“I hated all the things I had for under the sun,
because I must leave them to one who comes after me.”
Ecclesiastes 1:18
Yesterday the Teacher, writer of Ecclesiastes, lamented because he realized that death is the great equalizer. The wise and the foolish all die so what’s the point? Today in versus 17-23 he again despairs as he looks at his toil, the works of his hands and realizes they will be inherited by someone after him and he does not know if that person will be wise or foolish. So what is the point of work if it will be inherited by someone who will foolishly squander the worker’s creations, he ponders. He concludes it is all meaningless.
My first thought is that when we worry about how others might use our stuff, we open ourselves to accusations of having “control issues.” The Teacher does not want a foolish person to inherit that which he has worked so hard to create. I bet we can identify with that feeling. But then I think of the hard work to make a birthday cake but the fun of watching the kids dig in and laugh. I think of the hard work of labor and the joy of birth and the amazement of seeing that new little life. My husband loved to run a marathon and collapse in exhaustion at the end with all of us cheering him. The Teacher ponders how his toil will be treated by another. Perhaps that gives us some insight into the heart of God who toiled over his creation for six “days.” He still gave humanity free will. I suspect it grieves his heart even as it grieves the Teacher’s heart when someone misuses or abuses his creation.
You are God’s toil and he grieves when some foolish person does not respect you. You are important to him. Wow! That is not meaningless.
On the Way to Wonder 