It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”. . . . So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! (Ecclesiastes 9:3–4, 7)
Solomon presents to us, in these verses in Ecclesiastes 9, the major realities that give life definition and meaning. I covered two yesterday. And the third one is tough to handle:
Evil and Insanity Reside in the Human Heart
We’ve heard about the doctrine of depravity all our lives, but not much about the doctrine of insanity, right? Honestly, have you ever seen this in Scripture before? Lurking in the human heart is a permanent mixture of “evil and insanity” (Ecclesiastes 9:3 NASB 1995). It’s enough to make shivers run up one’s spine.
You see, within the human heart there is a private polluted pool, a reservoir of insanity. You can drink from it. You can swim in it. You can be polluted by it. It’s your own private pool and everybody has one. Like the prodigal who ran wild, acted out his insanity, and finally came to his senses before he went back home. Remember the story in Luke 15? Don’t miss the part that says, “He came to himself.” In other words, he returned to sanity.
There’s a fourth reality, and like the other three, it will help immensely as we try to cope with the world in which we live. It’s the reality of hope.
There Is Hope for the Living
I’m so glad we have finally arrived at something positive and affirming—hope for the living. There is nothing quite as encouraging as hope. When Solomon says that whoever is joined with the living will find hope, it turns the tide. It brings light into an otherwise dark and dismal chamber.
Since there’s hope for the living, Solomon completes the thought with “eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works” (9:7 NASB).
What a wonderful hope for believers! We don’t have to live under guilt! We don’t have to worry each morning about whether or not God is going to club us into eternity! We don’t have to live in fear, wondering if we’re in the family or not in the family. We’re there. And we’re approved. Isn’t that great news? No wonder we can eat and drink with happiness and cheer. He’s already approved us. You and I are to live happily wherever we are. So, live it up!
