The Futility of Success

The Futility of Success
Ecclesiastes 6
“ A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.”
Solomon knew the abundance of wealth. In 1 Kings 10:14-28, we read that the gold Solomon received in one year was approximately 25 tons. In today’s prices, it would be equivalent to around 5 billion dollars. There was nothing that he desired that he could not have. In this chapter, he is not bemoaning the futility of wealth, not as an outsider, but as one who had obtained it. He had achieved all the wealth that one could imagine, and it led him to one conclusion: that the pursuit of wealth did not bring happiness; rather, it was a pursuit of what was meaningless and a severe affliction.  

The reality of life for both the poor and the rich is that death ultimately comes, and no amount of wealth can free us from its grip. Even if a person lives for 2000 years, death will still come knocking on the door, and in the end, all the wealth we accumulate is worthless in the face of death (verse 6). When financial success and pleasure become our goals, they become unattainable, for no matter how much we have, we will always want more. Solomon is not condemning wealth as if wealth itself were evil. Rather, he is reminding us that things are not always as they seem. We look at a person who has all the earthly wealth one can attain and assume they have the life we wish we could achieve. However, he reminds us that things are not always as they seem. A person may have all that we think is necessary for the good life (wealth, children, long life) and still be broken and unhappy. This is because there is a difference between success in life and the enjoyment of life. Both wealth and contentment are gifts from God, but they are not inseparably interwoven. When a person attains wealth without God’s gift to enjoy that wealth, it becomes a source of emptiness and futility. As he does throughout the book, Solomon confronts us with the paradoxes of life. What we often see as the basis for enjoyment in life can become a curse. As we read through the chapter, we are left with the question:  If wealth and power are not the basis for the genuine enjoyment of life, then what is?  

Throughout the book, Solomon continues to examine the aspects of life we consider essential and necessary, and he leads us to the same conclusions. In the end, all these things are nothing more than the pursuit of the wind. Is there any hope or basis for the enjoyment of life, or are we destined to run on the never-ending treadmill of searching for an answer? He does not answer the question he raises until the end of the book. It is only at the end that he provides the answer. The key to the enjoyment of life, whether rich or poor, is the fear of God. The key to life is not found in the pursuit of the things of this world. The key to life is found in our obedience to God and our worship and praise of him. Still, 3000 years later, we have not learned his lesson. We still get caught up with the pursuit of success and wealth, only to stand at the end of life feeling empty and cheated. Solomon confronts us with the question:  What are we pursuing in life? Anything apart from God is the pursuit of the wind.