Do you ever wonder why we work so hard? Solomon did. He looked at the world and saw people toiling away, using their skills. And you know what he found? We work because we envy our neighbors. Yep, he said it’s all about keeping up with the Joneses.
Solomon wrote, “I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a person and his neighbor. This too is futility and striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:4). He called it vanity and a waste of spirit. Harsh, right?
But there’s more. He also said that people who don’t work “eat their own flesh,” meaning they slowly use up what they have until there’s nothing left. So, according to Solomon, you either work out of envy or you don’t work and starve.
Even if you become successful, Solomon warns that it only brings trouble. He says it’s better to have less and live a quiet life. It sounds pretty cynical, doesn’t it?
I grew up learning the value of hard work. My parents ran their own business, and I pitched in from a young age. I mowed lawns, shoveled driveways, and did all sorts of jobs. Hard work was just part of life. But as I grew older and ran my own small business, I felt the same vanity and frustration Solomon talked about.
Everything changed in my forties when I became a Christian. Suddenly, my work had a new purpose. The Bible teaches that our work has eternal value. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Friends, it doesn’t matter what job you have. As Christians, our work is a mission field. It’s our chance to show Christ in everything we do. Your job has a higher purpose beyond just making a living. It’s about serving God and others.
So, why do we work? Not for envy, not for mere survival, but for a greater purpose. Let’s remember that and find true meaning in our daily toil.