I believe I have had this exact conversation about seven hundred times since the start of this semester:
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“Pretty good! Super busy though!”
“Ahh, me too!” *Small laugh and shake of the head as we rush off our separate ways to the next class, meeting, activity…*
Then I open my Bible near the middle, near the end of the wisdom literature, and read: “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3) Well, that is certainly not heartening!
But doesn’t it cut to the heart of a very real issue? We can fill every moment of our day with meaningful activities and still feel meaningless, dissatisfied, and restless.
This isn’t an issue confined to our day or culture. Blaise Pascal, a Renaissance scientist and philosopher, saw this same attitude towards life among his contemporaries, and wrote that “the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”
At the same time, a quiet life of routine and simplicity can be just as empty. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes has words to say for intentionally quiet and routine lives as well: “All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:8-9)
I think back to the COVID pandemic when many people tried to develop consistent routines, cultivate simple hobbies like breadmaking and painting, and make the most of the long days at home. But how many of us were consistent with those new hobbies once restrictions began to lift?
The purpose of Ecclesiastes is not to squelch our desire to live well. The Preacher recognizes that there is good in both simplicity and busyness. David Gibson, author of a study guide of the book of Ecclesiastes titled Living Life Backward, summarizes these two attitudes towards life: “God has made change and constancy pleasurable to human beings…Change and constancy are the two balancing weights on the see-saw of human experience, and God has given humanity the means to enjoy both of them by patterning the world with rhythm. We love the fact that the springtime feels new; we love the fact that it is springtime again.”
And isn’t that the truth? God loves to give us new experiences, new opportunities, new ways to look at old things. Sunsets are always different – but they are also daily and constant. God has ingrained in us a desire for routine and continuity. How do we reconcile those desires? How do we find lasting joy in life, if we are torn in two such different directions?
Contentment.
That’s a word that’s hard to remember amidst college tests and club meetings and project deadlines. How do we cultivate contentment amidst constant busyness or routine bordering on monotony? Our hearts are apt to make happiness the end goal – and the way we live is our means to that goal. But happiness is elusive, insubstantial, and impossible to grasp with either a calendar full of activities or empty days of the “same old, same old.”
I don’t think contentment can be condensed into a five-step checklist, so I won’t try. But I know it starts with knowing that God placed you where you are in this moment, and He is with you and desires your wholehearted work in whatever responsibilities He sets before you. My prayer each morning should be that, whatever I end up doing, I do it with my eyes focused on Him. God created us to find joy in Him, and Him only. All else will fail to satisfy.
