Life's Not Fair - Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

"Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.

In a previous post I remarked that the Teacher, the writer of Ecclesiastes, is a deep thinker that has tried everything in life. If he hasn't tried it, then he has at least thought about it. And he has concluded that everything in this world is transient and that obedience to God is the only thing that gives life meaning.

That being the case, the Teacher then stipulates in Ecclesiastes 9 that all human beings share the same fate. The righteous and the wicked. The good and the bad. The saint and the sinner. They all die but don't know when it will happen or under what circumstances (vs. 2-3).

If you are a human being, you are subject to both the downturns and upturns of life. And just because you are a child of God doesn't exempt you from suffering tragedy and despair. You are a human being. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people.

"That hardly seems fair," you complain. "Sorry, but life's not fair," the Teacher declares.

And the reality is that life isn't fair, at least from our point of view.

The world turns. The universe keeps moving. And God is at work accomplishing His plans and purposes. And there's nothing you can really do to stop it or change it.

"That sounds like determinism, fatalism, even predestination!" you exclaim. "But we humans don't have as much control as we like to think," the Teacher explains.

So life's not fair, but God is! And God is in control!

God is supreme, almighty, omnipotent. His will is what happens in His universe. His will prevails!

So if you believe this, then there is something you can do to fulfill your destiny. There is something you can do to make your life meaningful.

Join God in accomplishing His will!

The Teacher says it like this: "When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity" (vs. 12:12-13).