“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? … I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil — this is God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25; 3:12-13).
I recall hearing a story about a builder who specialized in high-end custom homes. After a number of years being very successful, he decided to take a break. He and his wife would travel around the world, being gone for six to nine months.
Before he left, he turned to his trusted foreman and said: “Here are some blueprints for a house I would like you to build while I’m gone.” He had that kind of confidence in him. “I’ve left sufficient funds in the bank so that you can make draws as you need to get the material.” And so with the owner gone, the foreman, even though he was faithful and trusted, decided that in those things that couldn’t be seen, he would skim a little bit, and he would just pocket that extra money.
And so he used lesser expensive and lower quality materials where they couldn’t be seen, but good materials for the things that were exposed. And when the owner came back, he walked through the house and he was very impressed because all he saw were the quality things, the things that were exposed. And he turned around to the foreman and said to him as he walked out the front door, “Here are the keys to the house. I want to offer this to you as a gift for all of your faithful service to me.” What a surprise! He wasn’t expecting that at all!
The Gift of Work
This is really what God expects of us. He has turned the keys over to us — the blueprint, if you would — of what we are to do and to enjoy. Even though we are in a fallen world, nonetheless we are to recognize how important it is to do good, because we were created for that purpose.
In Ecclesiastes 2:24, we read:
“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This, too, is from the hand of God.”
And then, in Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, it’s almost the same wording:
“I know there is nothing better for men than to be happy and to do good while they live, that everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all of his toil. This too is a gift from God.”
The Goodness of Creation
Now it’s interesting that the word “good” is the same word that is used in Genesis 1 to refer to what God saw on each day of creation. At the end of the first day, he said: “It is good.” And at the end of the second day: “It is good.” And then at the end of the sixth day: “It is very good.” And it’s the same word here.
What God has done is a model for us as His created beings. God is the one who created all things. He brought His creation into being and it was all good. And so God purposed not only to make what he created good, but he also did the same with us as human beings. We’re made in His image and we’re made from the dust of the earth. And that is good and it’s right.
So even though sin has come into the world, we still have and enjoy the goodness of the Lord, and can follow that in what we do, even though it is toilsome at times.
Here’s a free translation to try to capture the essence of what this text is saying: “There is nothing good (some use the word “beneficial” or “right”) for man than that he should eat and drink and that he shall find satisfaction (or “good”), that he may do good in all of his life. This is from the hand of God.”
And then in Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, we find it repeated again. “I know there is nothing as good, that is, “better,” than to rejoice (that’s a word of praise and worship) and to do good while they live. And also, every man should eat and drink and see what is good — that what he is doing is good, and all the toil that he does — “because this also is a gift of God.”
The Goodness and Grace of God in Our Work
Here’s the point: Just as God enjoyed His creation, and just as God looked at it and declared “good,” so we are to engage in the work that we do, and see it as good. Even though we are fallen creatures, and it’s a cursed world, we are still able to do good in the work and enjoy it, because this is from the hand of God.
Paul, as he urges the Colossian Christians to be faithful in their lives, says:
“Whatever you do, work as it were with all your heart and working as for the Lord, not for man. It is the Lord Christ Jesus whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-34).
And so, we are called to follow Him and to do good and to enjoy all that he has given to us. So as you work, see it as good, just as God saw His creation as good, and that is from the hand of God.
About the Author
Dr. Dominic Aquila is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary. He has over thirty years of pastoral experience, most recently serving for twelve years as senior pastor of Kendall Presbyterian Church in Miami, FL. In 2006, he served as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly. He has served as a seminary professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Miami, FL, and Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. He has served as a Dean of Students and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at a number of seminaries. Dr. Aquila has served on numerous boards for Christian schools, a college, a jail ministry, pro-life ministries, and home missions, and is a prominent leader in the PCA.
Acknowledgements
Featured image photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash