Man is Helpless (Ecclessiastes 9)

I think a theme of Ecclesiastes is man’s helplessness, which is a humbling thing to realize.

But we don't like to acknowledge it. Whether it be in the arts, society, architecture, infrastructure, government, or even war man loves to glorify man. Look at us! Look at what the human race accomplished, isn’t it incredible? Today we live in an age when arguably we have seen the most human achievement in the history of the planet. Sixty-six years after we figured out how to fly – something that has been attempted and dream of for thousands of years – we landed on the moon.

Certainly the human race is great. Look and see how there is virtually no situation man cannot become accustomed to (or bend to its will). The world is becoming increasingly under out control.

But is it? I would say that Solomon’s writing – nearly three thousand years old – is still true in a day and age where it appears that man is in control. In reality, we are as helpless as ever.

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. (Ecc. 9:1)

If we were to label the “best” members of society it would be the righteous and the wise. That’s how we tend to categorize men and women. Mother Theresa is revered for her righteousness and compassion, Albert Einstein for his intelligence. I think we look at great men and women with admiration because we see in them the spark of greatness, something they have willed of themselves. Somehow they have a different discipline, a different ability or level of control, and they have been made great. The rest of us regularly feel Solomon’s helplessness, but we look up to great men and women because they seem to have things under control. What is their secret?

Simply put, they don’t. Even the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. All of us are in His hands.

It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice… This is an evil that happens under the sun, that the same event happens to all. (Ecc. 9:2,3)

Once again Solomon presents to us the problems with the world. Is it this way because of death, and there is death because of sin. Truly this was not how God made the earth, because when He made it things were “good”. Now we see that everything is tainted and our lives – our greatest gift! – are burdens. We slave away day after day to sustain them, and in the end, we die. What’s words than that is being conscience of God and not only slaving to survive but slaving to be true to Him – only to see that you will die the same as those who don’t fear God.

Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. (Ecc. 9:6)

This is all a bitter truth because of our rebellion and sinful nature towards God. Here Solomon echoes Genesis 6:5-6 (right before God floods the earth):

Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecc. 9:3)

That truth is hard to hear and may will not admit it, but it’s true. Who do we tend to hope the opposite is true, that man is inherently good?

I can think of three reasons:

1) We are image-bearers of God. Before He made us, God said:

“Let us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make man in our own image, and after our likeness.” (Gen. 1:26)

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:27)

What exactly does “image” and “likeness” mean? I think it means a variety of things. We bear the image of a perfect, holy, and righteous God. A God who loves, who knows joy, a God who delights in relationships. We can see many of these qualities “stamped” into us. Most every human being (on some level) loves, longs for joy over pain, and likes relationship. Humans need relationships.

Another way we bear God’s image is our mind. We are more intelligent than any other creature on earth, in fact, God gives them us to have dominion over the same way He has dominion over us. Leadership and authority are marks of God.

Also, we were made in the image and likeness of a good God. For this reason we have “morality” and conscience. We recognize good and evil. When we go to movies, the good guy usually wins, and that’s how we like it. So we are made in God’s image and we were made to be good. If there is good in us, it is because of God.

2) We like control. When we say “Man is inherently good” we are trying to say man is in control of being good or evil (and, at the core, is good). We love the idea that we can be in control of our goodness, but ever since Adam and Eve took control in rebellion against God we have not controlled the rebellion (of evil and sin) in us, it has controlled us. But we love to believe that we have freedom in this, we love to think being on the “Naughty” or “Nice” list is a choice or applied discipline.

Why do we love the idea of freedom to be good or evil? I think because if we can’t be good we don’t want the God-given despair that should come with that, instead we want to stay in “control”, rather than admit our helplessness. In short, we want to be God. We want to be the definition of good and evil rather than Him.

Ecclesiastes slices through our false notion of control and points out that even if we devoted ourselves to righteousness we would be unable to control sin within us:

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. (Ecc. 7:20)

The apostle Paul later echoes this:

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Once again, we see our helplessness. Just looking at the way in which we are controlled by sin reveals the falsehood in the phrase “Man is inherently good.”

3) I think the truth is too painful. The practical situation we often use the above phrase in is about a particular person. We apply it when someone does evil but we don’t want to accept it. Bill Clinton did what? But really he’s a good man, he just screwed up. Underneath he is a good man, he’s just made some mistakes.

The funny thing is we don’t apply this to everybody. Some people are just “evil”. If Adolf Hitler had a Clinton moment of infidelity, we wouldn’t be surprised and wouldn’t feel the need to defend him. We would not say “Underneath he’s a good man.” That sounds ridiculous to say about Adolf Hitler.

We constantly play this game of good guy/bad guy, labeling everyone we come into contact with white caps or black caps because the phrase “Man is inherently good” doesn’t carry over to everybody. We look at Hitler and say, Whoops, this premise seems out of whack. Some people are just plain evil, but man is still inherently good. Do you see what scares us? We see Hitler and see that he, too, was a human, like you and me. Could the same possibility for evil that was in Hitler live in you and me?

No, some people are just plain evil, but man is still inherently good. Right? What about Bill Clinton? He sinned, but he doesn’t seem totally evil like Hitler, in fact, he seems a lot like you or I. Maybe he’s good underneath. Man is still inherently good.

Your friend sins against you. You can’t believe it. But you’ve known them for ten years and it seems wrong to say they’re evil or that they’ve done evil. You love them! Surely love wouldn’t call something evil! How could you say that to your friend? Man is still inherently good.

You screw up. You do something deplorable, something you know is wrong but you couldn’t help yourself. You were helpless. Certainly you aren’t bad. Certainly you aren’t selfish and evil. You are a good person who had a strange fluke of character and made a mistake. For this reason the most you cling to the axiom, Man is inherently good.

Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecc. 9:3)

No, I’m not evil! Maybe from your point of view, or your family’s point of view (or maybe not!), but in order to truly know we need a different perspective.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. His opinion, therefore, is very valuable in determining if someone is good or evil. Surely the world is made up of good guys and bad guys, right Jesus? Of which, I, of course, am a good guy? Jesus Christ will shake His head to such questions. Jesus – God – can see everyone’s heart, and no matter how good you think you are, Jesus knows the honest truth.

John writes this about Jesus:

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23-25)

Jesus isn’t stupid or naïve. Never would He have said, “Man is inherently good. In fact, most of them are good people.” He’s the only one who knows the deepest parts of all humans, and He knows they’re rotten.

So this information frustrates us and ticks us off. What about me? I give to the poor, I smile at the elderly! I go through great pains not to look lustfully at women! What about me?

You too, Jesus says: I don’t trust you.

But the goodness of Jesus is that He tells us to trust Him. He takes sin and evil and tramples it underfoot on the cross, and He gives us a new nature in that we will be like Him rather than us. That’s what we need, a heart transplant, not rules to follow. Righteousness is given by grace through Jesus Christ, it is not attained.

Jesus reaches down in our helplessness and gives us control over sin, but at the same time makes us obedient to Him. Isn’t that funny? Man in all his greatness was made to serve something. If it will not be God, it will be sin. If God is not our master, sin is. But we have the illusion of control and being good and this blinds us to the truth. We get proud so it becomes painful to admit our need for God, for a new master.

But this master is infinitely easier than the old one – sin – which destroys, decays, leads to death, swallows up life. Sin leaves us in despair like Solomon – ‘life is pointless and headed to destruction.’ But through Christ we are made new, and his invitation is to us all. In His words:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)

9/28/09