by Bob Hostetler

Matthew Emmons aimed his rifle at the target one last time. He was one shot away from his second Olympic gold medal in Athens. He squeezed the trigger. It was a perfect shot. Unfortunately, he had aimed at the wrong target, an embarrassing and disqualifying mistake that dropped him from first to eighth place in the fifty-meter rifle, three-position target event.

Many people do something similar when they shoot for success. They work hard and achieve much, only to discover that they were aiming at the wrong target. They pursue success without pausing to define success, without making sure they’re aiming at true success.

In that respect, they’re like the ancient sage whose writings are preserved in the book of Ecclesiastes. Writing from the pinnacle of achievement — a king on a throne, the world’s wisest and richest man — he describes how he tried losing himself in work, hoarding money and possessions, and pursuing every worldly pleasure, as if success in those areas would satisfy his cravings. Eventually, however, he learned what true success in life looks like — the target the wise should aim for.

Live responsibly

Some readers and commentators consider Ecclesiastes to be a cynical book. That may be true, but its more prominent characteristic is irony. It’s a book that warns against the writing of books. Its wisdom consists of showing the pursuit of wisdom to be meaningless. And it’s the record of a man who learned the meaning of true success only by firsthand experience, which he hoped to pass on via secondhand instruction.

Nine and a half chapters into the memoir of his pursuit of fulfillment in life, the sage finally starts to impart a few secrets of true success. He writes:

Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time — for strength and not for drunkenness (10:16, 17).

In the culture of that day, rulers and judges held court in the morning. Late afternoon and evening were times for feasting. When the so-called responsible people reverse the proper order of things, when government officials are irresponsible, self-indulgent, and self-serving, everyone loses. But everybody wins, the sage says, when kings and presidents, owners and employers, leaders and managers, are responsible.

He goes on to say:

Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks (v. 18).

In other words, what is the measure of success? Take care of business. Pay your rent on time. Maintain your property. Pick up after yourself. Live responsibly.

But living responsibly is not just a matter of mowing the lawn and paying the bills. A few verses later, the sage says:

Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say (v. 20).

This is an admonition to be responsible in what we say, and it’s a key to success: Don’t say things you’ll be sorry for later —even if no one’s listening, even in your thoughts, even in your own bedroom.

So many relationships are ruined by careless words: things said in anger, offhand comments, whispered words “in confidence.” People have lost jobs over such things. Families have been fractured. Churches have split. All because of someone who couldn’t keep their mouth shut.

Live responsibly, the sage says. In your civic life, in your home life, in leisure, and in language.

Live generously

The next target to aim for is living generously:

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth (11:1, 2, NKJV).

In other words, practice openhanded generosity. Give freely to the needs of others.

The phrase “Cast your bread upon the waters” was probably an Arabic proverb for what looked like wasteful expenditure. No one would take good bread and throw it in the river or onto the ocean waves. That would be like “throwing your money down a rat hole” or “throwing good money after bad.”

But the sage enjoins that very thing. He doesn’t suggest spending like drunken sailors but says to be generous — maybe even uncomfortably so — when you see a need. In the wisdom and purpose of God, it may return to you someday, somehow, when you are in need.

The sage goes on to suggest four reasons to live generously:

Because generosity is the natural outflow of a full life, like clouds that fill up and empty themselves, again and again, over and over (v. 3). God fills up the clouds, not so they can get bigger and bigger but so they can empty themselves over and over. If God has blessed you, He did it so you can empty yourself, like the clouds of heaven.

Because by being generous, you will more likely fulfill God’s reasons for putting you where you are. The sage’s mention of the tree falling to the south or north (v. 3) may be his way of saying, “Wherever God has put you, meet needs around you. Be alert to the reasons God may have for placing you where you are.”

Because every stage of life is ideally suited for being generous. The sage writes, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (v. 4). That is, don’t wait for the perfect time to give. Don’t think you have to have so much in the bank before you start giving. Don’t wait for the kids to grow up. Don’t wait for the next raise. Because now is always the time to be generous.

Because you don’t know all that God will do through your generosity. The sage says you don’t know where the wind comes from or how a baby’s body forms in a mother’s womb. Neither do you know what God will do with your generosity or what He will do for you someday as a result of it (vv. 5, 6). You don’t know whether the tithe you scrape together in a time of need may come back to you at the most opportune time. You don’t know whether your kindness to a friend may make possible an even larger kindness. You don’t know the power of God or the timing of God. He changes and blesses lives; He changes the history of the world by the phenomenon of godly generosity.

Live thoughtfully

The sage mentions one more target to aim for if you’re shooting for success:

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless (vv. 7, 8).

Light and sun are symbols of life lived in the love of God. Just as we love to step outside when we see the sun break through on a cloudy, gloomy day, so we can enjoy the love of God, the sense of His acceptance, the joy of His presence, the knowledge that we’re approved and accepted by Him, the gift of righteousness by faith. That is success.

But those lines also contain a warning. The sage is not being maudlin or pessimistic when he says to enjoy the years you’ve been given, but remember the dark days. He’s saying, “Make the most of good days, because everybody has bad days.”

That’s common sense. The idea is not to let yesterday’s rain or tomorrow’s forecast ruin today’s parade.

But the sage isn’t saying only, “Make the most of good days, because everybody has bad days.” He’s also talking about preparing for the end of our earthly lives. In verses 9, 10 he says when young, use your limitless energy, enjoy your good looks, follow your dreams, seize opportunities, and take advantage of being young. But remember that though there are great, open doors of opportunity set before you (which you won’t have later in life), approach them thoughtfully, considering that many people spend a lifetime recovering from bad choices. Some even spend an eternity suffering for them.

Success consists of making your choices and living your life in the awareness that this life is not all there is. True success takes thought not only for this life but also for the life to come.

No matter what your past has been or what your future might be, you can live successfully if you aim well at the right target. True success is living in the awareness that all that is done “under the sun” is not all that is done. Success is living responsibly, generously, and thoughtfully in this life, all while aiming for and anticipating the next.