Pointless?

Round and round

Do you ever feel like life is pointless? Christmas has been and gone, the new year has arrived and now we’re almost half-way through January. The good memories of Christmas are fading, and what we looked forward to for so long is now just that: only memories. And not all of them golden. Now there’s just work to do and the credit card bill to pay. Round and round we go, getting older but apart from that nothing really changes…

Even with something as simple as tidying the kitchen: I can (occasionally!) do a really proper job, feel satisfied with everything neatly put away, and admire the sparkling table. But it’s never long after I’ve “finished” before someone makes it very much “unfinished” again. What was even the point in cleaning it in the first place?! 

Hardly anything seems to last, it seems like life goes on and nothing really changes, it’ll just be eleven more months of sleeping, eating, working, talking, frustration, tiredness, sleeping…and Christmas will be starting again.

Maybe, like me, you try to push the thoughts away, but secretly long for something more pointful, something with direction, with good and lasting meaning. 

An Old Phenomenon

If that’s you, we’re in surprisingly good company. Some wise words were written on exactly this theme, most likely by a king called Solomon, who lived about 3000 years ago, which are recorded in the Bible. See what you make of it:

What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.
…
All streams flow into the sea,

    yet the sea is never full.
…
All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
    nor the ear its fill of hearing. (Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verses 3-4,7,8)

Solomon is relatable, isn’t he? 

He recognises and even validates these thoughts and frustrations about how life can be circular, and feel pointless. When he asks “what do people gain?”, he’s saying: what’s the benefit, what’s the point of it all? Whole generations of people come, and then they go. What was the point of that? All streams flow into the sea, but it’s never full. People are always unsatisfied, wanting to see more of the world and hear more music. We always want more and are never going to be satisfied. So what is the point?

The Tension Heightens 

A bit further on, Solomon increases the tension:

Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 13)

“Who can straighten what he” - God - ”has made crooked?” Does that surprise you? It certainly surprises me; it’s the exact opposite of what I would have expected to read! Why would God make things crooked? We’re not just talking about a bent stick or something. Solomon’s book is about the frustrations of life and work, that can make the whole world feel pointless. And now he explains that God is behind this! God is the one who has bent this world, and everything we do, out of shape. He’s made it imperfect, frustrating, “crooked”. 

Well, it certainly explains our perpetual frustrations and the January blues that so many of us feel. Even as I write this post, people have written on Reddit today: “life just feels pointless and I don't know how to change” and “I’m so tired of living”. 

So What Is The Point?

Is there any hope? Why would God make things crooked? It seems wrong and even harsh for Him to do this. It could only be for a reason that is so much better, that it makes it worth going through the pain. 

And I think the reason actually takes us right back to the root of the human problem. Think about it: every time something doesn’t go right in our lives, it reminds us that we’re not in control. And each time that happens, it’s an opportunity to recognise the only Person who is in control. In fact, He’s put these difficulties, these circumstances, these frustrations into our lives so that we might reach out to Jesus and ask Him for help.

The help He offers touches every part of life now, and even more importantly, He can give a complete rescue for life after death, forever. However many frustrations we go through now, that is a reason good enough and a reason long enough to see us through.

What do you think? Your “forever” is definitely worth investing in. Why not ask Jesus for help? Or get in touch with me (juliasnodgrasstilford@gmail.com) or someone you know is a Christian to chat about any question you might have. We’d love to hear from you.

~ By Julia Tilford