Mankind is sick. We’re all infected with the deadliest disease in the world. It’s not COVID-19 or malaria or cancer. This disease has killed more people than anything else. So, what’s our diagnosis? Sin. We’re all infected with sin. And this infection is terminal. King Solomon witnessed the nasty disease of sin as he searched for meaning. In Ecclesiastes 4 he writes about the corruption of mankind. In the last two weeks we learned that God’s plan will never fail because He controls all things. One day God will judge mankind and make all things new. But for now, we live in a sin-cursed, sin-dominated, and sin-infatuated world. Solomon proves that mankind is corrupted by sin with two facts:

The first fact is man’s authority is corrupt (Eccl. 4:1-3). The powerful oppress the weak. Governments are known for being corrupt, dishonest, and oppressive. Most of human history is dominated by tyrannical governments that abused their power for selfish gain. As Solomon looked at the history of the world, it was clear to him that people with power are often oppressive. But it’s not just governments, husbands have abused their families, employers have mistreated their employees, and social elites have abused and mocked the outcast. The truth is man uses power for evil because we’re corrupted by sin.

Sadly, man is getting worse. Everyone that has lived has seen the evil of mankind. Solomon says the dead and non-existent are better off because this world is only getting worse. Man is not getting better! Even with the great advances in technology over the last hundred years man is not becoming good. The internet has provided man with access to all kinds of profanity. The advances in transportation have also led to an increase in human trafficking and drug trade. Although things like the internet and transportation are not bad in and of themselves, man has found a way to use them for evil. 

The second fact is man’s motivations are evil (Eccl. 4:4-16). Solomon describes three sinful motivations. First, man is often motivated by envy. Our work, art, and skillful labor is motivated by covetousness. Our lack of satisfaction with our own lives leads us to think that everyone else has it better. So, we envy people’s money and possessions and work tirelessly to get what they have. Solomon says this is vanity. 

Solomon gives two extremes of man’s sinful lifestyles: laziness and living solely for work. Both are foolish. Laziness is sinful. The fool folds his hands, refuses to work, and because of it he’s forced to eat his own flesh. The other person overexerts himself because he’s chasing after more. He works tirelessly to get ahead and acquire more things for himself. Wisdom is being content with little and not overworking yourself trying to earn much. 

Second, we see that man is often motivated by selfish greed. This is also vanity. Solomon describes a life of endless toil and dissatisfaction. The point is selfishly pursuing riches will never satisfy. Greed is vanity because it’s a waste of time. Man works so hard his whole life to have a “good” life but wastes his life in the process. Our selfish greed drives others away and causes loneliness. We’ve all seen the movies with the husband that is always working and never home and eventually he loses his family because of it. Greed only brings loneliness and pain.

The third evil motivation that drives man is the pursuit of prestige. This motivation is vanity because power, prestige, and fame are temporary. Being popular and well-liked is a fleeting commodity. Solomon illustrates this with a short story about a king who ascended to the throne from poverty. This is a classic rags to riches story. At first the king was well-liked by his people. But eventually he forgot his roots and became proud and foolish in his old age. He refused to listen and take advice. The kingdom that once loved him would look forward to his successor because their king had become foolish. Fame and prestige are temporary and fleeting. 

This is the sad state of mankind. Man’s authority is corrupted by sin. Instead of using it for good, we use it to oppress the weak. Man’s motivations are evil. Because of sin, we are separated from God. We have no hope in ourselves. Our hope must come from someone else. Although power and evil desires corrupt mankind, there was one person that was never corrupted by sin. That person was Jesus Christ. But Jesus was no ordinary man. He is God in human flesh. He came to this earth to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life with Him. He is our only hope. God is all-powerful and will judge those that use their power for evil. He will also comfort those that turn to Him in their affliction. So, if you’re tired of searching for comfort and relief in this world, then turn to Christ. Jesus Christ is the only hope for your soul. He is the only One that can fix your problem with sin because He can forgive your sin. Jesus is our only hope.