4 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. 2 So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. 3 But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
4 I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is [a]vanity and striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.
7 Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. 8 There was a certain man without a [b]dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.
There are a couple different things going on here. We see the oppressed in the first few verses, but then Solomon shifts again to pitfalls of labor and striving. As king, Solomon surely saw plenty of oppression, and perhaps even felt a little guilt if he had been the oppressor at times. Though he was wealthy and could be generous to his subjects, we know he had slave labor at times (1 Kings 9), and that at least some of his subjects felt his reign was a “heavy yoke” (1 Kings 12).
Either way, he saw their tears, and that no one lifted a hand to help them or comfort them. While I think we probably do better, we would do well to be goaded by Solomon’s words in the following verses. He effectively says that it would be better to be dead or to never exist than to be in the place of one oppressed. Instead of allowing that to be reality, we should look to the oppressed in our culture, and ask God what He would have us to do “comfort” them.
That may be making a meal for someone who just had surgery, it may be helping out at a food bank (working or making donations), it may even be foster parenting or adoption. We often have more blessings than we realize, and it doesn’t take long to find someone who is worse off than we are–someone who could use our help. Listen for God’s voice, and let His compassion fill your heart.
This leaks over a bit into the following verses, as Solomon decries the evil of rivalries and endless striving. As it was in his day, too many focus on rivalries and competition in their work. Whether it is the company you “compete” with, or the coworker who wants the same promotion you do, it is easy to lose empathy for those people and see them as mere “collateral damage”.
Should we not strive for more, work hard for a better job? Certainly not, but Jesus’ example teaches us to serve, not to be served (Matt. 20:28, Mark 10:45). If you earn a promotion, or more business in so doing, fantastic! Yet do not be consumed by this striving, keep your eyes on the goal. The ultimate goal is serving God, but the poor sap in v. 8 had no goal at all.
He was burning the candle at both ends, with no time for pleasure or rest. Instead, Solomon tells us it is better to have balance, with “one hand full of rest” rather than “two fists full of labor”. Sometimes, you may need to work hard, even extra hard, if you’ve dug yourself into a hole. But what is your goal, why are you working so hard? Find your why, and then it will all be worthwhile. Even better, seek God’s “why”, and let that guide you every step of every day. Serve others with love and compassion, and stay far away from envy and strife.