Stones Hill Community Church

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 NIV

1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: 2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil. 3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. 5 Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man— 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place? 7 Everyone’s toil is for their mouth, yet their appetite is never satisfied. 8 What advantage have the wise over fools? What do the poor gain by knowing how to conduct themselves before others? 9 Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 10 Whatever exists has already been named, and what humanity is has been known; no one can contend with someone who is stronger. 11 The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone? 12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

Solomon is textbook midlife crisis: growing older, can’t sleep, stagnate career, mediocre marriage, lack of purpose, a few health problems, and a lot of regrets. When a majority of these ingredients join together, the stage is set for a crisis.

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More specifically, watch out for the unlucky thirteen says Don Anderson:

1.The recognition of the approach of old age, and an increasing desire to avoid it;

2.A sense of boredom after twenty to twenty-five years of marriage;

3.A severe feeling of sadness and loss over the fact that the children are grown and about to leave home;

4.A decline in physical health—the heart palpitates occasionally and the body lugs around extra pounds;

5.Job security threatened by younger workers or computer replacements;

6.Failure—especially the recognition that there are unrealized personal and professional goals which may never be met;

7.Success—(ironically) which has proved unfulfilling, not “all it was cracked up to be”;

8.A consuming thirst to get rich;

9.A perceived need for new challenges, experiences, and opportunities;

10.A desire to search for real meaning and purpose in life, coupled with a feeling of futility concerning present activities;

11.Weariness regarding hassles and responsibilities;

12.A fierce longing to escape gnawing problems and instead start over in life, making a new beginning;

13.The absence of an intense desire to walk with God and to know Him more intimately. When several of these thirteen circumstances exist simultaneously, even in varying degrees, then you have a very real emotional, physical, and spiritual pressure cooker. Like other men in crisis, Solomon’s perceptions about life have changed. Our overcommitted lifestyle, misplace values, neglect of God, and lack of knowledge about His ways finally catch up with us, as we are tested for unworthy goals.