At a stoplight, a car stopped frighteningly close beside me. Out of instinct, I turned to look. The person’s dead pan face stared straight ahead as their whole body sat motionless. Then, in an instant,their hands came up and started to shimmy from the left rhythmically to the right. Then their hands dropped and they sat motionless once again. The person’s face remained expressionless and unsinging the whole time. I burst out laughing and looked away in case they heard me. I glanced back just in time to see the person do it again. I died laughing again. It absolutely made my day! Few things are more fun than catching someone dancing in their car.

“So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot…” (Ecclesiastes 3:22a).

The book of Ecclesiastes states “there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot” (3:22). The theme of contentment as a means to happiness is repeated throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. For months, I have been captivated by Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon-quite possibly the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 4:29-34). Not surprisingly, he was also quite likely the wealthiest. He wrote three of the Bible books, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. He also wrote part of the Psalms.

In Solomon’s fascinating reflections on life throughout the book, we see that he literally tried everything. He explained how he tried building things for happiness, acquiring things, learning things, writing things, and on and on. Solomon had it all. He had fame, wealth, brains, women, food, comfort, the whole shebang. But he kept concluding the same thing: that money and stuff did not produce the intended result. That sounds so basic, like Christianity 101, but it’s a lesson that’s quickly forgotten: money does not produce happiness. Jeff Seagraves, a financial advisor likes to say “Everyone knows that money doesn’t make you happy, but everyone believes that just a little more money would make them a little more happy.” How true is that?

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich, but have the wisdom to show restraint” (Proverbs 23:4).

So how do we live out enjoying our work? The answer in Proverbs 23:4 says, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich, but have the wisdom to show restraint.” Is wealth wrong? No. Should we enjoy the work God has given us to do? Absolutely! Yet at the same time, do we work ourselves ragged regularly because we want the upper edge in our jobs? Do we think if we put in a little more time, that we will receive a just reward, on Earth as it is in Heaven?

Hopefully not. Otherwise, we end up in the same cycle of worldly thinking. Of course we work hard as Christians and we should put in our due time. We should not do our quiet times at work or evangelize on the clock when we were hired to do something else. Yet at the same time, we do not hide our faith, but put God first. That might mean not working on Sundays, but it might also mean simply taking one day off a week to rest. It might mean making tough decisions about priorities. It might mean working a job that does not require you to compromise your faith. It might mean only working fifty hours a week so you have time for your family. It might mean taking a less demanding and possibly lower paying job so that you can be available to see your son play soccer. Yet at the same time, it could mean working more because someone else cannot work as much. It might mean using your God given gifts to make a lot of money to be able to support a loved one, or a lot of missionaries.

Two examples come to mind before I finish. One man, became a golf pro, and in doing so, fulfilled a childhood dream. However, after working like crazy with a wife and young children at home, he decided it would be best to find another job that would allow him to be with his family more. God provided and within time, he was able to surpass his original golf pro salary. He enjoyed his work and putting God first meant finding a family friendly job.

Someone else I know had always wanted to get married and have kids, but has remained single. Recently while a friend tried to set him up with someone, he stated that he would not be dating for 2.5 years, because of his work. What did he do, you ask? He helped with Bible translation and thought the next 2.5 years would be critical in reaching every tribe and every tongue and every nation for the Lord (Revelation 7:9). He enjoyed his work and putting God first meant waiting to have a family.

The end game in it all means to hold both of these verses in balance. We are to enjoy our work and our lives. We are to be content with the position in life God has placed us. We are to view where we are as given by God to be used by Him for His glory! In doing so, we might never receive lots of money or earthly rewards here on Earth. But then again, we might indeed! And that’s OK. Solomon sure did! Either way, God has promised lasting treasures in Heaven. All of our life here on Earth is really just training for our eternal job assignments in Heaven. Keep training. Keep trying to be the best you can be. But also enjoy it, trust and follow God, and live a balanced life with a relationship with Christ and others. Amen!