Jobs and Fame

Reading Assignment: Ecclessiastes 4:4-16

Did you understand what you read?

Why is being idle bad for a person?
What else does God teach us about idleness?
Why does a person need companionship? What advantages do two people working together have?
Why is the poor, wise youth better off than the old king?
What is the problem with striving after popularity?

Lesson

Jobs

Why should we work? You could do skillful work and be the envy of those around you. However, this is useless. There is always someone who can do a better job than you. Not working at all is self-destructive (Pr. 24:30-34) and overworking is useless (Ps. 39:6). The best situation is to work just enough to eat and to allow us to live a peaceful life.

Just working to support yourself is not a good situation (we are talking about bachelorhood here). When there is only you, you end up working extra hard. After all, there is no excuse not to. It is not as if you had to rush home or anything. For all that extra work, there is no deep satisfaction. There is no one with whom to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can't even say you are providing for the following generation because there is no one to come after you.

Man needs companionship. We need someone to share life with, someone to help us when the going gets tough. When there are two or more together, there is companionship and protection.

Fame

How many of us have not dreamed of becoming famous at one time or another? Is becoming the captain of the football team or a movie star a worthwhile goal for our lives? One problem with becoming famous is that you tend to forget where you came from. You lose your sense of humility, which is very bad for a Christian. You can't even take correction anymore - after all, aren't you the famous person? Another problem is that people are fickle. At one moment you have hundreds of adoring fans, the next moment they are drooling after someone else and you find yourself a "has-been." Finally, fame does not last. People who are popular today are forgotten in the next generation. How many famous people can you name from your parent's generation?