The Futility of Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my [n]mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is [o]a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 14 I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is [p]vanity and striving after wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I [q]said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my [r]mind has observed [s]a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my [t]mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
Solomon was in a unique position, as king, and also in having all the wisdom and wealth God had given. For one to have so much, and yet come to this conclusion would seem pretty hopeless. Verse 15 especially stands out in the middle, and gets right to the point.
In all the things we do, we try to make things better, to fix broken things, and set things straight. We attempt to teach others, and increase our own knowledge, to make a better society. Many strive to increase their situation in life, to try and find fulfillment and contentment. Whether it’s a newer, better car, a bigger house, more land, more efficient equipment at work, etc.
Yet we never run out of “crooked” things to straighten, and there’s no counting the things we still lack. Get that new car, and then what? There’s always something else, something more for which to strive. And if this is the purpose of our striving, if all our work, and all our effort is just to gain more, and to fix what is broken, it’s a pretty endless cycle.
In the middle of it all, however, there can be more, and there are two things about our work and striving that are redeeming. First, when we work to serve others, we begin to fulfill our purpose on this earth. God didn’t put us here to be self-centered and self-serving. If we look at the example of Jesus, he came to serve others, and that’s a model worth following.
In that, we find the second thing, which is that we work to fulfill God’s call on our life. I don’t mean that we must all be missionaries or preachers, but God built each of us with a plan in mind. He knew it from the beginning, and it should be our pursuit to find His plan and walk His path, to play our part in something that is much bigger than ourselves.
So then, on it’s own, our work can be vanity and chasing after the wind. But bring God back to the center, and focus on the people you serve, and things begin to get a lot clearer. We were made with a purpose, and to fulfill that is nothing to sneeze at. Serve God and serve others with your whole heart, holding nothing back, and you’ll have enough at the end of the day.