By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
In 1979, director Ivan Reitman directed the comedy “Meatballs,” a story about counselors in training at a camp in Canada.
The movie was a breakout hit for Bill Murray, the comedian who would go on to star in movies like “Ghostbusters,” “Stripes,” and “Groundhog Day.”
The movie features a famous rant by Murray to inspire campers from the fictional North Star Camp in their athletic competition against rival Mohawk Camp, which they are losing by a large margin after the first day. Murray begins to chant, “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!” Soon, the campers pick up on the chant and scream it to the top of their lungs.
Several thousand years before Bill Murray’s rant, someone else came to the conclusion that so much in life “just doesn’t matter.”
His name was Solomon. A lot of you know he was the son of King David – you know, the one who slew Goliath, who wrote many of the Psalms, and who got in trouble for messing around with the wife of one of his leading military men.
A lot of you know that Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem. He was considered the wisest and richest man of his generation. He is credited with many of the sayings in the book of Proverbs.
And yet…
Solomon reached a point in his life where he essentially said, “it just doesn’t matter.” He called it by other words – depending on the version of the Bible you read, he used words like “vanity” or “meaningless” to describe what his life had become.
In fact, Solomon opens the book of Ecclesiastes, which he is generally credited with writing, with these words:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)
Later, he calls all things “wearisome” (1:8) and that “there is nothing new under the sun.” (1:9)
Solomon tried to gain meaning through acquiring wisdom and knowledge, only to conclude this was “chasing after the wind.” (1:14, 17)
Then he tried to gain meaning through work, through accomplishment, through pleasure.
“I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well – the delights of a man’s heart.” (2:1-8)
But in 2:11, Solomon writes “when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Many of us, maybe not even consciously, have defined ourselves by the work we do. How many of us have come to a place where we have worked hard, put in the overtime, sacrificed time with our families, because we wanted to build our careers and provide for those we love? We worked for the bigger house, the car or truck with all the bells and whistles, the boat, the vacations, the healthy retirement fund.
And then when we get the bigger house, the car/truck, the boat, etc. – sometimes we are left asking questions like “is that all there is?” We ask “does it matter?” Is all we’re doing meaningless, a chasing after the wind?
Don’t get me wrong. Work, I believe, is a good thing that God gave us when He created humanity. However, I believe some of us have made work an idol and have made acquiring stuff an idol – to the detriment of our faith and to our families.
I believe God gave us a rhythm of work and rest – starting with creating the heavens and the earth and all living things over six days, then resting on the seventh day. One of the Ten Commandments handed down from God to Moses says we are to take at least one day off from our labors a week – we call that Sabbath, which is the Hebrew word that literally means “to cease, to stop working.”
So, what really matters?
You were created in God’s image. You have immense, unmeasurable value simply because you were created in the image of your Creator. You are loved beyond measure. God demonstrated that love for us in that even though we are often a mess because of our sin, Jesus died for us so that we could be reconciled to God. You don’t have to work to earn God’s love for you.
Solomon closes out Ecclesiastes with a reminder to us: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (12:13b-14)
That is the stuff that really matters.
Zeeland Record
In 1979, director Ivan Reitman directed the comedy “Meatballs,” a story about counselors in training at a camp in Canada.
The movie was a breakout hit for Bill Murray, the comedian who would go on to star in movies like “Ghostbusters,” “Stripes,” and “Groundhog Day.”
The movie features a famous rant by Murray to inspire campers from the fictional North Star Camp in their athletic competition against rival Mohawk Camp, which they are losing by a large margin after the first day. Murray begins to chant, “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!” Soon, the campers pick up on the chant and scream it to the top of their lungs.
Several thousand years before Bill Murray’s rant, someone else came to the conclusion that so much in life “just doesn’t matter.”
His name was Solomon. A lot of you know he was the son of King David – you know, the one who slew Goliath, who wrote many of the Psalms, and who got in trouble for messing around with the wife of one of his leading military men.
A lot of you know that Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem. He was considered the wisest and richest man of his generation. He is credited with many of the sayings in the book of Proverbs.
And yet…
Solomon reached a point in his life where he essentially said, “it just doesn’t matter.” He called it by other words – depending on the version of the Bible you read, he used words like “vanity” or “meaningless” to describe what his life had become.
In fact, Solomon opens the book of Ecclesiastes, which he is generally credited with writing, with these words:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3)
Later, he calls all things “wearisome” (1:8) and that “there is nothing new under the sun.” (1:9)
Solomon tried to gain meaning through acquiring wisdom and knowledge, only to conclude this was “chasing after the wind.” (1:14, 17)
Then he tried to gain meaning through work, through accomplishment, through pleasure.
“I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well – the delights of a man’s heart.” (2:1-8)
But in 2:11, Solomon writes “when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Many of us, maybe not even consciously, have defined ourselves by the work we do. How many of us have come to a place where we have worked hard, put in the overtime, sacrificed time with our families, because we wanted to build our careers and provide for those we love? We worked for the bigger house, the car or truck with all the bells and whistles, the boat, the vacations, the healthy retirement fund.
And then when we get the bigger house, the car/truck, the boat, etc. – sometimes we are left asking questions like “is that all there is?” We ask “does it matter?” Is all we’re doing meaningless, a chasing after the wind?
Don’t get me wrong. Work, I believe, is a good thing that God gave us when He created humanity. However, I believe some of us have made work an idol and have made acquiring stuff an idol – to the detriment of our faith and to our families.
I believe God gave us a rhythm of work and rest – starting with creating the heavens and the earth and all living things over six days, then resting on the seventh day. One of the Ten Commandments handed down from God to Moses says we are to take at least one day off from our labors a week – we call that Sabbath, which is the Hebrew word that literally means “to cease, to stop working.”
So, what really matters?
You were created in God’s image. You have immense, unmeasurable value simply because you were created in the image of your Creator. You are loved beyond measure. God demonstrated that love for us in that even though we are often a mess because of our sin, Jesus died for us so that we could be reconciled to God. You don’t have to work to earn God’s love for you.
Solomon closes out Ecclesiastes with a reminder to us: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (12:13b-14)
That is the stuff that really matters.
