Imagine a run-down neighborhood. For years, city council made poor choices. The economy slowly collapses. Public parks become hidden by weeds. Family ties are strained. Crime is on the rise. Nevertheless, the neighborhood was once a place of refuge. Storefronts and sidewalks were once full of laughter. People stood together.

News about this downfall catches media attention. CNN, FOX, ABC—they send reporters to the neighborhood. Perhaps, as people see what’s broken, it will create longings for what’s better. Cameras follow the reporters around. Can you hear their reports? “Behind me, Jim, I’m seeing city hall where many of these bad decisions were made.” “Thanks, Sarah. Yes, I’m seeing a lot of poverty and not a lot of answers.”

At times, Ecclesiastes reads like a reporter describing what he sees. Only, the neighborhood is our broken world. In 3:16, it’s like he walked us down to the courthouse and reports, “I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness.” Then he leads his camera crew down the street, this time to the CPS office; and in 4:1 he reports, “I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun.”

Three more times today, we’ll hear those words: “I saw…I saw…I saw.” The Preacher continues his report on the state of our neighborhood, and it’s not good. He knows what’s better for the neighborhood. To match his three “I saw” statements he will also give us three “Better than” statements. We’re better together. But under the sun, things like envy, craving riches, pride—they keep driving neighbors apart. What kind of neighbor are you? Perhaps, as you see what’s broken, it will create longings for what’s truly better. How will the neighborhood ever change? Let’s find out. Verse 4…

⁴ Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. ⁵ The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. ⁶ Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. ⁷ Again, I saw vanity under the sun: ⁸ one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. ⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. ¹⁰ For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? ¹² And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ¹³ Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. ¹⁴ For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. ¹⁵ I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. ¹⁶ There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

The main idea is we’re better together than toiling apart. The structure of our sermon will match the structure of our passage. Again, that’s marked by three “I saw” statements combined with three “Better than” statements. Three more times, we will feel this tension in Ecclesiastes between the world as gift and the world as groaning. The Preacher knows what’s better, but he can’t escape what’s broken.

Contentment vs. Envy and Laziness

As he walks the neighborhood, we hear the Preacher’s next report in verses 4-6. He sees that contentment is better, but envy and laziness keep destroying neighbors. Verse 4, “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

To this point, Ecclesiastes has repeated that work is a gift from God. We must enjoy this gift. 2:24, “There’s nothing better for a person than to…find enjoyment in his toil.” 3:13, “Everyone should…take pleasure in his toil.” 3:22, “There’s nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work.” But here we learn of a vice that will rob you of joy in work, a vice that morphs work into a vain striving after wind.

Envy is that vice. Envy is “longing for what other people have.”[i] Jealousy is another way to translate this word. It’s the spirit of always competing to get ahead of your neighbor. When your neighbor falls flat on their face, envy is that impulse making you think, “Yes! This will make me look better than him. I could even go and help him up now, and it will make me look even more virtuous.”

On the flipside, envy can’t enjoy your neighbor’s successes either. Sure, it can smile and say, “Congrats!” but inside envy eats at you. What they get to enjoy only makes you feel worse about yourself: “If only we all had the resources to be so successful.” “Oh! Look at her Instagram. Always the perfect mom. Must be nice to have everything just handed to you like that.” Their gain is always about your lack.

What’s wrong with our neighborhood? Envy is driving people apart. Work becomes an exhausting chore because you’re always competing. Toil, toil, toil—the pressure is on. Stay in front. Get to the top. With envy, work isn’t about serving your neighbor; it’s about serving you. You can’t love those you envy. Envy turns others into objects to get what you want or obstacles in the way of what you want. James 3:16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

But envy isn’t the only problem. Laziness also plagues the neighborhood. Verse 5, “The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.” “Folding the hands” often pictures a lazy person. Proverbs 6:10, “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

You see, some work to stay ahead of their neighbors. But others do nothing at all for their neighbors. They look at the rat race of people toiling away in their envy, and rightly say, “Ah, what’s the point in that?” But then they choose to do nothing; and it’s just as self-destructive. The lazy person “eats his own flesh.” Self-cannibalism? Really? It’s meant to disturb you. We were made to work, create, build, order, and produce things that serve our neighbors—all to image our Maker and what he is like. But laziness is dehumanizing. It causes image-bearers to waste away both in soul and body.

What’s the better way? Verse 6, “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” Notice the imagery of hands. “Folding the hands” pictures laziness in verse 5. “Two hands full of toil” pictures the envy of verse 4. Then he says, “Better is one handful of quietness/rest.” It’s a picture of contentment. One hand is full and that’s enough. Presumably the other hand is working, but not from envy. The soul is at rest in what he already has. Contentment is a state of mind that’s not frantic but peaceful. You’re not just tolerating less while complaining about not having more; you’re at ease with the resources God has provided.

Contentment enjoys what’s given and then uses it to serve the Lord and others. The neighborhood is best served when the people in it are content. Don’t we find this in the Gospels? In Luke 3:14, what does John tell the soldiers who come to be baptized? “Don’t extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” Contentment undermines extortion. Contentment is better.

Still, the Preacher can’t unsee what’s broken. On this side of Eden, envy and laziness keep destroying neighbors. He sees it everywhere. I’m sure you’ve felt its effects in your own life. Perhaps envy or laziness has even warped the kind of neighbor you have been from time to time.

Companionship vs. Craving Riches Alone

But that’s not all he sees. He also sees that companionship is better, but the craving of riches keeps isolating people. Look at verse 7: “Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother.” He mentions “son or brother” because, in ancient Israel, they got first dibs on the family inheritance. But the Hebrew exposes a more dire situation. Literally, “there was one without a second.” This person has absolutely nobody, not even a second companion.

Why is that? Well, externally speaking, he’s a workaholic. Verse 8 says, “There is no end to all his toil.” He doesn’t have time for anybody else. He leaves the house early; he stays late. Sure, work requires him to interact with people, but only insofar as they can generate him a profit. But to care for them? “Who has time for that? Knowing them takes time; and time is money.” When he comes home, his work comes with him. The emails don’t stop. He’s staring at a screen or answering the phone. Suddenly, we realize why he’s so alone—his endless toil has pushed everyone away.

But what’s behind that? His endless toil is only a symptom of a deeper, internal problem. Internally speaking, he craves riches. Verse 8 again: “his eyes are never satisfied with riches.” In the early 1900s, John D. Rockefeller was America’s richest man. He owned 90 percent of the nation’s oil and gas industry. At the height of his career, a reporter once asked him, “How much money is enough?” Rockefeller famously quipped, “Just a little bit more.”[ii] Such is the man of verse 8. Riches never satisfy.

In fact, he’s so fixed on getting more, he forgets the people in his life. Money is a means of exchange, so that we can support ourselves and meet the needs of others. Ephesians 4:28 encourages us to do our work honestly, so that we might have something to share with anyone in need. 1 Timothy 5:8 says that even non-Christians know their obligation to provide for family members. But this man never even asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure? This also is vanity and an unhappy business.”

One way to rob yourself of joy in work is envy. But another way is the love of money—it’s an unhappy business. Have you forgotten that question: “For whom”? Have you forgotten why you work to begin with? Have objects replaced the people in your life? Maybe it’s not objects. Maybe it’s your career goals, your social status, your legacy, your influence. Someone might say, “But look how successful I am! Look at what I’ve built!” How are you defining success? And what’s it costing you? Your wife? Your children? Your friends? Your time with church members?

Craving riches is an isolating thing. It might put you on top. But you’ll be there alone. And we’ve known since the beginning (Genesis 2), “It’s not good for man to be alone.” The Preacher knows that it’s not good for man to be alone. So, into this brokenness he shows us what’s better. Verse 9, “Two are better than one.” That’s the opposite of verse 8: “one that had no second.” Now he says, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.” What reward does he have in mind?

Verses 10-12 illustrate the good reward. “For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” What are these getting at?

Mutual support in various times of helplessness, various times of need, various times of weakness and vulnerability. How are you going to make it? When the cancer diagnosis comes, when Alzheimer’s erases your memory, when parenting becomes exhausting, when family betrays you, when your loved one is dying, when persecutors threaten you, when the company downsizes and you lose your job—how are you going to make it in these various times of need? Together. That’s the reward of community. Having a second in your life—and a third and a fourth and a fifth. The point is not “Get married,” though some have taken this passage that way. The point is broader—we’re better together. God made man to be together.

But sin has so warped our desires, that we often put ourselves in places that are alone. Now, he’s not saying every instance of solitude is bad. Elsewhere in Scripture, we find examples of our Savior withdrawing from the crowds to rest and pray. But that only strengthened him to draw near once again to serve his neighbor and provide for them. The problems come when we stop thinking about our neighbors at all, or as we find here, when we trade companionship for riches and personal gain.

Our culture feels this. In January of this year, journalist Derek Thompson wrote a cover story for The Atlantic titled, “The Anti-Social Century.” Thompson draws from multiple sociologists who have written at length about America’s “epidemic of loneliness.” We’re one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and we’re very creative in finding new ways to be alone. We trade time together at a table for takeout. Living rooms where people once talked are now built around the television. We once knew the cashier’s name, but Amazon Prime means we don’t have to talk to anybody. Airports were places to meet people, but now everyone is glued to a screen.[iii]

Before that Robert Putnam published a lengthy study titled Bowling Alone. Our riches have allowed us to make incredible advances in technology such that we’re more connected than ever. But these same “devices allow the illusion of connection without the demands of friendship and conversation.”[iv] More than that, the algorithms baked into social media platforms “exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness.”[v] Far from bringing us together, it’s tearing us apart and leaving people alone.

Who says Ecclesiastes isn’t relevant? We’re better together. But it’s our cravings for riches and power and popularity that are driving us apart.

Wisdom vs. Folly of Pride

The Preacher has one more stop, though. As he walks the neighborhood, this time he stops at a political rally. He sees that wisdom is better, but pride keeps people from valuing it for very long. Verse 13, “Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

You need to know, this isn’t an easy section to interpret. Some of you might’ve gotten lost as I read because your English translation reads so differently. Verse 13 is clear. It’s better to be a nobody and have wisdom than to be a somebody and too proud to take correction. Proverbs 12:15 gets at a similar point: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Throughout wisdom literature, the fool is a person who refuses to accept correction from others. Instead of listening to his neighbors, he ignores his neighbors. He’s right in his own eyes—and that’s all that matters to a fool.

Verse 13 pictures an old king that became this way. But after verse 13, it’s difficult to follow which character is in view: the wise youth or the old king. On top of that, the Hebrew of verse 15 possibly indicates yet a third king who enters the picture. You can see this reflected in the CSB. It reads this way: “I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him.”

So, with that said, let me give you three options. Option 1: a story of one king. Verse 14 tells the story of one king, who started as a poor, wise youth and later became an old, foolish king. In what’s now his kingdom, a man had once been born poor. He was so poor in his youth that he served in prison. Yet because of his wisdom, this same youth came from prison to rule. Everybody followed this young, wise king. But eventually he stopped taking advice. And those who came later did not rejoice in him. What’s the point? Wisdom is better. But people [like this king] are fickle and willing to abandon wisdom to suit their own selfish agendas.

Option 2: a story of two kings. Verse 14 tells the story of how the old, foolish king was replaced by the poor, wise youth. That youth was born in poverty. He even served in prison. Yet because of his wisdom, this same youth came from prison to rule. Everybody followed that youth who now stood in the place of their old king. Eventually, though, the people no longer rejoice in him. What’s the point? Wisdom is better. But people are fickle, and they don’t value wisdom very long.

Option 3: a story of three kings. Same story as option 2. Only that when you get to verse 15 the first youth who replaced the old, foolish king—eventually he gets replaced by a second youth. Everybody followed yet another king, and eventually they get tired of him too. What’s the point? Wisdom is better. But people are fickle, and they’re willing to abandon a wise king for the next guy who’s young and popular.

In all three scenarios—whether you’re looking at an individual king or the people as a collective body—the main point seems to be the same: wisdom isn’t valued for very long in a broken world. It’s better than folly. But we get so bored with wisdom. It takes too long to get feedback and listen to your neighbor’s advice; and now we have to rethink this policy and “I just want to get my stuff done in my way and in my time.”

Going back to that article in The Atlantic, Derek Thompson also brings up the subject of AI companions. People are turning to Artificial Intelligence for their emotional support. But get this: “You can set up [these AI companions] to never criticize you…and to always be interested in you.”[vi] We’re not just replacing real neighbors with pretend ones; we’re designing pretend ones to reinforce our folly. Thus, history repeats itself, because humanity can’t deliver itself from its sinful state.

Better Together in Christ

We know what’s better, but we’re constantly dragged down by what’s broken in us. Contentment is better, but envy and laziness keep destroying our neighborliness. Companionship is better, but the craving of riches keeps isolating us. Wisdom is better, but pride keeps us from valuing it for very long. Who will save us? Who will save our neighborhood? Not anybody under the sun. People under the sun are too broken.

But there is someone not mentioned here under the sun—he’s the One who reigns above the sun. He remains untouched by our brokenness. God can save us. God has acted to save us in the person of Jesus Christ. God’s Son reigns above the sun; and he took on flesh under the sun. He became like us in every respect, only without sin. He’s not just better; he has no brokenness in him whatsoever.

Jesus is the perfect neighbor. Never driven by envy. Never lazy. Always content with whatever his Father provided. In every thought, word, deed, and desire—Jesus loved his neighbor as himself. He didn’t trade his companions for riches, though they offered it to him (John 6:15). Though Satan offered him the kingdoms of the world, Jesus stuck to loving his neighbors to the end (Matt 4). And for Jesus, wisdom never grew old. He increased in wisdom as he submitted himself wholly to his Father’s plan.

And though the world witnessed this perfect embodiment of contentment, companionship, and wisdom—even that didn’t keep them from trading their truest companion for riches. Judas worked the deal. It was also envy that drove them to crucify Jesus. Matthew 27:18, “[Pilate] knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” And the crowds who once hailed this young, wise youth as king—where were they when the soldiers arrested him? Where were his disciples? Even Peter was willing to deny him three times. He valued Christ’s wisdom, but not if it came with a cross.

They all left him, alone. It’s not good for man to be alone. But our sin left the Son of God alone. This was no surprise to Jesus. He told them in John 16:32, “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and [you] will leave me alone.” “Yet,” Jesus goes on to say, “I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” Our God had a plan in it all. Why did Jesus die alone?

Because only he could save us. He died alone to bring us together—to reconcile us with God and to reconcile us to each other. He died to save the neighborhood. He died to cancel your sin of envy, to forgive your sin of laziness, to deliver you from craving riches, and to replace your pride with humility.

Listen to the way Titus 3:3-5 puts it: “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.”

Not only that—God raised him from the dead and seated him above the sun; and from that place of victory, he sent the Holy Spirit to create a new people, a new neighborhood called the church. That’s you! You are not just a city development plan; you are a new creation. One day, we will live together as perfect neighbors with a mutual love beyond anything we can imagine. But even now we get tastes of that coming kingdom in the relationships God creates with one another.

Through our relationship with Jesus, we can put off envy and put on contentment. Paul said, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content…In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me” (Phil 4:11-13).

In Christ, we also put off laziness and put on devotion to good works. Not too long ago, we learned that from Titus 3:8—grace causes good works. God’s goodness to us motivates our goodness to others. Also, I quoted Ephesians 4:28 earlier: “[do] honest work with [your] own hands, so that [you] may have something to share with anyone in need.” That grows from the “new self” that God is renewing in Christ.

Through Christ, we can also put off craving riches and put on generosity to our neighbors. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, the gospel motivates the church’s generosity: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” When you embrace that gospel, it moves your heart and hands to help people instead of pushing them away.

Not only that, when the Holy Spirit fills the church in the book of Acts, what is the context of their generosity? Togetherness. Acts 2:44, “and all who believed were together.” It was noticeable to the public that these people were always “together.” People who wouldn’t have been together before were now together in Christ.

Do you believe that in Christ you are better together? Are you committed to togetherness? God is. At the cost of his own Son, God is committed to your togetherness. How are you doing life together? Our time commitments reveal our values. Do you value Jesus’ church? You can’t fulfill the “one-anothers” alone. They require togetherness.

The pictures in verses 10-12 of mutual support in times of need—that’s what the church is supposed to be for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” Don’t let your work habits push people out. Don’t let hobbies isolate you. Don’t let prior hurt keep you from drawing near. Don’t let others isolate themselves. Show hospitality, gather, pursue, ask, be present. We’re better together than toiling apart.

Not only that, we’re also here to correct one another. The foolish king no longer knew how to take advice. The older you get, don’t become like him. Fools can’t take correction. But in Christ, we can take all kinds of correction. God has already forgiven us and made us right with him—so what’s the worst someone can say, “That you got something wrong? That you didn’t think it through? That [gasp!] you’re a sinner?” We know that already. God knows that. God told the world that we’re all sinners when he sacrificed his Son in our place. And in that he loved you with a great love.

One of the ways he keeps loving you is through people in the church who correct, rebuke, and warn. Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him.” Hebrews 3:13 says, “Exhort one another every day.” James 5:19 says, “If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Your spiritual growth is a community project.

The Preacher sees how badly the neighborhood is broken. But he also sees what’s better. We’re better together than toiling apart; and Christ has made our togetherness a reality for the church through is his life, death, and resurrection. Under the sun, our togetherness won’t always be easy. It will still be mixed with some of our lingering brokenness. But our togetherness won’t always be broken. God’s story ends with a new creation, a new world. All tribes, peoples, tongues, nations will be together as one before Jesus the Lamb. Leaves from the tree of life will bring healing and there will be no more reports about a neighborhood that’s broken.

________

[i] I. Howard Marshall, 1 Peter (Downers Grove: IVP, 1991), 62.

[ii] “John D. Rockefeller,” New World Encycolpedia (February 2007), accessed at https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_D._Rockefeller.

[iii] Derek Thompson, “The Anti-Social Century,” The Atlantic (February 2025), 26-38, accessible at https://cdn.theatlantic.com/media/magazine/pdfs/202502.pdf.

[iv] Robert Putnum, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020), 425.

[v] Putnum, Bowling Alone, 430.

[vi] Thompson, “Anti-Social,” 37.