Ecclesiastes 1-2

“Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain” (1:18). Without the protection of faith in the Creator who is both powerful and merciful, “increasing knowledge” of our world can certainly lead to pain. Thousands of years after the book of Ecclesiastes, nothing has changed. Many people spend their entire lives in poverty; others work hard, achieve “security,” and die. Most people crave pleasure, but the pursuit of pleasure ends in emptiness (ch 2).

God understands our broken, rebellious world more completely than we do. Life is not pointless (1:2), because He loves us.