Home
>
Spirituality
>
How Shall We Then Live?

How Shall We Then Live?

Qohelet had grown old with time when he delivered his Ecclesiastes and it has since become part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. And it is because of his many years of experience that he adopted the doctrine that all is meaningless, utterly meaningless.

If you were to read Ecclesiastes for the first time, you would probably consider it a rather anomalous account of a man's thoughts to be found in the Bible. We are disturbed by its lack of literary unity as well as Qohelet's strange sayings. It does not contain the kind of upbeat, positive message that we want to hear. He dares to suggest that we should cry at birth and rejoice in death. After all, the things of this world are full of weariness and vexation of heart.

Ecclesiastes reads as a kind of penitential sermon in which the preacher sadly laments his own foolishness in promising himself satisfaction in the things of this world which he found to be more bitter than death. He questions the purpose of human existence and asks, What gives lasting meaning to life? If everyone only dies in the end, what is the meaningful difference between the righteousness and unrighteousness, between right and wrong? The seriousness in which Qohelet probes this basic human issue makes it one of the most compelling pieces of Biblical literature.

Qohelet had taken in too many of the hard, relentless facts of human existence and he had too little faith with which to digest them. He tests pleasure and the amassing of wealth. He reappraises wisdom. He discovers that wisdom increases pain, pleasure is ephemeral and passing, and that hard earned wealth inevitably is left to someone else, who has not labored for it.

The preacher then turns from the personal to the collective experience. He looks for justice among men and finds none. The powerful and the officials oppress the weak and the poor. He sees the just suffer and the unjust prosper. The end of man is death. It seems that the wise, the foolish, and even the animals all meet a common end. Permeating the entire book of Ecclesiastes is a sober realism of life "under the sun." It is not a pretty picture.

And so we may as well realize that as Christians, we are both secular and sacred and they are constantly fighting against one another. It is not so much a conflict between men as it is a conflict within all men. We need to be careful not to boast too fanatically about being religious because we are also irreligious. We do not need to become big-headed about our piety, because in the midst of our so-called saintliness, we are also impious and ungodly. We like to think we are "in the world but not of it." That is fine. But the fact remains that we are in it. As a consequence of being in it we absorb a little from it. Therefore, it is worth acknowledging that, like Qohelet, we too are partially secular and partially sacred and there is no peaceful co- existence.

If there is any book in the Bible that stands close to 21st century man, it is Ecclesiastes. It is a book for all times because it depicts man's honest search for meaning and purpose in life. Ecclesiastes, both pragmatically as well as analytically, approaches the real issues of life; its doubts and its questions and its absurdities. It expresses skepticism, pessimism, and determination as well as a profound faith. It is one of the relatively rare books in which stubborn human honesty, often quenched by respectable pretensions, speaks its mind. It says in so many words what all of us at some stage or crisis in our lives have clandestinely debated. What is the meaning of it all? Ecclesiastes meets us in our honest confusion between faith and doubt. Our doubts haunts us as much as our faith inspires us.

I see this ancient realist not as the "melancholy man" but as a man of the world. Qohelet is a man who has studied the human condition. A man who has observed what happens to human beings while they are alive and witnessed the common fate that comes to all: "all go unto one place; all are of the dust and all turn to dust again." His conclusion therefore is not a prescription for despair. Rather, it is a strong encouragement for our asking ourselves that all important, but often suppressed question: How shall we then live?

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

spring cleaning service Wilmette ...

In The News:

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Delta's new AI pricing system eliminates static airfares for personalized rates based on individual data, raising questions about fairness while promising optimized revenue.

AI data centers are straining the power grid across 13 states, contributing to a $9 billion increase in electricity costs, and PJM customers face monthly bill increases of $25 or more.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the music industry as AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown earn substantial streaming revenue, prompting lawsuits from major record labels.

Microsoft phishing scams use fake security alerts and links that redirect to credential-stealing pages with warning signs, including urgent language and unusual senders.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

How Shall We Then Live?

Spirituality