There comes a time (or in my case, multiple times) in one's life when one has to ask oneself, "What's the point?" With the ins and outs of life, the monotony of daily routine, boredom, pain and trials, 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 sometimes be a struggle to find a true purpose and  meaning in our day to day 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 that many credit its beginnings with such 19th and 20th century philosophers as Soren Kierkegaard, Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sarter, and Nietzshe. However, as I read through Ecclesiastes, I find a much earlier man in the throes of existential despair: Solomon.

From the very beginning of Ecclesiastes, we find Solomon decrying the vanity of it all, declaring,"“Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). He finds it offensive 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 any meaning in his life.

But wait, it gets better.

Not only is everything meaningless, but it also doesn't matter if you 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 <em>eventually</em> God will bring everything into judgment. But I find comfort in Ecclesiastes being included in the Bible for many reasons. First of all, Solomon was a man who knew God and was given incredible wisdom from Him, yet he still struggled with the meaning and purpose of life.  It could be that it is wisdom itself to struggle with the meaning of your life, or it could simply mean that gaining God's wisdom will not make you immune to a very normal, human struggle. Secondly, Solomon learned something I think we should all take to heart: whenever you seek for meaning in transient or changeable things, you will inevitably end up in despair. That can mean seeking for meaning in possessions or money, or even pleasure-seeking and adventure-seeking and finding that they bring you no happiness. Or what if you seek meaning from your job or vocation? You may despair if you believe your job is not important enough or prestigious enough. Or, you may realize that, no matter how much you excel at what you do, chances are that years from now, no one will remember you or your work. What happens if you define yourself by your work or vocation, and then, like a dancer who loses a leg in an accident or a pianist whose hands are crippled, you are no longer able to do that which defined you? What then?

Eventually Solomon comes back to God, and while his final conclusion perhaps is not the full meaning I would wish for, it does rest on something inchangeable and incorporeal: God. We are immortal souls housed in mortal flesh in an absurd world that is riddled with sin. It is a difficult task to find our meaning in the everlasting when we are so daily faced with temporal and earthly distractions and pains. I think 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, this very struggle is a necessary and even good part of coming to an understanding of the purpose of our time, on earth and i.

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