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“"Grasping The Wind"”
Categories: Daily Living, Ecclesiastes, Expository Study, New Testament, Obedience, Old Testament, Paul, Scriptures, Solomon, Spiritual Growth, WisdomNo less than nine times in Ecclesiastes (1:14, 17, 2:11, 17, 22, 26, 4:4, 6, 16, 6:9), Solomon laments the fact that much of life is “grasping for the wind” (NKJV). The ESV uses the term “striving for the wind.” The KJV calls it “vexation of spirit.” The idea is that there are things we do that are worthless or a waste of time. Have you ever done anything that was a waste of time? We all have, haven’t we? Solomon says that this description (“grasping for the wind”) applies to various areas of life such as::
- The works under the sun (1:14).
- Wisdom, madness, and folly (1:17).
- Labor (2:11, 17, 22)
- Envying others (4:4).
- Hands full of travail (4:6).
- Wandering of desire (i.e., constantly craving more, 6:9).
What a list! It seems that most of what we do (and what is glamorized) on earth is wasteful or trying to grasp wind, according to Solomon! Realizing this truth can be very depressing. What is the purpose of living if so much of what the world calls essential is a waste of time and energy, according to these passages? Is there anything we can do that is not a waste? God gives us the answer. New Testament passages such as I Corinthians 15:58 say that we can do things that are not a waste of time and energy. Paul wrote, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
The words from Ecclesiastes and Corinthians are not contradictory. Rather, these passages emphasize one’s motivation. Why do you do what you do? Is it to achieve some selfish purpose? Is it to satisfy a lust (Jas. 1:14-15)? Working to please self is unprofitable. Conversely, when my focus is on God, and my labor is “in the Lord,” it is not in vain.
Solomon and Paul teach us to consider not only what you do, but also why you do it. Let’s be active in working for the Lord rather than working for self (Matt. 6:33).
- Jarrod M. Jacobs
