Ecclesiastes 3:1 is the passage made famous by the 60s pop group, The Byrds, in their song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Ecclesiastes 3 begins with the writer saying, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV). He then lists a variety of events in what seem to be pairs of opposites: times for being born and dying, weeping and laughing, building up and tearing down. The wisdom teacher’s main point is that there is a time for everything. Verse 11 starts with a thought that seems tailormade for a Christian T-Shirt or mug, “He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11a, NIV). But the teacher has more still to say—his point is not actually all that cut out for a pithy quote on pretty merch. 

He continues with “He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11b, NIV). God has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also given humans the desire to transcend time and know how everything fits together beautifully. But only God can fathom such things. Ouch. I am reminded of a Radiohead song, “All I Need,” in which Thom Yorke describes different situations fraught with the feeling of being unable to escape something. When he gets to the bridge, he begins to croon, as the song crescendos, “It’s all right. It’s all wrong.” He sings both phrases in such a way as to make them increasingly indistinguishable. By the end of the song, we are left with that feeling of being faced with a moral dilemma too difficult to solve. 

In a different way, this is also the issue Kohelet, the writer of Ecclesiastes, is confronting. There is a time for everything it would seem. But knowing when an action is right or wrong is not always clear. The world today, as complex as it is, has no shortage of issues with ambiguities and tensions not easily resolved. Still, Kohelet does not leave us completely in the dark. “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live” (Ecclesiastes 3:12, NIV). While we may not always know the perfect answer to a problem, we can still do our part by being happy, or in the original Hebrew, rejoicing or celebrating the goodness of God and His works in the world. We can also do our part by doing the good works God has called us to do. In the process, we will find that the longing for eternity in our hearts is only satisfied by the Eternal One.

Dig Deeper

Even when issues are complex, we can still find ways to do good. Research an issue you are passionate about and find a way to volunteer with an organization in your community that is making positive change in that issue. 

Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.  —Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, a Lutheran theologian (1892-1971) 

Daily Readings