Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Purpose of Life
This is a debate that's going on all the time—it's not so specific to our own day. But Ecclesiastes has some odd comments to add to the mix. Usually, in modern times, the debate about whether life has a greater purpose or not breaks down into an argument between religious people and humanists, or free-thinkers. Of course, an atheist or secular humanist wouldn't argue that life doesn't have a purpose, exactly—just that we need to make up the purpose for ourselves. To a Christian or a person from another religion, that might sound the same as saying that life has no purpose—it's only a purpose if it comes from outside of your own mind and is part of the higher nature of reality. It can't just be something you make up to suit your whims.
Finding your purpose in life is a big part of Christianity in America—consider the title of Rick Warren's evangelical blockbuster, The Purpose Driven Life.
So, that's the debate. But Ecclesiastes somehow manages to wind up playing both sides of it. He doesn't think life has a purpose—it's vanity, meaninglessness. But he does believe in God. And really, it might not be totally fair to say he thinks life has no purpose, whatsoever. It definitely seems purposeless if you get totally caught up in it, pursuing all sorts of wacked-out goals. But Ecclesiastes keeps telling everyone to enjoy the good things in life and to take pleasure in their work, and states that this is a gift from God. It's not exactly the most ambitious program for life anyone has ever heard of. But it's not quite the same as saying that you need to invent your own purpose, either.
Hedonism
People who think that Ecclesiastes is pessimistic also tend to think that he's a party animal—he's a smarter version of Bluto Blutarsky from Animal House. Today, there are plenty of scare stories about whether the kids today are all hopped up on goof-pills (or whatever they're called) or whether college students are having too many casual liaisons (hook-ups). Basically, it all breaks down to an argument about hedonism—seeking pleasure just to seek it, being out for a good time and nothing else. Are people too hedonistic today? How should someone seek out pleasure?
Well, Ecclesiastes gives the age-old answer: in moderation. You shouldn't go overboard with being too righteous or being too foolish, he says—you need to enjoy life while you're here. Don't go starving yourself to death with fasting or being too hard on yourself. But he also says you shouldn't give into "folly and madness"—you can't just let your senses run wild, plunging into a nightmarish sex and drug-fueled odyssey. This isn't a late-period Tom Cruise movie, people.
You need to content yourself with the simple and the good things—but it's still better to be still and appreciate life than to go running after the next shiny thing that flies by.
Feminism
Now, Ecclesiastes doesn't actually talk about women that much. But he does have one pretty horrible outburst of anti-woman sentiment. It's certainly not his best moment.
He says that he's searched everywhere to find an honest man—but it was too hard. Only about one man in a thousand is truly honest, and there are no honest women. None (!). He also says, "I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her" (7:26).
Robert Alter says this last quote isn't quite as misogynistic as it seems to be at first bite. The "woman who is a trap" isn't really meant to refer to most women—she's more of an archetype, like the idea of Folly itself, turned into a person. It's not the most P.C. way of going about things, of course. So, if you're looking for wisdom in Ecclesiastes, you probably might want to skip over verses 7:26-28. Just sayin'.