Common Sense: Life Without Hope is Meaningless and Fearful

"Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

King Solomon, the most likely writer of Ecclesiastes, was the master of common sense. He set his mind and spent his life seeking common sense answers to all of life's experiences and every nation came to listen to his wisdom.

"He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority...And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon." (1 Kings 4:32-34)

With all that wisdom, He had no knowledge that there was anything for mankind after death. So, common sense told him "everything is meaningless". 

"I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless--like chasing the wind...There is nothing ahead but death anyway. There is hope only for the living...the dead know nothing...Everything is meaningless, says the teacher, completely meaningless..." (Ecclesiastes 1:14;9:3-4; 12:8)

His final advice was to...

"Fear God and obey His commandments, for this is everyone's duty. God will judge us for everything we do..." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

This fear and judging was not of a fear of judgment after death. For he had concluded that "the dead know nothing".  The "fear" of God he referred to is the consequences for bad behavior in this life.

He had earlier declared what God "approves" in this life...

"Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne! Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9: 8-9)

The wisest man of the time, Solomon, had no hope in the hereafter and it made him "most miserable". People without hope are still miserable as they approach death.

"If in this life only we have hope...we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:9)

But we who live after the birth of Christ Jesus and believe what He said about life after death have a "blessed hope".

"...looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed." (Titus 2:13-14)

It still makes common sense to fear God and obey His commandments but unlike Solomon, we know life is not "meaningless".  We have three things that will last forever - faith, hope and love.

"Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - the greatest of these is love...God is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 John 4:8)