I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:4

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25).  There is that which looks like labor and achievement, but, as a despondent King Solomon observed, it all the result of rivalry, envy, between a man and his neighbor.  It is vanity, meaningless, and a striving after the wind.

Consider the words of the apostle John.  He said that everyone who truly loves is born of God (1 John 4:7).  If love is the restoration God is looking to bring to the human heart (Matthew 22:40), then love is principally the one thing which fallen man cannot do (1 Peter 1:22, Galatians 5:6).  There is no true benevolence, as King Solomon pointed out, there is no real industry.  What appears to be love at the outset is really a misidentified attempting to gratify the flesh.

Read more…