The Futility of Labor
18 Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have [n]control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. 20 Therefore I [o]completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. 21 When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his [p]legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what does a man get in all his labor and in [q]his striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his [r]mind does not rest. This too is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and [s]tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without [t]Him? 26 For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.
Solomon would have been even more restless (v. 23) had he known what his son would actually do with the great kingdom Solomon had built. The despair which threatened to undo all his efforts would have won, but then we get to verse 24. He isn’t far off, and I’m not sure precisely what he means by “This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”
However, he follows it up with “For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” which is a really key thought here. For indeed, to see the fruit of your labor, and know that you’ll hand it off some day to someone who has not worked for it, with no way to know how they will handle it? Yikes, that would discourage anyone. Why bother, why lay up an inheritance for your kids if they might just blow it all wastefully?
Why indeed… because of the underlying principle in vv. 23-24, “it is from the hand of God.” Whatever I have, and whatever you have, it is not of our own making. I didn’t create the trees that were used to make the wood to build my house. For that matter, I didn’t even but the wood or build the house. What if you did build a house, and it was immaculate, and then someone buys it and trashes the place? You’d be pretty disgusted with them, but would you stop building houses? I sure hope not!
See, the house isn’t yours anymore, and the important part? It never was. Our task is to be stewards of the resources and gifts God has entrusted to us. In that, you can do your best, and “eat and drink and tell yourself that your labor is good.” What someone else does with it is between them and God. It isn’t our place to worry or fret about anything more than doing what God has asked with what He has given us. Be content with that, and find joy in the work that is your gift from Him.