Ecclesiastes 4.2, 3

²Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.
³Yet, better than both is hewho has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The Story:This bit of hyperbole should not be taken literally; after all, Solomon wants to hold out the hope that even those trapped in an “under the sun” existence can find their way back to God, just as he had. But his point is clear: life under the sun, from a merely “secular” perspective, is filled with pain and sorrow, so much so that one is better off dead or never having been born. We see this same sentiment expressed in our own day, for example, in young parents who determine not to have children because they “don’t want to bring a child into this hard, evil world.” Those who commit suicide or turn to euthanasia in one form or another also testify of their belief in what Solomon here asserts. Hopelessness and despair are the logical outcomes of believing that there are no eternal verities and no absolute truths or values by which to live. Happily, while some philosophers may trumpet such “ideals”, most people choose to live as if something else were true, as if life really mattered, even if they can’t explain why they do. Made in the image of God, they can do no other (Rom. 1.18-32; 2.14, 15).

The Structure: The French existentialist Albert Camus represented this view of life. Life is absurd, Camus insisted. It makes no sense, has no purpose, and isn’t worth living. Nevertheless, men must fight against absurdity, as if they and their lives really mattered. The story of Sisyphus, condemned to roll a huge bolder up a hill, only to have it roll back down on him each time, was the commanding myth for Camus. His view is echoed in scientific naturalism and postmodern theory. The Christian worldview exposes the inconsistency of claiming that there is no purpose to life, and then living as if that weren’t so, and points to the explanation both for why men live this way and how they may know life as it is meant to be “under the heavens.”

Ask some of your friends what they understand the purpose of life to be. Where did they get their ideas? Do they seem to be living consistently according to their beliefs? Or are they “borrowing” from a Christian worldview in order to make their lives make any sense at all?

Each week’s studies in our Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For this week’s study, “Frauds, Follies, and Fleeting Joys: Ecclesiastes 4,” simply click here.

T. M. Moore

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.