Ecclesiastes 3:9-15: a reflection

9What profit has he who works in that in which he labors? 10I have seen the burden which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can’t find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end. 12I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live. 13Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. 14I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him. 15That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago. God seeks again that which is passed away.

After pondering the toil and burden of human life, the Preacher arrives at a quiet, grateful conclusion: the simple goods of daily life, food, drink, and enjoyment in our work, are gifts from God. There is nothing better for them, he says, than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live; that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. The ordinary pleasures of life, a meal, a drink, satisfaction in our work, are not to be despised or taken for granted; they are gifts from God, to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. In a life full of toil and things we cannot understand, God gives these simple goods as his gift, to be received gladly. The plain pleasures of daily life, food and work and joy, are gifts of God, meant to be enjoyed with thanks rather than overlooked.

Notice what the Preacher calls the gift of God: the simple goods of daily life, food, drink, enjoyment in our labor. He does not point to some rare or extraordinary blessing; he points to the ordinary pleasures, eating and drinking and finding satisfaction in our work, and calls them the gift of God. These plain goods, so easily taken for granted, are gifts to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. In a life full of toil and burden and things we cannot fathom, God gives these simple pleasures as his own gift, meant to be enjoyed gladly and with thanks. To receive the ordinary goods of daily life, the meal, the drink, the good work, as gifts from God, and to enjoy them with gratitude, is part of wisdom. The simple pleasures are not accidents or mere necessities; they are gifts, and receiving them as such changes how we hold them. Gratitude turns ordinary goods into gifts.

That is worth taking to heart, for the simple goods of daily life are gifts from God, to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. We can take the ordinary pleasures of life for granted, or despise them as too small to matter, hurrying past our meals and our work without thanks; but the Preacher calls eating and drinking and enjoying our labor the gift of God. These plain goods are gifts, meant to be received gladly and with gratitude. To enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life as gifts from God is part of a wise and grateful life. Do not take the simple goods of daily life for granted; receive them as gifts from God, and enjoy them with gratitude, as the Preacher calls them God's gift. Receive the simple goods of daily life, food and drink and joy in your work, as gifts from God, enjoying them with gratitude rather than taking them for granted, as the Preacher says that to eat and drink and enjoy good in all our labor is the gift of God; for the ordinary pleasures of life are not accidents or mere necessities but gifts from God's hand, meant to be received gladly and with thanks, and to hold them as gifts is part of a wise and grateful life.

Lord, after pondering the toil and burden of human life, the Preacher arrives at a quiet, grateful conclusion: the simple goods of daily life, food, drink, and enjoyment in our work, are gifts from you. There is nothing better for them, he says, than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live; that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God. The ordinary pleasures of life, a meal, a drink, satisfaction in our work, are not to be despised or taken for granted; they are gifts from you, to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. Show me what the Preacher calls your gift: the simple goods of daily life, food, drink, enjoyment in our labor. He does not point to some rare or extraordinary blessing; he points to the ordinary pleasures, and calls them the gift of God. These plain goods, so easily taken for granted, are gifts to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. In a life full of toil and burden and things I cannot fathom, you give these simple pleasures as your own gift. To receive the ordinary goods of daily life as gifts from you, and to enjoy them with gratitude, is part of wisdom. Take that to my heart, for the simple goods of daily life are gifts from you, to be received with gratitude and enjoyed. I can take the ordinary pleasures of life for granted, or despise them as too small to matter, hurrying past my meals and my work without thanks; but the Preacher calls eating and drinking and enjoying my labor the gift of God. These plain goods are gifts. Keep me from taking the simple goods of daily life for granted; help me receive them as gifts from you, Lord, and enjoy them with gratitude, as the Preacher calls them your gift.