Musings on Ecclesiastes Chapter 4...

The chapter starts off by talking about the rat race of this world - how the motivation to work and succeed is often as ignoble as to win the next person - "... labour and achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbour." This never-ending competition, how can it create any contentment or satisfaction? There will always seem to be someone better than us, no matter how hard we strive. Is it worth all the striving and heartache and sweat?

The next 2 verses seem to contradict - it's a fool who "folds his hands and ruins himself", but yet it's better to have "one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind", i.e. it is better to have less than more. But is it really a contradiction? Would it mean rather that yes, we do and should work hard, but we also must learn to let go and be content when we reach a certain point? Of course, easier thought than done.

Next few verses talk about the value of companionship. The world speaks about individualism, but the Bible here is clear - "two are better than one", because we are human and hence falliable; the best of us will fall at least once. But when we do, what matters is not just personal strength, but having people around us who love us enough to be patient in pulling us up and encouraging us to keep on keeping on. It may have become a cliche, but it's still true - man cannot stand alone. We're just not created to.

Last few verses talk about teachability. No wonder Jesus said that one can only enter the kingdom of God as a child - because children continue to be open to new things. The older we grow, the deafer we get to advice, guidance, suggestions... the harder we adapt to change. It's clear here - it's not about how pure our bloodline is, what kind of circumstance shrouds our childhood or even where we are today. It is better to be a "poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who does not know how to take warning".

I find the last verse particularly sobering - even if the wise youth were to prove himself to the people he became king to, the future generations to come may still "not be pleased with the successor (i.e. the youth)". Goes to show that it is this - striving to please everyone or prove something to everybody - that too is meaningless, a chasing after of the wind.