It's Never Enough | Ecclesiastes 2 | Crossroads Daily

But every time in my life, there's been something really important. So when I think about like leading some of the teams that I've led or being with people in really difficult seasons of life, my information is not the thing that matters at that point. What matters is my ability, which I struggle with to be present to people. I can have a lot of information, but if I'm not communicating that I'm with you and I'm present, my information doesn't matter. I think for me, I've had to learn like it. It's great to know things. It's even better to just be present with people in their lives. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts, no perfect people. Just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Hey, I'm Chuck. - I'm Caroline. - I'm Victor. - I'm Chris. - We are in Ecclesiastes chapter two. So we started Ecclesiastes the last session and said that it's a book of wisdom. And so, and it's a book that isn't as like black and white as we like. It's kind of wrestling with the tension of life. And there's a word that comes up over and over again,

meaningless, or your Bible might say, vanity. And that word means like a vapor. Like, you know, there are things in life that we build our life on, only to find out when we grasp for it. It's like a myth. There's nothing left in our hand. And so today, as we talk about chapter two, the teacher has gone on a quest for everything good and kind of achieved some things, only to find that there wasn't anything there at the end of it. Or at least that's his reflection back. So I'm curious about what have you tried to go after to give your life meaning? Where have you tried to find meaning in your life based on something you've tried to pursue or achieve? - Deep, Ecclesiastes is putting us all in touch with our angsty teenager self. I feel like wrestling with all this. - I feel like the Green Day coming out of me. - Yeah. - Some of my bones right now. - Right. Yeah, I think you said it. I think achievement. - Okay. - For me, I am an oldest daughter through and through. And so there's just always been a part of me that's wanted to perform or fix or prove that I can do things well.

And it's made me a super effective employee. It's made me on the surface a really seemingly good friend in lots of seasons of my life. But I've also found that when I recognize what it is that's motivating me to do those things, being I want to present as high achieving, as good, as capable. Capability is the big thing there. Like I've always just wanted to prove that I should have a seat at the table. I feel really dead inside at the end of it. 'Cause I'm like, "Oh, I got here." And what is it all for? Again, we come back to those questions. Like, can you think about a time when you first felt that? Like, I did a thing, but oh, what is it for? Like, what comes to mind and think about that? - Gosh, there have been times where, and I think this will answer your question, have you ever had a job and you work really hard at something and you do the thing well and then someone else takes credit for that thing? - No, no, that's never happened, really? People do that? - That was one of the first times that I was like, "Oh, I am in this for the wrong reasons." Like, my heart actually wasn't to achieve something. I'm not saying that it's right, that someone else was like, "Oh yeah, I did that thing." And I was like, "Who are you talking about?

"I did that, I did that." And I was like, "Wait a second, I was doing that "for my own glory to prove that I could achieve something "and someone else took the credit "and it didn't matter what the work was that I did." That part was actually meaningless to me. And so that was probably one of the first times that I just had this huge gut punch from God. I'm like, "Caroline, what are you actually doing that for?" Because what you're wrestling through right now tells me that it wasn't me. And so, yeah, I think that's mine. Yeah, it stung, stung, but I needed it. - And you are not alone. You are not alone, oh my gosh. Yeah, I think about, for me, it has been like intellectual pursuits. Like, I've always wanted to be the smart person in the room. And I remember, I used to set goals every year of how many books I was gonna read. And I would achieve those goals. And I think I have a lot of information in my head. I have a lot of whatever you'll call it, knowledge in my head. like every time in my life, there's been something really important. So when I think about like leading some of the teams that I've led or being with people in really difficult seasons of life, my information is not the thing that matters at that point.

What matters is my ability, which I struggle with to be present to people. I can have a lot of information, but if I'm not communicating that I'm with you and I'm present, my information doesn't matter. I think for me, I've had to learn like, it's great to know things. It's even better to just be present with people in their lives. I'm still learning that. - And you are really good at that. I've seen you be really good. I've experienced you being really good at that. So yeah, I see that. - That's not always been the case. - Yeah, we're all growing, you know? - We're growing, yeah. - Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure everybody can relate to like, worth and accomplishments kind of being too intertwined. What would life look like if that wasn't the case? If you, if your worth came from God and wasn't based on your accomplishments, what would that look like? What does that kind of life look like? I'm asking for a friend by the way, I'm asking. - Yeah, look, well, it makes me think of three things, but one, when I read verse 24, it says a person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil.

This too I see is from the hand of God. - Yeah. - And I wonder if that's what it looks like to show up, just enjoy a good meal, hang out with friends. - Yes. - And that's it. - Yeah. - You know, like maybe it's not that simple, but it makes me think of that. I was trying to process through your previous question and then even this topic and recently had the opportunity to do the little project and I got paid for it. And it felt great at the moment. It was a lot of work for the one pay. And I had a purpose for that money. I wanted to do some things with my family and the money went, like it, I received it and I spent it. And then that kind of like created this desire for more. Like, man, you know, like I could do more things. And there's this aspect I think sometimes in some of us that when we taste the one thing that we're seeking, that's money, that's power, it's not enough. It's never enough. He's wanted more of it. And I think living without that word is like simpler. - Yeah. - It'd probably be a better life for all of us. - Yeah. - It would definitely be for me. So it's just this time here is actually helpful for me right now.

- Yeah, yeah. - I remember there was research on this and I forget what the number was, but there's a number of income that if you make it, like it's like maximum contentment, you know? - Yeah. - 'Cause I mean, let's be clear. Like if you're hand in the mouth and scraping, like there's, that's hard. That's a hard life and lots of us have lived that life and lots of us are living that life. But there's evidence to say, but once you achieve, and I forget what the number is, but once you go beyond that, not only does it not help your happiness, but in some ways you get to a point where it begins to diminish. So I do think there's a lesson in contentment in this for us, right? Like there's a lesson there. - Yeah, and for some of us, it's material things, I think for a lot of people too, it can just be wanting your life to look a certain way, and it doesn't. And it doesn't mean that you have material things as much. I know for me, when I was single, I thought being married was making it. That was the ideal and then I got married and I love my husband deeply, but it's the hardest thing I've ever done. And I wish looking back on my singleness that I had had a little bit more contentment in that space

because I think that it made me put unfair expectations on my husband for what marriage was gonna look like and how we were gonna navigate that together. And I realized that I was putting, having a husband in the seat that God should have been in. And so whenever we do that, whatever it is, whether it's a way you want your life to look or a certain way your finances could, whatever, achievement in your job, I think that's where it gets the messiest. - And I've lived that, they've lived that. - It does, and I wanna use that example. That's a perfect example for why the teacher keeps using the word meaningless. It's almost like poetic flourishing when he uses that word. He's not saying, don't do that. But he's saying like, if you think that's gonna be the thing that ultimately answers the meaning question for you, it's not gonna happen. It doesn't matter what it is that we put in that place. - Yeah, it goes, I'm thinking about what you said in the last scripture of how it's vapor. Like this meaningless means like hevel, the word for it is vapor. And like a cloud, and like when you try to grab it, there's nothing there, like almost this reality Like it's just, it's beautiful to look at, observe. And, but it is when you try to take it for your own to be everything for you that you realize it's nothing. And with all these examples that the teacher,

Solomon, whoever it is, is listing like, half of them are not bad things. But like he clearly is like, I went all in with this thing. And it didn't work. And it's not, again, it's not like we just shave our head and go on a mountain and never have anything ever that would ever tempt us to like, be anything outside of God. But it's more, am I trying to make this everything to me? Because that's not going to work. And that's going to lead to emptiness. But when it's in its proper place and Jesus is on the throne of my life, that's where I don't have to try to grab it. I can look at that mist and be like, that's beautiful. But I don't need to try to control it. That's right. - Yeah, you started, I think it was talking about the ecclesiastic, the bigger picture of how it leads to relationship. You know, it starts asking these questions like, or saying, this is meaningless, like, achieving is meaningless, the pleasure is meaningless, the toil, the work that requires together is meaningless. But in that point out, so then what is, what has meaning, what is meaningful? Yeah, what is meaningful. And I think it is like all these things that we seek sometimes, that's not where it is. - That's right.

- It is in the one, it is in the relationship that you can have with God. Again, the provider of all these things. That's where we can find the meaning. And I'm not trying to get ahead to what the book says, but this is what makes me think, is that we might know that all of these things that we as humans are trying to find, like meaning, if we can see it, if we can see it, 'cause that's the thing with vapor and mystery, we can see it, we might be fooled, that that's where we're gonna find it, but it's gonna be empty. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, I know we're at the end of our time for today. I wanna leave us with actually the words of Paul. People have it as tattoos, people have seen it at football games. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. It's a great verse, and it is true. If I'm not mistaken, the verse that comes right before it or a few before it is the verse where Paul says, I've learned the secret to contentment in all things. What is that secret? I can do all things. - Right. - Through Christ who gives me strength. And what he means is, whatever my station is in life, whatever I have or don't have, whatever status I have relationally,

whatever I have achievement or not, I can live in that place in contentment when I have got. And man, that's not always easy, but it's true, and I pray that I encourage you to take it. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)