9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
This is said with certain skepticism as is typical of Solomon; however, we can clearly speak to that issue using the Word of God. What is gained by all of our labors and hard work? The answer depends on what we have labored for. If we, like Paul labor for the sake of the gospel then we shall have an abundant reward (Rom 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”.); however, for someone like Solomon who labored to make a name for himself and pursued personal pleasure more than God it would most certainly be bleak which obviously was the case. Consider Luke 12:16-21 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”. There is ample support in the Word of God confirming that we ought to labor fervently in this life and we will receive a great reward!
- Mat 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works”.
- 1Corinthians 3:8 “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour”.
- Rev 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be”.
There is a point here that I am sure is obvious; however, it must be highlight it to make sure we are all aware of it. That is this; we must take heed to how we labor fervently. Sadly, we have seen the saints of God, like Solomon, waste their time and squander their calling for years while caught up in vain, worldly pursuits. There are works that will profit (our service to the Lord and to His kingdom) and there are works that are in vain (for houses, lands, wealth, self, a name, pleasure and the list goes on). There are governing principles that affect our reward and it boils down to the motivation. One can even appear to be a servant and yet do it for very selfish reasons; our example comes from 1 Corinthians 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing”. The question that will be asked before the Throne of God is this: “What was the motivation behind it all”? We will give Matthew 6:1-4 to support this:
Matt 6:1-4 “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly”. For “profit for our labors” before the Father we need to be fervent and always conscious of what was the motivation behind it all?
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