Ecclesiastes 4:5-6 Fools fold their hands
and consume their own flesh.
Better is a handful with quiet
than two handfuls with toil,
and a chasing after wind.
The writer of Ecclesiastes (possibly Solomon) was not a happy guy: or at least not in a happy mood when he wrote this book. Probably the most common phrase in the whole book is "I saw that this also is vanity and an unhappy business." He basically goes through all the things that people spend their time and their energy on and says that it's a bunch of vanity and chasing after wind. I don't disagree with him, but I kind of just want him to lighten up a little bit.
In the passage above, he's talking about all the time and energy that we humans spend working and trying to get more stuff. He's just said that all work comes from one person's envy of another. We work because we want something that we see someone else has. A promotion, a better office, a car, a vacation home. There's truth to that. Perhaps there's something to the sentiment that "better is a handful of quiet than two handfuls with toil." Maybe we need to learn to rest and be happy with the gifts that God has already given us. Maybe.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
For more information about all of the ministries of All Saints, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org To share your story or your responses to this devotional, visit http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
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