9:13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. Eccl. 9:17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

Thank goodness for this poor, wise man! He saved the city! And everyone despised him for it and no one remembered him. Solomon is pointing us to the reality of power, privilege and position. You come up with a great idea to save your company money, and your boss submits the proposal with his name on it rather than yours. Let me ask you: are you motivated to keep working hard? You saved the company after all. Your whispering at the bottom of the hierarchy actually effected change - more than all of the shouting in the boardrooms, you actually accomplished something. Yet no one gives you credit. Are you still going to get out of bed the next day? Because, that’s reality. But that’s not fair! Great. You’re learning.

3. Others Mess Up My Idea: You know what may be worse than getting no credit for a good idea that works? Imagine that if by some miracle of providence you actually had one good, true, virtuous, world-altering idea. The reality is that to bring your idea into fruition, you have to submit that idea to others who will tweak it, add to it, subtract from it and execute it. Trade-offs are made, compromises reached. Solomon writes about how a little foolish destroys much wisdom.

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Eccl. 10:1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. [he’s not making a political statement - but speaking of the tug of war and opposing directions your project may take in the execution] 3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

Eccl. 10:5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

A little foolish input can derail the entire endeavour. And the reality is that in every hierarchical bureaucracy there are often people promoted about their level of competence who will take your good idea and mess it up. This even has a name “The Peter Principle”- it might be named the Michale Scott character in “The Office”. A great salesman promoted to be a terribly incompetent manager. Imagine working for that guy. Why bother trying?

4. I Might Get Hurt: You May Actually Harm Yourself:

Eccl. 10:8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. 10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. 11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.

Here’s a great reason to stay in bed. Hard work might hurt me. Obviously if I work smarter, if I sharpen my axe, use the right tool for the right job, make sure that I apply foresight to my work, wisdom may help me to succeed. The snake may still bite me when I’m not ready for it.

5. I WIll Mess It Up: We Can Do Everything Right and Be Sunk By Our Words: The final reality of work that Solomon puts on this side of the ledger, is that we might do everything right and still meet it up for ourselves because we are not able to control our tongue.

Eccl. 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. 14 A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?

Conclusion: 15 The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.

We expend so much energy in life, toiling away, and we hit all these frustrations, and we can’t find our way around them. Isn’t it better to give up?

Reasons Not to Give Up:

1. People depend on you

Eccl. 10:16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! 17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunke...