Mankind Is Our Business! - Ecclesiastes #14

 

Ecclesiastes 4:4-6

4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

5 The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.
6 Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

Since Christmas is next week, the next few devotions will look at Ebenezer Scrooge as an example. The main character from Charles Dickins’ popular novella, A Christmas Carol, captures the essence of the skillful man described in verse 4 of this passage. Along with his partner, Jacob Marley, he built a respectable counting house (financial investments, money lending, etc.) in Victorian-era London. 

Scrooge is the stereotypical pathetic, stingy miser who refuses to heat his business (especially for his employee), properly light his home and business, or give to any charitable cause. His tight-fisted wickedness causes him to insult his closest relative, threaten the termination of his employee, and highlight the necessity of debtor’s prisons and poorly-funded workhouses to take care of those whom he calls “idle.” In the first stave of the novella, he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner; Marley reminds him of the truth that mankind is our business.

Even though Scrooge needs a massive character transformation, the other person described in this passage of Ecclesiastes is in an equally significant need for change: the lazy person bitterly envious of the successful. Not everyone can prevent situations of dire need, but many are able to work and simply choose not to. Oftentimes, they angrily point to rich and successful people, blaming them for their plight. God gives us a natural drive and desire to earn, and suppressing the drive is both foolish and self-destructive. 

If you can prevent your plight into dire straits, please do so without envying the more fortunate. If you are in the group of the more fortunate, please strive to understand the phrase Marley said to Scrooge: Mankind is our business. For everyone, take verse six of this passage to heart, striving for contentment and peace with God. The only possible way is to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

In Christ Alone,

Dan

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