The Meaning of Life Part 7


The Meaning of Life Part 7 - Just Be Good. Just Be Spiritual
We have covered the various candidates for the meaning of life – wisdom [knowledge/ education], pleasure [happiness], wealth [power], life of service – and while each will bring some meaning, we have found each ultimately wanting. 

Perhaps the meaning of life is just to be a good person, or perhaps to be religious, pious, spiritual, even to find God.
[Eccl 7:27-8:1] “27 "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things- 28 while I was still searching but not finding- I found one [upright] man among a thousand, but not one [upright] woman among them all. 29 This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes." 

It would be nice to really be able to find upright ethical people wherever we go as the norm and not the exception. If that were so, perhaps life would not be as pointless. Unfortunately this is not the case. Yea, we all like to say that we are good and so this does not apply to me.  


Being a good person is a worthwhile goal. In a larger scheme of things though, is it even achievable or even worth it? If you do enough good, will good karma follow you? 

[Eccl 9:1-4] “9:1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. 2 All share a common destiny-the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. 3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.”  

So much for karma. Yes, what you sow you will reap, so if that is your idea of karma giving you a boost, then so be it. Yet, you do not even know if love or hate awaits you. In the end, all share the same common destiny. You try to do good, but the hearts of men are so full of evil that they can relegate your good to little or no effect. Again we find this tension awaits us, where on the one hand the goal is worthwhile, on the other hand, in the long run, we must legitimately question whether it will really change anything. The meaning of life is such that it must cause everything to change. Unfortunately so far, we have found there is really nothing new under the sun.
Solomon knows this tension all too well. He is not advocating throwing up one’s hands and not trying. He is just stating the case that logically it is necessary but not sufficient to be a good person, to be religious, to be righteous (in our own strength, with our own rules) to be the universal meaning of life. As an example, he advocates that one must carry out the sentence for a crime quickly for the hearts of people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Even though a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, it will go better for God-fearing men. Because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them ultimately. 



[Eccl 8:11-15] At the same time we must recognize some level of meaninglessness that will occur “14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.”
It seems that life is not just about being good, or religious or spiritual.  

There is something called God-fearing that can achieve short term meaning but at the same time can it live through and overcome existing meaningless found all around us to achieve long term meaning?

We are close. This is not for those who say with their lips that they know God. You do not qualify if you just acknowledge the God of reason, the God in your head (whatever you imagine Him to be) or is just satisfied with paying homage to the God who must be kept at arms’ length. 

[Eccl 5:1-7] “5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple] messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God. “


To achieve the meaning of life requires an internal disposition that goes beyond talk. 

It knows that even when you have embarked on the true path of the meaning of life, it will encounter many things that will make life meaningless, but it keeps pressing, not living in the extremes, avoiding the extremes, for it knows that, this is the only way the meaning of life will be achieved. 



“ [Eccl 7:15-18] “15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. 16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool- why die before your time? 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes]. “
We can now define what exactly the meaning of life is. Sometimes it takes defining fully what it is not, before light can be shone to determine exactly what it is. We are now ready.

All Blogs in this Series:
  1. Meaning of Life Part 1 - The Contenders
  2. Meaning of Life Part 2 - The Meaninglessness
  3. Meaning of Life Part 3 - Wisdom is the Meaning of Life
  4. Meaning of Life Part 4 - Happiness is the Meaning of Life
  5. Meaning of Life Part 5 - Money can add Meaning to Life
  6. Meaning of Life Part 5b - Status and Power gives Life Meaning
  7. Meaning of Life Part 6 - To Serve Others is the Meaning of Life
  8. Meaning of Life Part 7 - Just Be Good is the Meaning of Life
  9. Meaning of Life Part 8 - The Answer   

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