In Work Matters, author Tom Nelson brings the following verses from Ecclesiastes to our attention:
So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.Nelson then goes on to comment
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, ... What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
(Ecclesiastes 2:17-18, 22-23 ESV)
The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that work in this fallen world is a mixed bag. Work is both a curse and a gift. Work greets us with both frustration and exhilaration. Our work gives evidence of our glorious creation as well as our great estrangement from God and our need for a Savior who will redeem us from sin's devastating curse. (42)
You know, I have always struggled to read the Psalms and even Proverbs. But when I come to Ecclesiastes, there is a natural enjoyment I have as those words seem to drip into my mind as honey, every one them sweet.
ReplyDeleteIs this the same Tom Nelson who wrote the commentary on Song of Solomon?
Not sure if this guy wrote that commentary ... doesn't say anything in his bio in the book.
ReplyDelete