Everyone knows that work is a necessity if you want to survive in this modern world. But what is the real purpose of our work? Is it to make money? Usually, work is done for food, family and various other answers. Then the question continues: why do we work continuously, even endlessly after we earn money? When do we enjoy it all? This is where we will find it difficult to answer. That is what Ecclesiastes is asking when he says: everything is in vain.

The emptiness of life is being contemplated by the preacher. Jobs, pleasures, riches, achievements, even wisdom have all been acquired, but why does it feel so empty. So in the end, the final conclusion is "all in vain". Pleasures turned out to be temporary. Achievements cannot be carried forever. Hard work will eventually be abandoned. Even wisdom is not able to prevent man from death. The preacher seems to lead us to an existential contemplation of the self that thousands of years have also been questioned by people and even thinkers/philosophers. Some argue that the meaning of life must be sought by humans in the process of living life rather than something predetermined, while others say that meaning is born when it is created personally through commitment, free choice, and individual responsibility in the midst of uncertainty.

How does our reading try to answer that question? It is interesting to see what the preacher writes at the end of our reading. We will not have the fullness of life if we are only based on what we have, earn, and achieve in life. In fact, all three make us feel that we are never enough. Meaning is born and found not when we have everything, but when we realise that everything is God's gift. It's not "what we have" that makes life meaningful, but "from WHO we receive it."

Today, maybe we are still chasing so many things. Achievements, careers, recognition, and the comforts of life. That is not wrong at all. But remember that whatever we have and achieve in life is a means to reflect on God's goodness and His provision in our lives.