Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain are both credited as saying, “The Only Two Certainties In Life Are Death And Taxes.”
Thousands of years prior, Solomon noticed the same thing about death. He writes, “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
So Solomon is saying in this verse (and in verses 1-2), that no matter who you are, no matter how much money you have, no matter how “religious” you are, no matter how smart you are, you are going to die! “The same event happens to all.”
Why in the world would he need to mention this? If we had time, I would show you the next ten verses. But to keep things short, I will just summarize. Solomon mentions death because he wants us to live with intentionality. In verse 10, he says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…”
Years ago, Stephen Covey wrote a well-known business book called, “Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People.” One of the main points in the book was this: begin with the end in mind. What he meant is that if you know where you need to get to, then that will help you along the way.
Likewise, if we all know we are going to die, then that should help us live accordingly! That should direct us to live with some intentionality.
Let me ask you: What do you spend your time on? We all have those basics, like sleep, eating, and (hopefully) showering. But what about the rest of the time? Do you spend your free time with frivolous stuff? Or do you spend it on things that make a difference? Do you spend your time alone, or do you involve other people? Do you spend countless hours wasting away in front of the television? Or do you spend it more productively?
In this same passage, Solomon makes it very clear that we should enjoy the life God has given us. But all the things that he lists are things that we enjoy as gifts from God. Food, family, friends, celebrations. These are things with other people that can lead to meaningful moments with the ones you love. What he doesn’t say is, “Waste your time on unproductive things.”
So I encourage you, enjoy life with all of your might. But make sure that your enjoyment is meaningful. If you know you are going to one day die, have some goals of what you want to achieve in life, and act accordingly!
Don’t waste your life. Don’t waste the gifts God has blessed you with. Instead, enjoy what he has given you!