I highly recommend reading this AFTER reading the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, which touches on a great number of my feelings recently.
The first chapter sets a mental foundation for our character, Solomon (maybe), who is experiencing what seems to be a crisis.
All is vanity. Everything. It’s all… waste.
The world doesn’t stop moving, You will live, you will work, and you will die, and the world won’t even stop to bat an eye. You can’t even explain WHY the world does what it does.
Rivers keep moving, the sun keeps rising, and it’s all going to happen over, and over, and over again. And you never get to know the whole reason. WHY does any of it really happen?
There is nothing new. Even the most exciting “new thing” is just a different rendition of the old thing. We call things “new” because we have forgotten the old, and forgotten what was spoken of the old, and lost what was written of the old.
And Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Preacher, sought and investigated wisely, to understand all that happens below the earth, and that was his finding: “emptiness and affliction of the spirit”.
He notes that, much like it is today (nothing new, remember?) the perverse refuse correction, and there are boundless fools.
And he speaks of himself, saying that he has achieved greatness, and surpassed all those before in Jerusalem. He devotes his heart to understanding both good and bad, and he finds hardship wherever he looks. His spirit is afflicted.
With much Wisdom there is much Anger.
Whoever adds Knowledge, adds Hardship.
This feels so familiar. The weight of this world, and the tug of nihilism. The crushing fatalism that no matter what wisdom I acquire, greatness I achieve, someday, I will be dust.
You will be dust.
But, that’s not where the story of Ecclesiastes ends. This is the founding chapter, and there’s much more to go. Thank you so much for reading this mish mash of thoughts on Chapter One of Ecclesiastes. Chapter Two will go live next Thursday, and the next part of City of God will be out either tomorrow or Saturday.
If you enjoyed this, or found it might help someone you know, please share it. All of my efforts are done secondary to my full time job, and it’s been really enjoyable to put more stuff out there this year. Your encouragement means the world.
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