In chapter eleven of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon gives us a set of proverbs for how we ought to be living our lives. More specifically, Solomon talks about how we should be taking action in our lives, and what kind of behavior we need to avoid.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 (ESV)
1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Here in these six verses, Solomon encourages each of us to be active, working people.
In verse one, he tells us that if we put good work out into the world, we will eventually find a benefit from it. There is no such thing as a good work that has no good reward. The benefit we get may not always be what it is that we expected or desired, and it may take longer than we want it to, but in the end a good deed is never completely worthless before God.
In verse two, Solomon reminds us that we do not know what is going to happen in the future. We cannot predict how our lives are going to go or what unexpected events may affect us, and so we need to be doing our work regardless of what we think we will see in the world. We especially need to be kind and generous to those around us, and to not refrain from helping others because we think something bad might or might not happen. There is always room for more generosity and thoughtfulness for others in our lives.
In verse three, we are told that there are going to be things in the world that are out of our control. Worrying about things we cannot change or prepare for will cause us great anxiety for no benefit. Things will happen that are unexpected or inevitable, but that should not stop us from doing the work that is in front of us now.
In verse four, we see that we should not be people who are constantly second-guessing ourselves. Someone who spends all day looking at the wind and clouds, waiting to decide if it is a good time to work, will never get any work done at all. We should apply ourselves diligently to our work without getting caught up trying to find the exact right moment. Doing something “good enough” now is always better than waiting endlessly for something “perfect.”
In verse five, we are reminded that we do not always know what the work of God is going to be. Ultimately, it is not our own effort that brings things to fruition, but it is God’s will that is fulfilled through our labors. We should not hesitate to be active and diligent workers, because it is God who is working through us and helping us, not to accomplish our own will, but to further His.
Finally, in verse six, Solomon concludes by telling us again not to hold ourselves back from doing good. We do not know which of our efforts is going to yield results, and so we should not refrain from doing any of them, trusting in God to bring out what is best for us. Sometimes it is the work that we thought was the least important which God causes to bring out the greatest harvest.
Each of these proverbs can apply to all different kinds of spiritual work that we do. Whether we are seeking to help and encourage one another, making an effort to be with and lift up our brethren, teaching and learning from God’s word, or simply living as righteous examples among the world, these are all encouragements for us to be active and diligent in each and every one of our works.
In James 1, we are given a similar exhortation as the one Solomon gives us.
James 1:22-25 (ESV) “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
We are commanded to be people who do the word of God, not just people who hear it. God has promised to bless us and our works so long as we are doing what he desires us to do. Like Solomon tells us, we need to be devoting ourselves to God’s work, and not worrying about whether it is going to bear fruit to the point of doing nothing at all. If we persevere in righteous efforts, we are given a guarantee that we are going to yield good fruits.
