I fond that when I was reading Ecclesiastes, it was really hard to not discount what he says simply because it sounds so cynical. This, however, prevented me from listening closely enough to understand what he was saying. Because I judged the book so naturally, I couldn’t see the truth that is in Ecclesiastes.
I think that this tendency to ignore cynicism on principle is dangerous because although the picture that cynics see is often incomplete, it is usually true to life. We need to know the truth that is there, and we have to find the missing pieces whose absence led to despair.
In the case of Ecclesiastes, although it seems really cynical at first glance, I do not think that is the point of the book. As we discussed Ecclesiastes and got beyond the apparent cynicism, we found that Solomon was asking some really deep questions. One question is what is the meaning of life. Another is what does it mean to be wise. Yet another is whether things have objective value.
The last verse of Ecclesiastes seems to be somewhat of a non sequitur, but it is an answer to each of these questions. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”[1] The meaning of life is to serve God, and wisdom is knowing and doing that. There is objective value to our deeds, and God will judge them in the end. Thing are crazy right now, but in the end, God will make everything right. The world is not as senseless as it seems.
I missed this when I read Ecclesiastes because all I could see was his apparent cynicism. We can’t ignore people who are apparently cynics, because we don’t know what truth they have to speak unless we take the time to listen, and to think about what they are saying.
