"6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honour, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered.5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoyno good—do not all go to the one place?
7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?"
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
The question that this chapter asks us all is, 'Does our life have meaning?' This is not to ask whether our life is humdrum, for a humdrum life - as we use the term - can be very meaningful indeed. It is a great mistake to suppose that life has to be full of thrills and excitement in order to be meaningful. Indeed, the craving for excitement can itself be an evidence of an inner disorder. Susannah Wesley's life was very humdrum - it could hardly have been anything else with the large brood of children she brought up, but it was a very purposeful life, and who shall estimate the sheer worth of it in spiritual and eternal terms? There are many such unsung heroes of the faith, whose lives have been in the sight of God of incomparable worth. The wonderful thing about the Christian gospel is that it saves us into meaning. To be separate from God robs life of all meaning, because He is the source of all meaning. And to be saved from sin is to be saved also at the same time from meaninglessness and therefore despair, and into Purpose. This is why Ecclesiastes is regarded as a book which points forward and leads on in thought to the coming of the Christian gospel. And it is when we come to an end of ourselves, in the sheer vanity and emptiness of life, that we are ready to receive the message that alone can deliver us from such despair.