©Michael Player
Chapter 4:1-6 (ESV) - Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
Question to consider: In what way does envy of neighbor motivate someone to work and increase in their skill?
My business once had a customer who was using an antiquated mainframe computing system to host their online store (despite my efforts to get them to change). They became particularly busy during the Christmas shopping season, and their website slowed to a crawl and frequently crashed. I mention this because they once received an email from a shopper who wrote that it took the “patience of Job” to order from their website. One of the employees who was trying to convince the owner to let us update their system forwarded this email to the owner and copied me on it. I laughed at the comparison because I pictured this person meeting Job for coffee and listening to Job’s devastating tale, nodding in agreement and saying, “I know just how you feel, Job. I once had this online shopping experience…”
It is similarly cringe for Solomon to write about the oppressions done under the sun when he was king of Judah and could actually have done something to lessen them. Instead, he perpetrated oppression in the building of the temple and his palace, and he indulged in every pleasure and amassed great treasure while many suffered and experienced poverty.
However, we must remember that Solomon was speaking generally in terms of life under the sun. Even if he did not experience the trials of Job or Jeremiah, he could recognize the truth of their lamentations. If there is no resurrection of the dead, and if there is no eternal justice, it is better not even to be born than to experience the ongoing oppression of this world.
Solomon saw oppression arising from toil, and toil arising from envy of our neighbor. His philosophical statement reminds me of the fictional corporate raider, Gordon Gekko, who said, “I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them. The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you.” (from Oliver Stone’s 1987 movie, Wall Street)
The person who “folds his hands” instead of toiling ultimately starves (eats his own flesh), and the workaholic who toils with both hands ends up making his life all about work and ends up dying alone. Of course, if life is strictly defined by our time under the sun, both laziness and toil are meaningless vanities.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for giving us abilities and purpose in this life, but let our time of work be something that brings You glory. Let us not be consumed with worldly pursuits but find rest in the hope of eternal life through Christ. Amen.