The Conclusion of the Matter

(Eccl. 11, 12)

Solomon completes his review of man's life and gives us a closing statement. He sums up the human condition and gives us a directive that brings meaning to our lives.

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil." (Eccl. 12: 13, 14)

We get busy in this life of ours. We work all day and sleep all night, only to rise and repeat the process again. God has ordained work as good for us, but we can distort his purposes in work as well as other areas of our lives. His intent is that through our work, we would experience joy in this life.

"What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God." (Eccl. 3:9- 13)

Be happy and do good while we live. Great advice from our Maker! Eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our toil. A great gift from The Gift Giver! We (most of us) spend our time trying to get ahead, all the while God has already provided the things that will make our lives worthwhile. We work for our wants and He has already provided for our needs. Solomon wants us to understand what is really important, what really counts in this life. He had spent his life amassing fortunes, pursuing pleasure and reigning as king and found that real happiness, real meaning is found in "fearing God and keeping His commandments."
I have heard it said that when a man is on his deathbed, he will not wish for more time at the office or a bigger bank account, rather he will regret the time he didn't spend with friends and family. God "has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men." Our problem is in our pursuit of what this world calls important. God has placed beauty in our lives here and now and placed a recognition of eternity within our hearts. We know what really counts right now and we understand that eternity awaits us. Every human has this within them, God placed it there. What we do with that understanding is up to us.
Solomon makes it simple for us; he tells us that the whole of man, what we are all about, what this life is really meant for is "fearing God and keeping His commands." You want meaning, you want purpose, you want satisfaction....."fear God, keep his commands". You want true happiness, you want real joy, you want contentment in this life......"fear God, keep His commands". You want a guilt free conscience, a peace that passes understanding...."fear God and keep His commands".
The flip side to living life this way is a life filled with stress and strife. We will work without receiving the satisfaction that is from God. We will work to obtain things and never have enough. Our house will never be big enough and our bank account will always be too small. Our spouse will become insufficient and a "younger, more attractive" person will meet our needs better. Our car will not be the right brand or the right model, our clothes will not be the latest fashion and our shoes and pocketbooks will not have the right labels. God knows this and He has given us a way off of the merry-go-round... fear Him and keep His commands.
The end of the matter is that we will stand before Him and all of our deeds will be brought into judgement, including every hidden thing. He has given us the freedom to chose, but those choices will be judged by Him. He has given us everything we need for this life, but also given us the ability to reject Him and His word. We get to live our lives as we chose, reaping what we sow both here and hereafter. Living within His commands brings happiness and contentment. Living as this world commands brings sorrow and striving. It is our choice, but Solomon, the wisest man to ever live gives us some great advice. As with every piece of advice we ever receive, we can listen and benefit from it or we can ignore it and suffer the consequences. Been there, done that..... how about you?