There comes a time (or in my case, multiple times) in one's life when one has to ask oneself, "Really, what's the point?" With the ins and outs of life, the monotony of daily routine, boredom, etc., it is easy to wonder if our lives are really all that meaningful. Even armed with a faith in God and knowledge that we have an eternal life after this temporal one on earth, it can be a struggle to find a true purpose and  meaning in our lives. This struggle to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless life, all while buffeted by despair, angst, boredom, and the absurdity of life is the focus of Existentialism, a philosophical school of thought. Many credit such 19th and 20th century philosophers as Soren Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sarter, and Nietzshe with starting Existentialism, but as I read through Ecclesiastes, I find another, much earlier great-thinker in the depths of an existential crisis: Solomon.

From the very beginning of Ecclesiastes, we find Solomon despairing at the apparent meaninglessness of it all, declaring,"“Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). He decries that a man diligently develop his life's work, but it will profit him none; he will pass away and another will take his place, and no one will remember him: <strong>"</strong>There is no remembrance of the former things, nor will be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after" (1:11). Furthermore, neither he nor his contributions to the world are unique: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?  It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time” (Ecclesiastes 1: 9,10). In fact, Solomon, goes on to say that wisdom, pleasure, riches and treasures, skills, popularity, and youth are all utterly meaningless. Solomon, a king with power and riches, who could probably have whatever he desired, struggled to find a

But wait, it gets better.

Not only is it meaningless, but also? It doesn't matter if you seek wisdom or try to do the right thing: because "All things come alike to all: One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; to the good, the clean, and the unclean; to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes and oath as he who fears an oath (9:2). Solomon's further complaints are similar to the Existential concept of the Absurd. The Absurd is the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it, and it contains the further idea that the world operates in contrast to the karmic way of thinking that bad things don't happen to good people. Rather, "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all" (9:11). It shouldn't surprise us that people struggle with the question of why good things happen to bad people (and vice versa), for even Solomon wondered at it and struggled with how our goodness (or lack there of) can be meaningful, if it seems makes no difference here on earth?

By the end of Ecclesiastes, I'm not sure that Solomon has truly worked through his existential crisis.  He does conclude that, regardless of how things may appear in our earthly life: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (12:13-14). While our time here on earth is transient and it may may struggle with whether anything we do here has meaning, in the end, there is a God in Heaven who will bring all things into account.

At first glance, the entirety of Ecclesiastes may seem pretty depressing. Solomon tells us to enjoy the pleasures we have, don't work too hard or too little, bad things happen to the good and good things happen to the bad, we all die, and eventually God will bring everything into judgment. But I find comfort in Ecclesiastes being included in the Bible for many reasons. First of all, that Solomon, a man given incredible wisdom from God, struggled with the meaning and purpose of life. Secondly, that God is okay with us struggling with the meaning of life and it's apparent meaningless at times. He is okay with us questioning why bad things happen to good people. And perhaps, it this struggle is a necessary part of coming to an understanding of the purpose of our time here on earth.

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