WEBVTT

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 Good morning. I have some good news and I have some bad news. I'll start with the bad news.

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 If you love your work and enjoy your work days, if you find your work satisfying and rewarding,

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 if in the words of Frederick Buechner you feel that in your work you found the place where your

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 deep gladness and the world's deep hunger have met, well then what I'm about to say may feel

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 like a bit like a wet blanket. However, if your work's hard and you find it frustrating,

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 if you lack confidence at work and question whether you even have the skills to perform,

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 if you are frustrated by bureaucracy and you have a hard time getting out of bed because your work

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 just doesn't seem to matter, well then the same message may feel like a cool wet cloth on your

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 tired sweaty brow. Before we get there though, let me back up and tell you a bit about myself and my

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 work. My name is James Fulton and I live in New Haven with my wife Kim and our five children,

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 four of whom we adopted from Brazil in 2009 and one who was born in 2012. We've been at Trinity since

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 2005. After some initial interest in being either a marine biologist or a commercial airline pilot,

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 I started homing in on architecture during my middle school years. At the time, a friend of mine

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 had a few architecture related books, a National Geographic book about large engineered structures

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 such as bridges and dams, and a few Frank Lloyd Wright books. I would often peruse these books on my visits

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 to his house and by high school I was fairly certain I would go on to study architecture and I took some

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 drafting and residential design electives to test the waters. After high school, I studied architecture at

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 Georgia Tech where I received a Bachelor of Science in 2002, married my high school sweetheart the next

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 weekend, and moved with her that summer to New Haven to pursue a master's degree from the Yale School

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 of Architecture. Two years into my three-year program, I interned at Picard Chilton, a mid-sized architecture

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 firm on Chapel Street across from the Green, and when during my last year of grad school they offered

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 me full-time employment upon graduation, Kim and I decided to settle in New Haven. I accepted the job offer

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 and we bought our first house. I worked at Picard Chilton for about eight years before moving to Yale

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 University where I have been working in the facilities planning and construction department for about six

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 and a half years. Whereas before I was the architect, now I hire the architect and am responsible for

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 representing the university's various interests including financial and programmatic while balancing a

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 complex web of competing desires from various constituencies across the university. My job is to synthesize these wants and

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 needs into a clear direction for the architects and their design teams during the design process and to make sure their

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 designs fit our requirements. There are others in my same or similar position and together with our colleagues on the

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 construction side of things, we touch hundreds of millions of dollars of capital projects each year. When Pastor Greg reached out to me about

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 speaking to this class, I was initially hesitant, but I told him I'd meet him for lunch before saying no out of hand.

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 At lunch, I elaborated on my hesitancy. I've been feeling unmotivated at work lately and I don't feel I'd have anything to offer the group.

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 Work has been so frustrating lately and some menial tasks have been sucking up the time I'm generally able to spend on the larger projects in my portfolio about which I feel more confident.

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 The bureaucracy of my position is feeling oppressive lately and I feel like I'm stuck doing things of little consequence.

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 Well, James, he said matter-of-factly, it sounds like you could speak to us about Ecclesiastes.

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 That's right.

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 I'm not sure whether Pastor Greg knew this before we met, but having just led my small group through Ecclesiastes within the last year,

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 I found myself suddenly fresh out of convincing reasons to say no.

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 And so here I am in front of you speaking to myself as much as I am to you this morning.

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 Any questions before we move on?

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 All right.

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 Ecclesiastes 2, 13 and 14 says,

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 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.

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 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness, and yet I perceive that the same event happens to all of them.

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 I have put around some papers that have all the references, so I hope you've found those.

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 As I'm slowly discovering along my Christian walk, we often have lots of unfair preconceptions about books of the Bible until we read them, study them, and meditate on them firsthand.

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 The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes was certainly a book that had a particular reputation in my mind.

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 Perhaps, as I did, you imagine Ecclesiastes to be pessimistic, even hopeless at worst, or at least melancholy at best.

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 At first blush, Ecclesiastes is certainly a bit of a downer, what with all that meaninglessness that's announced here, there, and everywhere.

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 However, in a short time of reading and reflection, the hints of unmatched beauty in its poetic prose shine through as it pursues its almost singular point,

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 and one notices a richness they might otherwise miss by simply pulling tweet-length verses out of context.

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 And if your only experience with Ecclesiastes is the Byrd's 1965 folk hit and anti-war ballad, Turn, Turn, Turn,

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 well, then you're missing a huge opportunity to wrap yourself in the sober comforts of this book.

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 Ecclesiastes shows us a lifetime of wisdom from an individual known in Hebrew as Kohelet.

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 Often translated as preacher or teacher in English, Kohelet refers to an individual who speaks at a gathered assembly or congregation.

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 Kohelet is a wise, Solomon-like individual and has been traditionally identified as King Solomon.

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 I mention Kohelet's wisdom here, and so it's important to place Ecclesiastes in the broader context of its genre,

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 namely Hebrew wisdom literature, which also includes Proverbs and Job.

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 In fact, these three books, in the order Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes, and finally Job,

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 provide a bit of a narrative arc and work together to present us with a nuanced and well-rounded overview of biblical wisdom

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 that we might miss by looking at one book alone.

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 Charles Spurgeon said,

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 Knowledge may be dangerous if unaccompanied with wisdom, which is the art of rightly using what we know.

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 Knowing the content of these three books, then, could be considered knowledge.

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 Knowing how to balance them is wisdom.

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 As the pastors described so well in last year's sermon series,

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 Proverbs provides a sort of practical template for what it might look like to live a God-pleasing life.

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 In the world of Proverbs, the wise seem to be rewarded for adherence to God's instruction,

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 while the foolish, who carelessly ignore or blatantly reject wise living, tend to get their comeuppance.

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 But lest we forget that Proverbs is a book of Proverbs and not promises,

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 Ecclesiastes comes along, shakes its head, and says,

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 Yeah, about that, I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't always work that way.

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 The verse I read just a few minutes ago is indicative of this overarching theme.

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 In numerous places throughout Ecclesiastes,

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 Kohelet notes the value of the wise individual over the fool,

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 but he also matter-of-factly acknowledges the apparent disconnect

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 that often the same thing happens to both,

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 or even the opposite of what we might imagine should occur happens to each.

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 When Hugh Hefner died last year at age 91,

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 I was amazed by all the celebrity endorsements and flattering obituaries.

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 I just couldn't imagine, especially in the Me Too age,

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 that men and women alike were fawning over man,

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 who built an empire and an industry that diminishes the God-designed beauty

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 of sexual relationships by treating women like sex toys and men like base consumers.

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 But then Ecclesiastes 7.15 came to mind

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 and made some sense of the madness, at least observationally.

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 In my vain life I have seen everything.

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 There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness,

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 and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

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 It is Ecclesiastes, then, that starts to tease out what happens

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 when the neat and tidy edges of proverbial wisdom blur

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 and the ends of our lived experience under the sun begin to fray.

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 Rounding out this long arc of biblical wisdom,

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 started by Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,

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 Job comes along and, well, all bets are off

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 when we meet unimaginable suffering

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 and lose sight of everything we thought we knew about ourselves,

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 our relationship to God,

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 and what it means to live a good life.

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 But that's a whole other story.

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 As with the other wisdom books,

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 Ecclesiastes is heavily observation-based.

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 Oftentimes, Kohelet is not saying

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 whether particular situations are good or bad,

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 but simply that they occur,

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 and we have to come to grips with them

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 as we live a life bracketed by extremes.

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 This is a fair reading, for instance,

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 of Ecclesiastes 3, 1 through 8,

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 the famous turn, turn, turn verses,

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 where the world described

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 has us inhabiting the broad spectrum

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 between birth and death,

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 planting and reaping,

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 weeping and laughing,

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 loving and hating.

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 Does anybody have any questions so far?

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 Okay.

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 There'll be time at the end, too.

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 All right.

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 Ecclesiastes 1, 2 and 3.

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 Vanity of vanities, says the preacher,

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 vanity of vanities.

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 All is vanity.

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 What does man gain by all the toil

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 at which he toils under the sun?

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 English author Anthony Burgess said,

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 Translation is not a matter of words only.

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 It is a matter of making intelligible

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 a whole culture.

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 Any study of Ecclesiastes requires

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 careful consideration of one word,

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 which, if understood poorly from its translation,

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 risks skewing our understanding of the text.

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 Understood correctly and with nuance,

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 however, this word,

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 which is used 38 times

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 in 12 short chapters,

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 will help us notice

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 the message of Ecclesiastes better

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 than if we went by the face value

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 of the word in the translation

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 we happen to be reading at the time.

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 I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles

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 to Ecclesiastes, chapter 1.

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 So I'm wondering,

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 in verse 2 of chapter 1,

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 how many people have meaningless

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 in their translation?

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 Okay.

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 Anybody else have meaningless

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 in their translation?

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 Okay.

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 A few.

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 All right.

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 So as an example,

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 meaningless,

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 this is how the New International Version

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 and the New Living Translation

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 translate the word

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 we're going to be talking about.

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 How many people have vanity

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 in their translation?

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 Okay.

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 Quite a few more have vanity.

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 So this is how English Standard Version

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 and the King James Version,

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 among numerous others,

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 translate the word we're looking for.

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 Does anyone have anything else

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 other than meaningless or vanity?

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 Okay.

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 That covers it.

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 Well, the International Standard Version

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 says pointless.

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 The New English Translation

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 says futile.

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 The Good News Translation

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 says useless.

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 And there are a lot of others as well.

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 All of these words

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 beat around the bush

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 as the Hebrew word here

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 lacks any concise English translation.

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 And that word is hevel.

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 Hevel is a noun

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 which personally makes

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 my grammarian self

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 want to issue

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 meaningless, pointless,

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 futile,

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 and other adjectival translations.

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 But Strong's Concordance

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 defines the word

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 as vapor or breath,

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 which are close in concept

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 to the Hebrew

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 but not so popular

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 in translations.

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 Vanity is a reasonable translation

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 and seems to be

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 one of the most popular.

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 It is at least a noun.

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 And when defined

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 not as inflated pride

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 in oneself

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 or one's appearance

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 but rather something

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 that is vain,

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 empty,

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 or valueless,

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 it comes close.

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 Vain being defined

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 by Merriam-Webster

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 as marked by futility

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 or ineffectualness.

00:12:45.800 --> 00:12:46.640
 Keeping in mind

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 the idea of futility

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 or ineffectualness

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 while we read Ecclesiastes

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 yields a more faithful

00:12:51.599 --> 00:12:52.279
 interpretation

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 of the original text

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 than we might get

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 from meaningless

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 or even vanity alone.

00:12:58.860 --> 00:12:59.839
 As alluded to

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 by the Strong's definition,

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 Hevel may physically refer

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 to smoke or a vapor,

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 which is actually

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 a pretty good image

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 to consider

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 as we try to get

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 the gist

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 of this complex word.

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 So if we imagine

00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:12.339
 smoke for a second,

00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:13.879
 we can see it.

00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:15.699
 It seems to have a form,

00:13:16.459 --> 00:13:18.079
 but if we try to touch it,

00:13:18.139 --> 00:13:18.639
 we can't.

00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:19.699
 The moment we try

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 to grasp it,

00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:21.480
 the quicker it changes

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 or it dissipates

00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:23.559
 or it moves.

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 Depending on context,

00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:25.840
 then,

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 this word extends

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 to imply a seemingly

00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:28.720
 pointless venture,

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 a paradox,

00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:30.639
 an enigma,

00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:31.699
 something that cannot

00:13:31.699 --> 00:13:32.480
 be grasped,

00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:33.699
 something that seems

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 to defy human understanding.

00:13:36.819 --> 00:13:38.059
 Other uses of Hevel

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 in the Old Testament

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 are variously translated

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 in the ESV.

00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:43.259
 Job 7.16 says,

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 I loathe my life,

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 I would not live forever,

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 leave me alone,

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 for my days are a breath.

00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:51.319
 Proverbs 31.30 says,

00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:52.480
 Charm is deceitful

00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:53.899
 and beauty is vain,

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 but a woman who fears

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 the Lord is to be praised.

00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:58.919
 From Jeremiah,

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 the instruction of idols

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 is but wood,

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 they are worthless,

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 a work of delusion.

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 And Zechariah says,

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 for the household gods

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 utter nonsense

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 and the diviner see lies

00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:12.419
 that tell false dreams

00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:14.860
 and give empty consolation.

00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:17.340
 So meaningless,

00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:18.200
 vanity,

00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:19.000
 a breath,

00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:19.580
 worthless,

00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:20.220
 empty,

00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:20.980
 futility,

00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:21.539
 smoke,

00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:23.179
 all of these words

00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:23.860
 have been used

00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:24.519
 in an attempt

00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:26.059
 to express Hevel

00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:27.220
 in English,

00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:28.840
 and each is reasonable

00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:30.059
 and yet incomplete.

00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.059
 Ecclesiastes is for the most part

00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:34.620
 defined by a particular mood

00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:36.159
 and holding Hevel lightly

00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.480
 and surrendering

00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:38.719
 to the poetry of that mood

00:14:38.719 --> 00:14:39.959
 allows for a richer reading

00:14:39.959 --> 00:14:41.059
 of the book.

00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:43.039
 All this to say,

00:14:43.579 --> 00:14:44.699
 with regard to the wisdom

00:14:44.699 --> 00:14:45.519
 of Ecclesiastes

00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:46.899
 as it touches on our work,

00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:47.879
 well,

00:14:48.319 --> 00:14:49.100
 it's complicated

00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:50.419
 and confusing

00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:51.679
 and a bit hard

00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:52.519
 to get a handle on.

00:14:53.079 --> 00:14:54.299
 But one thing is clear,

00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:56.419
 it would be far too simplistic

00:14:56.419 --> 00:14:57.199
 to sit back,

00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:58.379
 glance at Ecclesiastes

00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:59.839
 and call our work

00:14:59.839 --> 00:15:00.639
 meaningless.

00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:06.139
 Any questions there?

00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:07.539
 Pause for a second.

00:15:11.939 --> 00:15:12.379
 Alright.

00:15:13.819 --> 00:15:14.259
 So,

00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:15.939
 our work may not be meaningless,

00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:18.480
 but it sure is frustrating.

00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:20.620
 As we learned

00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:21.719
 in Pastor Greg's introduction

00:15:21.719 --> 00:15:22.539
 to this class,

00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:24.120
 the origin of work

00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:24.839
 is good.

00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:26.319
 However,

00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:27.679
 after the fall,

00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:28.659
 our work was subjected

00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:29.379
 to futility,

00:15:29.719 --> 00:15:31.319
 and we now often experience

00:15:31.319 --> 00:15:32.500
 our work as toil,

00:15:33.179 --> 00:15:33.799
 a word which,

00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.279
 by my count in the ESV,

00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.399
 Kohelet uses 32 times.

00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:40.199
 In chapter 2,

00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:41.539
 we find Kohelet

00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:42.139
 in the midst

00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:43.519
 of a search for meaning.

00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:44.980
 I searched

00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:46.059
 till I might see

00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:46.679
 what was good

00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:47.679
 for the children of man

00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:48.720
 to do under heaven

00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:49.799
 during the few days

00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:50.679
 of their life,

00:15:50.819 --> 00:15:51.419
 he says.

00:15:51.419 --> 00:15:54.759
 He first tries pleasure

00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:55.419
 and laughter.

00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:56.459
 Enjoy yourself,

00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:57.139
 he says.

00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:58.120
 But alas,

00:15:59.059 --> 00:15:59.279
 Hevel.

00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:01.240
 Wine?

00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:02.599
 Nope.

00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:04.039
 Also Hevel.

00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:06.379
 I like this next one.

00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:07.539
 He moves on

00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:08.699
 to making great works,

00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:09.199
 houses,

00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:10.000
 vineyards,

00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:10.699
 gardens,

00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:11.360
 parks,

00:16:11.599 --> 00:16:11.879
 trees,

00:16:12.079 --> 00:16:12.379
 pools,

00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:13.019
 forests,

00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:13.959
 you name it,

00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:14.639
 he built it.

00:16:15.299 --> 00:16:16.079
 All Hevel.

00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:19.159
 He buys up slaves

00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:20.019
 and builds up

00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:20.959
 a massive household.

00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:22.459
 He increases

00:16:22.459 --> 00:16:23.219
 his flocks

00:16:23.219 --> 00:16:23.879
 and herds.

00:16:24.579 --> 00:16:25.120
 He amasses

00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:25.919
 great treasures.

00:16:26.699 --> 00:16:26.939
 Nope.

00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:28.079
 Hevel.

00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:30.379
 He tries to find

00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:31.299
 meaning in entertainment

00:16:31.299 --> 00:16:31.980
 when he hires

00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:33.440
 male and female singers.

00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:34.940
 Perhaps Jerusalem

00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:35.580
 scout talent,

00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:36.000
 I don't know.

00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:38.960
 He even avails

00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:39.980
 himself of

00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:42.300
 many concubines,

00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:43.500
 yet even that

00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:44.420
 is Hevel.

00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:46.740
 At this point,

00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:47.620
 Kohelet has quite

00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:48.560
 literally pursued

00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:48.980
 wine,

00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:49.340
 women,

00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:49.920
 and song

00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:50.639
 to find some

00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:51.240
 deeper meaning.

00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:52.720
 He opines,

00:16:53.779 --> 00:16:55.379
 So I became great

00:16:55.379 --> 00:16:56.620
 and surpassed

00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:57.240
 all who were

00:16:57.240 --> 00:16:57.740
 before me

00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:58.399
 in Jerusalem.

00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:00.360
 Also my wisdom

00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:01.220
 remained with me

00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:02.160
 and whatever

00:17:02.160 --> 00:17:03.160
 my eyes desired

00:17:03.160 --> 00:17:03.759
 I did not

00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:04.539
 keep from them.

00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:06.440
 I kept my heart

00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:07.279
 from no pleasure

00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:08.180
 for my heart

00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:08.759
 found pleasure

00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:09.839
 in all my toil

00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:10.860
 and this was

00:17:10.860 --> 00:17:11.460
 my reward

00:17:11.460 --> 00:17:12.420
 for all my toil.

00:17:13.620 --> 00:17:14.680
 Then I considered

00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:15.839
 all that my hands

00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:16.319
 had done

00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:17.140
 and the toil

00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:17.960
 I had expended

00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:18.579
 in doing it

00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:19.200
 and behold,

00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:20.799
 all was vanity

00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:21.980
 and a striving

00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:22.980
 after wind

00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:24.019
 and there was

00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:24.880
 nothing to be

00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.299
 gained

00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:26.279
 under the sun.

00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.399
 Do you notice

00:17:29.399 --> 00:17:29.940
 here what

00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:30.579
 Kohelet is

00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:31.339
 ultimately seeking

00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:32.079
 through his work?

00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:36.160
 He's expecting

00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:37.299
 that fulfilling

00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:38.259
 his every desire

00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:38.980
 will give him

00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:39.359
 pleasure

00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:40.960
 and for a time

00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:41.799
 it does

00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:43.579
 but of course

00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:44.099
 as we might

00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:44.460
 suspect

00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:45.480
 it doesn't last

00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.359
 and something

00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:47.119
 finally dawns

00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:47.500
 on him.

00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:48.980
 In the end

00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:50.099
 seeking cheap

00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:50.460
 pleasure

00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:51.619
 is all Hevel

00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:53.399
 impossible to grasp

00:17:53.399 --> 00:17:54.039
 fleeting

00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:54.920
 a striving

00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:55.599
 after wind.

00:17:57.279 --> 00:17:58.240
 I wish

00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.460
 this was a lesson

00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:00.279
 we would take

00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:00.659
 to heart

00:18:00.659 --> 00:18:01.159
 by listening

00:18:01.159 --> 00:18:01.720
 to Kohelet

00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:02.319
 rather than

00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:02.920
 trying to find

00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:03.799
 meaning for ourselves

00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:04.579
 and things

00:18:04.579 --> 00:18:05.079
 that can never

00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:05.819
 provide ultimate

00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:06.200
 meaning.

00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:07.279
 Instead

00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:07.960
 we're often

00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:08.700
 like the child

00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:09.159
 who has to

00:18:09.159 --> 00:18:09.779
 touch the hot

00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:10.159
 stove

00:18:10.159 --> 00:18:11.039
 even though

00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:11.420
 we've been

00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:11.799
 told

00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:12.599
 it will burn

00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:12.940
 us.

00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:15.879
 I can relate

00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:16.399
 to Kohelet

00:18:16.399 --> 00:18:17.240
 a bit here

00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:18.019
 in a lesson

00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:18.579
 I learned

00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:19.579
 quite by accident.

00:18:20.139 --> 00:18:20.700
 Come to think

00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:21.319
 of it I suppose

00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:22.059
 many valuable

00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:22.720
 life lessons

00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.399
 are learned

00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:24.340
 by accident.

00:18:25.380 --> 00:18:26.120
 The firm

00:18:26.120 --> 00:18:26.480
 I worked

00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:26.880
 for

00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:27.920
 Picard Chilton

00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:29.120
 has a

00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:29.660
 well-deserved

00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:30.200
 reputation

00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:30.840
 for designing

00:18:30.840 --> 00:18:31.740
 large commercial

00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:32.720
 structures

00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:33.840
 often high-rises

00:18:33.840 --> 00:18:34.600
 and they're

00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:35.019
 very good

00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:35.420
 at it.

00:18:36.280 --> 00:18:37.080
 Since first

00:18:37.080 --> 00:18:37.519
 sketching

00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:38.040
 the distinctive

00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:38.900
 spired crown

00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:39.519
 of the Chrysler

00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:40.040
 building from

00:18:40.040 --> 00:18:40.720
 photos years

00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.240
 before I'd

00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:41.540
 ever been

00:18:41.540 --> 00:18:41.940
 to New York

00:18:41.940 --> 00:18:42.240
 City

00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:43.580
 skyscrapers

00:18:43.580 --> 00:18:43.980
 have long

00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:44.300
 been an

00:18:44.300 --> 00:18:44.800
 interest of

00:18:44.800 --> 00:18:45.100
 mine.

00:18:46.060 --> 00:18:46.720
 How exciting

00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:47.440
 it was then

00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:48.500
 to find myself

00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:49.200
 just out of

00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:49.519
 school

00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:50.140
 immersed in

00:18:50.140 --> 00:18:50.680
 the design

00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:51.240
 of soaring

00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:51.660
 structures

00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:52.080
 that could

00:18:52.080 --> 00:18:52.540
 change the

00:18:52.540 --> 00:18:53.060
 skylines

00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:53.359
 of their

00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:53.779
 respective

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:54.179
 cities

00:18:54.179 --> 00:18:54.720
 for years

00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:55.179
 to come.

00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:56.960
 In a short

00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:57.599
 time I found

00:18:57.599 --> 00:18:58.399
 myself traveling

00:18:58.399 --> 00:18:59.119
 frequently for

00:18:59.119 --> 00:18:59.379
 work,

00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:00.079
 often times

00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:00.659
 internationally.

00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:02.159
 The expense

00:19:02.159 --> 00:19:02.559
 was my

00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:03.179
 firms but

00:19:03.179 --> 00:19:03.639
 the frequent

00:19:03.639 --> 00:19:04.279
 flyer miles

00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:04.740
 and hotel

00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:05.279
 points were

00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:05.659
 mine to

00:19:05.659 --> 00:19:06.139
 keep and

00:19:06.139 --> 00:19:06.480
 use for

00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:06.980
 my family.

00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:08.819
 I presented

00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:09.440
 a competition

00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:10.240
 in Copenhagen.

00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:11.259
 I traveled

00:19:11.259 --> 00:19:11.859
 to Malaysia

00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:12.480
 for a single

00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:13.079
 face-to-face

00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:13.579
 meeting where

00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.099
 my time in

00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:14.500
 the air

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:14.980
 getting there

00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:15.339
 and back

00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:15.859
 was way

00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:16.379
 longer than

00:19:16.379 --> 00:19:16.759
 my time

00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:16.960
 on the

00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:17.279
 ground.

00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:18.960
 And I

00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.240
 went to

00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:19.940
 Italy twice

00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:20.379
 to look

00:19:20.379 --> 00:19:20.779
 at stone

00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:21.259
 slabs

00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:21.519
 at the

00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.700
 same quarry

00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:23.240
 where the

00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:23.519
 block

00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:24.220
 Michelangelo

00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:24.720
 used for

00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:25.319
 David had

00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:25.740
 been cut

00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:26.019
 in the

00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:26.500
 15th

00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:26.839
 century.

00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:28.599
 For my

00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:29.240
 last five

00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:29.619
 years at

00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:29.980
 the firm

00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:30.299
 I was

00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:30.599
 involved

00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:30.940
 with my

00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:31.440
 longest term

00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:31.879
 assignment

00:19:31.879 --> 00:19:32.619
 which had

00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.099
 me traveling

00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:33.720
 bi-weekly

00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:34.319
 to Calgary

00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.339
 for meetings

00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:35.779
 and site

00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:36.279
 visits for

00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:36.680
 the design

00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:37.160
 and construction

00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:37.500
 of a

00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:38.019
 50-story

00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:38.740
 office tower.

00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:39.899
 It was

00:19:39.899 --> 00:19:40.220
 fun,

00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:40.519
 it was

00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:41.039
 exciting,

00:19:41.319 --> 00:19:41.519
 it was

00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:41.940
 glamorous,

00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:42.960
 especially when

00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:43.279
 I started

00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:43.980
 getting upgraded

00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:44.720
 to first class

00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:45.220
 almost every

00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:45.519
 time.

00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:46.900
 In many

00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:47.900
 ways I

00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:48.259
 was living

00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:48.720
 the dream

00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:50.619
 but of

00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:50.980
 course it

00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:51.619
 wasn't always

00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:52.200
 a dream.

00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:53.980
 I mean

00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:54.379
 this in the

00:19:54.379 --> 00:19:55.119
 most humble

00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:55.700
 way possible

00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:56.639
 but once

00:19:56.639 --> 00:19:57.099
 a bit of a

00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:57.539
 young star

00:19:57.539 --> 00:19:57.799
 in the

00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:58.400
 office things

00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:58.940
 started to

00:19:58.940 --> 00:19:59.980
 change when

00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:00.379
 Kim and I

00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:00.940
 adopted our

00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:01.400
 children and

00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:01.839
 I started

00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:02.700
 showing hesitancy

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:03.200
 to put in

00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:03.680
 the hours

00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.220
 that other

00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:05.579
 mostly unmarried

00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:06.740
 employees did

00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:07.200
 without

00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:07.680
 balking.

00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.339
 My teammates

00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:10.119
 started questioning

00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:10.720
 my commitment

00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.099
 to our

00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:11.799
 projects and

00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:12.279
 the politics

00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:12.900
 of the office

00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:13.440
 started to

00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.160
 become tedious.

00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:15.540
 I began

00:20:15.540 --> 00:20:15.980
 to receive

00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:16.560
 low marks

00:20:16.560 --> 00:20:16.920
 on my

00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:17.600
 peer reviews

00:20:17.600 --> 00:20:17.960
 for my

00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:18.540
 work ethic

00:20:18.540 --> 00:20:19.019
 and when

00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:19.360
 I tried

00:20:19.360 --> 00:20:19.740
 to address

00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:20.120
 this with

00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:20.820
 my supervisor

00:20:20.820 --> 00:20:22.000
 by telling

00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:22.640
 him I

00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:23.120
 was often

00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:23.380
 in the

00:20:23.380 --> 00:20:23.940
 office several

00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:24.580
 hours before

00:20:24.580 --> 00:20:25.060
 the rest of

00:20:25.060 --> 00:20:25.460
 my team

00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:25.940
 and so when

00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:26.220
 I left

00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:27.000
 by 6pm

00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:27.660
 I had

00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:28.040
 already been

00:20:28.040 --> 00:20:28.380
 there 10

00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:28.740
 or 11

00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.480
 hours instead

00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:29.820
 of their

00:20:29.820 --> 00:20:30.480
 7 or 8.

00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:31.880
 His answer

00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:32.259
 was,

00:20:32.540 --> 00:20:32.700
 well,

00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:33.460
 perception

00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:34.140
 is reality

00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:34.560
 and their

00:20:34.560 --> 00:20:34.920
 perception

00:20:34.920 --> 00:20:35.340
 is you're

00:20:35.340 --> 00:20:35.680
 not here

00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:36.019
 enough.

00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:39.300
 When I

00:20:39.300 --> 00:20:39.700
 found out

00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:40.000
 that some

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:40.240
 younger

00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:41.019
 employees who

00:20:41.019 --> 00:20:41.279
 had been

00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:41.540
 at the

00:20:41.540 --> 00:20:41.960
 firm less

00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:42.320
 than I

00:20:42.320 --> 00:20:42.860
 had and

00:20:42.860 --> 00:20:43.140
 who were

00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:43.540
 not yet

00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:44.159
 even licensed

00:20:44.159 --> 00:20:44.659
 architects

00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:45.059
 were making

00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:45.500
 more money

00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:45.879
 than me,

00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:46.480
 I really

00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:46.960
 started to

00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:47.420
 question the

00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:47.960
 smiles and

00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:48.399
 nods and

00:20:48.399 --> 00:20:48.859
 pats on the

00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:49.240
 back from

00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:49.720
 my bosses

00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:50.940
 and eventually

00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:51.659
 I started to

00:20:51.659 --> 00:20:52.519
 consider alternative

00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:53.159
 employment.

00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:55.500
 I hadn't

00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:56.240
 gone into my

00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:56.799
 first job

00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:57.299
 looking for

00:20:57.299 --> 00:20:57.819
 my life's

00:20:57.819 --> 00:20:58.359
 meaning per

00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:58.559
 se.

00:20:58.720 --> 00:20:59.079
 I wasn't

00:20:59.079 --> 00:20:59.359
 on a

00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.240
 mission like

00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:00.960
 Kohelet is

00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:01.379
 in chapter

00:21:01.379 --> 00:21:01.700
 two.

00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.000
 Rather,

00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:03.480
 it just kind

00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:03.879
 of happened

00:21:03.879 --> 00:21:04.379
 that I was

00:21:04.379 --> 00:21:04.859
 doing pretty

00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:05.519
 much exactly

00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:05.920
 what I had

00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:06.299
 wanted to

00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:06.859
 do for so

00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:07.220
 long.

00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:08.539
 When I

00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:08.879
 left,

00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:09.559
 I was sad

00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:10.139
 not so much

00:21:10.139 --> 00:21:10.539
 that I was

00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:11.000
 leaving the

00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:11.240
 firm,

00:21:11.379 --> 00:21:11.960
 but because I

00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:12.420
 felt I was

00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:12.799
 leaving the

00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:12.960
 firm,

00:21:13.059 --> 00:21:13.819
 disillusioned

00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:14.379
 by the

00:21:14.379 --> 00:21:14.720
 way I had

00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:15.180
 been treated,

00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:15.440
 whether

00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:16.099
 consciously or

00:21:16.099 --> 00:21:16.839
 unconsciously,

00:21:16.899 --> 00:21:17.299
 by my

00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:17.740
 colleagues.

00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:19.700
 But I like

00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:20.240
 to say now

00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:20.819
 that I am

00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:21.659
 thankful that

00:21:21.659 --> 00:21:22.259
 God gave me

00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:23.119
 my dream job

00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:23.740
 right out of

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:24.099
 school,

00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:25.240
 because then I

00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:25.700
 could do my

00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:26.279
 dream job for

00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:26.639
 a while,

00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:27.839
 set it aside,

00:21:28.379 --> 00:21:28.879
 and move on

00:21:28.879 --> 00:21:29.259
 to something

00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:29.680
 else.

00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:30.960
 Had I not

00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:31.240
 had the

00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:32.039
 opportunities I

00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:32.399
 did at the

00:21:32.399 --> 00:21:32.759
 time,

00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:33.759
 I might still

00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.279
 be searching

00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:34.839
 and striving

00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:35.480
 for a dream

00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:35.839
 that could

00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:36.539
 never provide

00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:37.159
 any ultimate

00:21:37.159 --> 00:21:37.639
 fulfillment.

00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:38.480
 I might

00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.080
 still not

00:21:39.080 --> 00:21:39.580
 have learned

00:21:39.580 --> 00:21:40.180
 Kohelet's

00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:40.540
 lesson.

00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:43.700
 My current

00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:44.420
 job is hard

00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:44.860
 to compare

00:21:44.860 --> 00:21:45.180
 to my

00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:45.780
 old job.

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.160
 They are

00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:46.360
 in the

00:21:46.360 --> 00:21:47.000
 same industry

00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:47.500
 and I am

00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:48.420
 dealing daily

00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:49.620
 with architecture

00:21:49.620 --> 00:21:50.340
 and buildings,

00:21:50.560 --> 00:21:51.380
 but they are

00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:52.160
 like apples

00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:52.600
 and oranges.

00:21:53.340 --> 00:21:53.600
 There are

00:21:53.600 --> 00:21:54.140
 some things I

00:21:54.140 --> 00:21:54.700
 miss about my

00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:55.340
 old job and

00:21:55.340 --> 00:21:55.840
 some things I

00:21:55.840 --> 00:21:56.100
 could do

00:21:56.100 --> 00:21:56.520
 without in

00:21:56.520 --> 00:21:56.820
 my new

00:21:56.820 --> 00:21:57.180
 job,

00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:57.880
 but the

00:21:57.880 --> 00:21:58.440
 move overall

00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:58.880
 has been a

00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.360
 good step

00:21:59.360 --> 00:21:59.900
 for me and

00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:00.460
 my family.

00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:02.340
 Practically

00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:02.800
 speaking,

00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:03.940
 it has allowed

00:22:03.940 --> 00:22:04.460
 me to support

00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:04.960
 a family of

00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:05.740
 seven on one

00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:06.160
 income.

00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:07.279
 The benefits

00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:07.640
 are above

00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:08.100
 average,

00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:08.800
 the hours

00:22:08.800 --> 00:22:09.259
 are fewer

00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:09.740
 and more

00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.120
 predictable,

00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:11.680
 but it's

00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:12.380
 also a job

00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:13.680
 and it feels

00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.300
 like a job

00:22:14.300 --> 00:22:14.960
 most days

00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:15.279
 too.

00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:17.400
 Who of us

00:22:17.400 --> 00:22:17.880
 then can

00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.279
 relate to

00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:20.740
 Kohelet a

00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:21.040
 little bit

00:22:21.040 --> 00:22:21.580
 farther into

00:22:21.580 --> 00:22:22.220
 chapter 2?

00:22:23.300 --> 00:22:24.060
 Verses 18

00:22:24.060 --> 00:22:24.660
 through 21.

00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.259
 I hated

00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:26.660
 all my

00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:27.340
 toil in which

00:22:27.340 --> 00:22:27.800
 I toiled

00:22:27.800 --> 00:22:28.200
 under the

00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:28.480
 sun,

00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:29.500
 seeing that

00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:29.840
 I must

00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:30.259
 leave it

00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:30.519
 to the

00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:30.940
 man who

00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:31.320
 will come

00:22:31.320 --> 00:22:31.920
 after me,

00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:32.900
 and who

00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:33.460
 knows whether

00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:33.880
 he will be

00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:34.700
 wise or a

00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:34.980
 fool.

00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:36.140
 Yet he

00:22:36.140 --> 00:22:36.440
 will be

00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:37.259
 master of

00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:38.759
 all for

00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:39.120
 which I

00:22:39.120 --> 00:22:39.940
 toiled and

00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:40.400
 used my

00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:40.900
 wisdom under

00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:41.300
 the sun.

00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:42.480
 This also

00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:43.180
 is vanity.

00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:44.800
 So I

00:22:44.800 --> 00:22:45.500
 turned about

00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:46.340
 and gave my

00:22:46.340 --> 00:22:46.860
 heart up to

00:22:46.860 --> 00:22:47.560
 despair over

00:22:47.560 --> 00:22:47.980
 all the

00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:48.540
 toil of my

00:22:48.540 --> 00:22:49.060
 labors under

00:22:49.060 --> 00:22:49.500
 the sun,

00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:50.800
 because sometimes

00:22:50.800 --> 00:22:51.800
 a person who

00:22:51.800 --> 00:22:52.520
 has toiled with

00:22:52.520 --> 00:22:53.420
 wisdom and

00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:54.220
 knowledge and

00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:55.400
 skill must

00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:56.160
 leave everything

00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:57.060
 to be enjoyed

00:22:57.060 --> 00:22:57.820
 by someone who

00:22:57.820 --> 00:22:58.680
 did not toil

00:22:58.680 --> 00:22:59.160
 for it.

00:22:59.800 --> 00:23:00.780
 This also is

00:23:00.780 --> 00:23:01.880
 vanity and a

00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:02.560
 great evil.

00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:05.259
 This has

00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:05.839
 got to be one

00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:06.200
 of the biggest

00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:06.940
 frustrations I

00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:07.359
 have in my

00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:07.960
 current job,

00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:08.579
 and one of the

00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:09.319
 biggest motivations

00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:10.159
 sucks that I

00:23:10.159 --> 00:23:10.940
 battle every

00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:11.440
 day.

00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:12.619
 That is,

00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:13.299
 feeling like the

00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:13.740
 work I do

00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:14.419
 today will be

00:23:14.419 --> 00:23:15.500
 inconsequential in

00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:16.099
 a few years.

00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:17.519
 Each day it

00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.079
 feels like I'm

00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:18.700
 fighting to make

00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:19.579
 wise decisions for

00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:20.019
 the future,

00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:21.019
 at the same time

00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:21.399
 I'm fighting

00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:22.519
 against unwise

00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:23.259
 decisions from

00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:23.799
 the past.

00:23:25.159 --> 00:23:26.119
 The most poetic

00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:26.879
 way I can think

00:23:26.879 --> 00:23:27.539
 to describe my

00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:28.259
 current job is

00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:29.000
 that I'm one of

00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.119
 the stewards of

00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:30.700
 Yale's built

00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:31.140
 environment.

00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:32.480
 One of the

00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:33.140
 reasons I wanted

00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:33.860
 to work at Yale

00:23:33.860 --> 00:23:34.680
 was because of

00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:35.360
 the legacy of

00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:36.080
 great buildings

00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:36.680
 that make up

00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:37.319
 its campus.

00:23:37.860 --> 00:23:38.740
 From Sterling

00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:39.539
 Memorial Library

00:23:39.539 --> 00:23:40.319
 to the Yale

00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:41.019
 Art Gallery

00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:41.740
 to the Yale

00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:42.480
 Whale and

00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.240
 everywhere in

00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:44.600
 between, Yale

00:23:44.600 --> 00:23:45.720
 is littered with

00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:46.819
 amazing architecture

00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:47.460
 and has shown

00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:48.180
 itself at times

00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:48.559
 to be an

00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:49.279
 institution with

00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:50.180
 great architectural

00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:50.640
 vision.

00:23:51.840 --> 00:23:52.720
 But all that

00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:53.640
 glitters is not

00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:54.019
 gold.

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.779
 For every

00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:56.519
 well-maintained

00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:57.100
 building on

00:23:57.100 --> 00:23:57.680
 campus, there are

00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:58.440
 at least two or

00:23:58.440 --> 00:23:59.000
 three that need

00:23:59.000 --> 00:23:59.840
 serious work.

00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:00.799
 Each of which

00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:01.299
 got to that

00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:02.179
 point over time

00:24:02.179 --> 00:24:03.019
 by many people

00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:03.619
 making many

00:24:03.619 --> 00:24:04.459
 decisions, both

00:24:04.459 --> 00:24:05.379
 big and small.

00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:07.199
 Generations that

00:24:07.199 --> 00:24:07.879
 have come before

00:24:07.879 --> 00:24:08.699
 me and generations

00:24:08.699 --> 00:24:09.240
 that will come

00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:09.959
 after me will

00:24:09.959 --> 00:24:10.539
 attempt to be

00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:11.240
 wise in the

00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:11.740
 spending of

00:24:11.740 --> 00:24:12.519
 large sums of

00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:13.379
 money on

00:24:13.379 --> 00:24:13.919
 buildings at

00:24:13.919 --> 00:24:14.199
 Yale.

00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:15.539
 But we will

00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:16.639
 also always

00:24:16.639 --> 00:24:17.099
 miss the

00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:17.359
 mark.

00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:19.019
 Things we think

00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:19.720
 are wise

00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:20.539
 expenditures today

00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:21.139
 will be moot

00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:21.659
 when a new

00:24:21.659 --> 00:24:22.439
 faculty member

00:24:22.439 --> 00:24:23.139
 or a new

00:24:23.139 --> 00:24:23.779
 dean or a new

00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:24.459
 provost or a

00:24:24.459 --> 00:24:24.899
 new president

00:24:24.899 --> 00:24:25.500
 decide that

00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.139
 priorities have

00:24:26.139 --> 00:24:26.579
 changed.

00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:28.319
 I never know

00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:28.819
 whether one of

00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:29.500
 my projects will

00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:30.400
 be neglected

00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:31.079
 and relegated

00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:31.700
 to second-rate

00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:32.759
 care or

00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.440
 re-renovated

00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:33.839
 in a couple

00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:34.380
 years at

00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:35.140
 great expense

00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:35.779
 because someone

00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:36.299
 has changed

00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:36.799
 their mind

00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:37.240
 on its

00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:37.680
 utility.

00:24:38.660 --> 00:24:39.759
 Oftentimes, in

00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:40.180
 the interest

00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:40.740
 of financial

00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:41.680
 decisions today,

00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:42.759
 we're asked to

00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:43.779
 defer work, which

00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:44.720
 only exacerbates

00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:45.359
 other issues

00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:46.000
 in the future.

00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:48.240
 I'm actually on

00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:48.960
 the receiving end

00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.539
 of one of these

00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:50.400
 issues right now.

00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:52.019
 A few years ago,

00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:52.460
 what we call

00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:53.400
 the NAVE, that

00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:54.019
 is the main

00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:54.640
 hall of the

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.099
 church-like

00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:55.819
 Sterling Memorial

00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:56.740
 Library, underwent

00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:57.319
 a $20 million

00:24:57.319 --> 00:24:58.299
 restoration.

00:24:58.299 --> 00:24:58.500
 restoration.

00:24:59.220 --> 00:24:59.940
 The project is

00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:00.779
 stunning, really.

00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:02.279
 Though I wasn't

00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:02.779
 involved in the

00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:03.319
 project at the

00:25:03.319 --> 00:25:04.180
 time, the library

00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:04.700
 is one of my

00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:05.799
 responsibilities now.

00:25:06.639 --> 00:25:07.379
 At the time, a

00:25:07.379 --> 00:25:08.079
 decision was made

00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:08.480
 to defer

00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.240
 replacement of

00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:09.680
 some rain

00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.579
 leaders, pipes,

00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:11.779
 that bring water

00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:12.319
 down from the

00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:12.980
 roof through the

00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:13.680
 stone walls to

00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:14.240
 the stormwater

00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:15.039
 management system

00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:15.359
 below.

00:25:16.639 --> 00:25:17.220
 Instead, the

00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:17.740
 lines were

00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:18.319
 scoped with a

00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:18.940
 camera to look

00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:19.579
 for damage and

00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:20.299
 then protected on

00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:21.119
 the inside by

00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:22.000
 synthetic lining

00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:22.559
 rather than

00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:23.039
 replaced.

00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.279
 I'm confident

00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:24.980
 this was done to

00:25:24.980 --> 00:25:25.839
 save money, keep

00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:26.519
 a schedule, and

00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:27.440
 avoid the hassle of

00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:28.160
 invasive stone

00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:28.480
 work.

00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:29.960
 However, considering

00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:30.600
 the age of the

00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:31.220
 building and

00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:32.620
 otherwise comprehensive

00:25:32.620 --> 00:25:33.340
 renovation that

00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:33.920
 touched everything

00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:34.860
 else surrounding it,

00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:36.340
 it would have been

00:25:36.340 --> 00:25:37.240
 the perfect time to

00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:38.059
 replace the leaders

00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:39.259
 with the least amount

00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:40.180
 of impact on

00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:41.080
 operations in the

00:25:41.080 --> 00:25:41.539
 long run.

00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:44.740
 Instead, only a few

00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:45.580
 short years later,

00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:47.240
 the lining is

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:47.980
 suspected to have

00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:48.840
 failed at what was

00:25:48.840 --> 00:25:49.700
 likely a weak joint

00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:50.580
 to begin with, and

00:25:50.580 --> 00:25:51.360
 rainwater has been

00:25:51.360 --> 00:25:52.100
 entering the cavity

00:25:52.100 --> 00:25:52.920
 between the inner and

00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:54.279
 outer stone walls and

00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:55.140
 their brick core for

00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:56.299
 months, telegraphing

00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:57.079
 moisture through to

00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:57.919
 the interior stone.

00:25:58.559 --> 00:25:59.539
 The flash flood

00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:00.899
 level rain we had a

00:26:00.899 --> 00:26:01.740
 few weeks ago didn't

00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.700
 help, and the

00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:03.460
 failure has now been

00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:04.339
 catastrophic and the

00:26:04.339 --> 00:26:05.000
 issue has become

00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:05.399
 critical.

00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:06.919
 An easily ignored

00:26:06.919 --> 00:26:07.720
 problem that was

00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.200
 deferred then now has

00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.159
 water leaking through

00:26:10.159 --> 00:26:11.159
 and staining the stone

00:26:11.159 --> 00:26:11.819
 in one of the most

00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:12.539
 prominent public

00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:13.659
 locations on campus.

00:26:14.659 --> 00:26:15.200
 And what I'm sure

00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:15.879
 will be hundreds of

00:26:15.879 --> 00:26:16.599
 thousands of dollars

00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:17.639
 of work that will

00:26:17.639 --> 00:26:18.379
 impact the public

00:26:18.379 --> 00:26:19.819
 space of the library

00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:21.099
 with construction noise

00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:22.799
 and hassle could have

00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:24.339
 been prevented for far

00:26:24.339 --> 00:26:25.199
 less expense and

00:26:25.199 --> 00:26:26.039
 impact when the space

00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:26.839
 was renovated in the

00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:27.399
 first place.

00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:29.819
 The decision that led

00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:31.240
 to this problem wasn't

00:26:31.240 --> 00:26:32.699
 mine, but it's my

00:26:32.699 --> 00:26:33.639
 problem now nonetheless.

00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:35.740
 Unless I get too full

00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:37.019
 of myself, I'm sure I

00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:38.079
 am making decisions I

00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:38.980
 feel are wise now that

00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:39.599
 will become someone

00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:40.459
 else's problem in the

00:26:40.459 --> 00:26:40.720
 future.

00:26:41.919 --> 00:26:42.899
 So when faced with

00:26:42.899 --> 00:26:43.819
 these frustrations,

00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:45.579
 when we realize that we

00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:46.740
 can't place ultimate

00:26:46.740 --> 00:26:47.919
 meaning in our work,

00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:49.619
 when we can't count on

00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:50.659
 future stewards of our

00:26:50.659 --> 00:26:51.699
 work to care as much

00:26:51.699 --> 00:26:53.659
 as we did, and when

00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:54.759
 even our wisest decisions

00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:55.720
 today will be thought

00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:56.860
 foolish in the future,

00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:58.880
 what are we to do?

00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:07.300
 So the quicker we remove

00:27:07.300 --> 00:27:08.540
 ultimate meaning from our

00:27:08.540 --> 00:27:10.259
 work, the quicker we are

00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:11.400
 free to see it for what

00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:12.340
 it actually is.

00:27:13.100 --> 00:27:14.019
 But what is it?

00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:16.860
 Fortunately, Kohelet

00:27:16.860 --> 00:27:18.600
 presents both the problem

00:27:18.600 --> 00:27:20.300
 and the solution in almost

00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:21.180
 one breath.

00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:23.500
 He says,

00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:25.700
 What gain has the worker

00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:26.700
 from his toil?

00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:28.720
 I've seen the business

00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.860
 that God has given the

00:27:29.860 --> 00:27:30.759
 children of man to be

00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:31.360
 busy with.

00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:33.200
 He has made everything

00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:34.480
 beautiful in its time.

00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:36.200
 Also, he has put eternity

00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:37.980
 into man's heart, yet so

00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:39.360
 that he cannot find out

00:27:39.360 --> 00:27:40.680
 what God has done from the

00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:41.660
 beginning to the end.

00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:44.640
 I perceived that there is

00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:45.840
 nothing better for them than

00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:47.820
 to be joyful and to do good

00:27:47.820 --> 00:27:49.240
 as long as they live.

00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:51.500
 Also, that everyone should

00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:52.440
 eat and drink and take

00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:53.759
 pleasure in all his toil.

00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:56.039
 This is God's gift to man.

00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:58.660
 That's Ecclesiastes 3, 9

00:27:58.660 --> 00:27:59.299
 through 13.

00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:01.380
 And then Ecclesiastes 2,

00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:02.839
 24 and 25 says,

00:28:03.140 --> 00:28:05.200
 There is nothing better for

00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:06.700
 a person than he should

00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:07.819
 eat and drink and find

00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:08.960
 enjoyment in his toil.

00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:11.559
 This also I saw is from the

00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:13.480
 hand of God, for apart from

00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.500
 him who can eat or who can

00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:16.339
 have enjoyment.

00:28:16.339 --> 00:28:20.619
 So did you catch what it is?

00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:24.419
 Our work is a gift.

00:28:24.959 --> 00:28:26.019
 And not only is our work

00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:27.720
 itself a gift, but the

00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:29.319
 ability to enjoy its fruits

00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:30.859
 is also a gift.

00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:34.399
 Oftentimes, I do not

00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:36.039
 experience my work day, nor

00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:37.500
 reflect on it afterwards as

00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:38.279
 a gift from God.

00:28:38.419 --> 00:28:39.539
 So know that I'm talking to

00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:40.699
 myself here as much as I'm

00:28:40.699 --> 00:28:41.299
 talking to you.

00:28:42.399 --> 00:28:43.919
 But when confronted with the

00:28:43.919 --> 00:28:46.039
 issues raised by Kohelet, I

00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:47.180
 can see that it is a gift.

00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:48.859
 It is a gift that allows me

00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:49.940
 to provide for my family.

00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:51.599
 It is the gift that allows

00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:54.220
 my wife the space to take

00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:55.599
 educating and mothering our

00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:56.379
 children seriously.

00:28:56.940 --> 00:28:58.119
 It is the gift that allows us

00:28:58.119 --> 00:28:59.240
 the time and resources to

00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:00.839
 open our home to a small

00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:01.200
 group.

00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:03.319
 It is a gift that provides,

00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.879
 as I say to my children,

00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:06.740
 all of the things we need and

00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:08.379
 many, many of the things that

00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:08.819
 we want.

00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:11.799
 In light of the frustrations of

00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:13.059
 our work, and perhaps despite

00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:14.680
 of it, we are wise to see our

00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:16.320
 work, whatever it is, as a

00:29:16.320 --> 00:29:17.779
 gift from God and be

00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:18.140
 grateful.

00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:20.740
 I have a feeling that embracing

00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:22.200
 our spirit of gratitude may

00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:23.940
 even begin to soften some of

00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:25.740
 the frustrations surrounding

00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.519
 our work.

00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:30.820
 But I want to go a bit further

00:29:30.820 --> 00:29:33.420
 than Kohelet does and try to

00:29:33.420 --> 00:29:34.440
 bring together some larger

00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:35.500
 biblical themes here.

00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:39.700
 Ecclesiastes ends by

00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:41.380
 summarizing Kohelet's arguments

00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:42.740
 and exhorting the reader.

00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:45.440
 Ecclesiastes 12, 13.

00:29:46.320 --> 00:29:48.180
 The end of the matter, all has

00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:48.820
 been heard.

00:29:49.280 --> 00:29:50.640
 Fear God and keep his

00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:52.060
 commandments, for this is the

00:29:52.060 --> 00:29:53.140
 whole duty of man.

00:29:55.080 --> 00:29:57.220
 This got me thinking about God's

00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.100
 commandments, and as it relates

00:29:59.100 --> 00:30:00.700
 to our work, one particular

00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:02.260
 imperative came to mind from the

00:30:02.260 --> 00:30:02.780
 New Testament.

00:30:04.180 --> 00:30:05.880
 In Colossians, Paul writes,

00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:08.900
 Whatever you do, work heartily,

00:30:09.280 --> 00:30:11.000
 as for the Lord and not for men,

00:30:11.620 --> 00:30:13.000
 knowing that from the Lord you

00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:15.080
 will receive the inheritance as

00:30:15.080 --> 00:30:15.700
 your reward.

00:30:16.220 --> 00:30:17.800
 You are serving the Lord Christ.

00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:20.860
 But what is this inheritance?

00:30:21.300 --> 00:30:23.500
 What do we know that Kohelet didn't?

00:30:25.360 --> 00:30:27.560
 As we saw from chapter 2, Kohelet

00:30:27.560 --> 00:30:29.040
 illustrates that one of the main

00:30:29.040 --> 00:30:30.880
 frustrations for us in our work is

00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:33.320
 that what we work so hard to create

00:30:33.319 --> 00:30:35.599
 often gets left to someone else.

00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:38.899
 Kohelet is not the only biblical

00:30:38.899 --> 00:30:40.279
 figure to notice this.

00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:43.299
 The prophet Zephaniah says,

00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:46.220
 Though they build houses, they

00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:47.419
 shall not inhabit them.

00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:49.740
 Though they plant vineyards, they

00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:51.220
 shall not drink wine from them.

00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:54.980
 Another prophet, Amos, says,

00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:58.119
 You have built houses of hewn stone,

00:30:58.279 --> 00:30:59.519
 but you shall not dwell in them.

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:01.819
 You have planted pleasant vineyards,

00:31:01.939 --> 00:31:03.279
 but you shall not drink their wine.

00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:07.279
 Similarly, Deuteronomy says,

00:31:07.659 --> 00:31:09.159
 You shall build a house, but you

00:31:09.159 --> 00:31:10.059
 shall not dwell in it.

00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:12.000
 You shall plant a vineyard, but you

00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:13.359
 shall not enjoy its fruit.

00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:16.779
 There are other instances as well,

00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:18.500
 but the general theme seems to be

00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:18.819
 thus.

00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:21.279
 Disobedience of the Lord results in

00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:23.220
 the inability to enjoy the fruit of

00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:23.639
 our labor.

00:31:24.679 --> 00:31:26.059
 This certainly gels with our

00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:28.179
 understanding of work as toil, as

00:31:28.179 --> 00:31:29.939
 the corruption of a good thing after

00:31:29.939 --> 00:31:30.419
 the fall.

00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:34.000
 It is this world we live in post-fall

00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.840
 that we have seen Kohelet trying to

00:31:35.840 --> 00:31:37.340
 grapple with as he observes a

00:31:37.340 --> 00:31:39.000
 frustratingly unfair world.

00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:43.820
 Deuteronomy describes the consequences

00:31:43.820 --> 00:31:44.800
 of disobedience.

00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:47.920
 Zephaniah and Amos describe judgment.

00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.080
 However, there's another prophet who

00:31:51.080 --> 00:31:53.900
 uses the houses and vineyard to

00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:55.940
 describe restoration and promise.

00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:59.059
 In his description of the new heaven

00:31:59.059 --> 00:32:00.559
 and the new earth, Isaiah says,

00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:04.320
 They shall build houses and inhabit

00:32:04.320 --> 00:32:04.660
 them.

00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:06.880
 They shall plant vineyards and eat

00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:07.400
 their fruit.

00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:09.500
 They shall not build and another

00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:09.900
 inhabit.

00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:12.240
 They shall not plant and another eat.

00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:15.000
 And my chosen shall long enjoy the

00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:16.059
 work of their hands.

00:32:17.340 --> 00:32:19.840
 Finally, at last, there will be a

00:32:19.840 --> 00:32:20.360
 restoration.

00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:23.799
 Not one that takes away work, but one

00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:25.439
 in which our relationship with it will

00:32:25.439 --> 00:32:26.159
 be made right.

00:32:26.819 --> 00:32:29.279
 When we shall again enjoy the fruits of

00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.559
 our labor as God intended.

00:32:31.899 --> 00:32:34.459
 No more as Kohelet will we be subject to

00:32:34.459 --> 00:32:35.539
 an unfair world.

00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:40.579
 As the Jesus Storybook Bible says, every

00:32:40.579 --> 00:32:41.979
 story whispers his name.

00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:44.039
 And so we know that scriptures like

00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:45.439
 Isaiah point to Christ.

00:32:45.639 --> 00:32:47.459
 And we know that this promised restoration

00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:49.940
 is offered in the person of Christ.

00:32:51.100 --> 00:32:52.900
 It seems to me that the promise of this

00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:54.519
 future restoration of the right

00:32:54.519 --> 00:32:56.819
 relationship of labor and fruit is what

00:32:56.819 --> 00:32:59.019
 gives a dignity to our still frustrating

00:32:59.019 --> 00:32:59.700
 work today.

00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:01.860
 A point I should very much remember when

00:33:01.860 --> 00:33:03.519
 I'm most disenchanted in my job.

00:33:05.039 --> 00:33:07.140
 Thankfully, ungrateful sinner that I am

00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:09.039
 in my daily work through Christ, I don't

00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:10.940
 have to obey perfectly to gain the eternal

00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:11.440
 reward.

00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:14.200
 Christ has already done the work on my

00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:14.680
 behalf.

00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:19.680
 In Joshua, God reminds the Israelites of

00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:21.640
 their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

00:33:22.920 --> 00:33:25.019
 I gave you a land on which you had not

00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:27.039
 labored and cities that you had not

00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:28.480
 built and you dwell in them.

00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:31.000
 You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive

00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:32.720
 orchards that you did not plant.

00:33:34.320 --> 00:33:36.060
 Is that not the promise for the Christian

00:33:36.060 --> 00:33:36.460
 also?

00:33:37.460 --> 00:33:39.420
 Is that not the inheritance that Paul

00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:40.740
 mentions in Colossians?

00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:44.440
 In our case, Christ has labored to build

00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:46.200
 the house for us and has planted the

00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:49.120
 vineyards and cultivated the vine so that

00:33:49.120 --> 00:33:50.559
 we might not labor in vain.

00:33:52.059 --> 00:33:52.900
 Who knows?

00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:54.960
 Maybe I like all these scriptures because

00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:57.079
 they talk about houses and the architect in

00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:58.039
 me just can't help it.

00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:03.319
 But the psalmist reminds us, unless the

00:34:03.319 --> 00:34:05.839
 Lord builds the house, those who build it

00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:06.759
 labor in vain.

00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:10.619
 Because we know that the Lord himself is

00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:12.820
 building our houses, we have the freedom

00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:15.639
 to receive even our toil, as Kohelet

00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:17.780
 suggests, as a gift from God with

00:34:17.780 --> 00:34:18.199
 gratitude.

00:34:19.340 --> 00:34:21.340
 Because what awaits us is something that

00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:23.219
 Kohelet couldn't even dream of.

00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:27.139
 When Christ brings forth the restoration of

00:34:27.139 --> 00:34:29.380
 creation, it will have us looking back on

00:34:29.380 --> 00:34:31.639
 even our worst work days under the sun and

00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:34.940
 saying with full-throated joy to hevel with

00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:35.079
 it.

00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:40.019
 Oh, I've got to groan.

00:34:40.139 --> 00:34:40.639
 That's good.

00:34:44.340 --> 00:34:44.820
 Questions?

00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:45.679
 Bleep!

00:34:48.220 --> 00:34:50.780
 You have to bleep Hebrew words?

00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:50.940
 Thank you.

00:35:00.860 --> 00:35:03.079
 Happy to take a few questions if you have

00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:03.280
 any.

00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:08.740
 Yeah.

00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:12.380
 Thank you for sharing your experience.

00:35:12.720 --> 00:35:14.659
 It's actually really encouraging.

00:35:17.220 --> 00:35:21.440
 I think one of the questions I have is

00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:23.960
 how do you, you know, having been trained

00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:27.480
 in an ethic that strives for perfection

00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:31.360
 and also having internalized the faith that

00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:33.559
 sort of demands that out of you, right?

00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:35.579
 And that's very much, I think, who you are.

00:35:37.219 --> 00:35:42.019
 How do you, in your work, when you are

00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:45.840
 frustrated by decisions that you view as

00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:51.960
 incorrect, how do you put back?

00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:58.139
 How do you raise that in a way that is, you know, is godly?

00:35:58.139 --> 00:36:05.679
 Because I understand that, you know, in some careers, you know, we're talking about money

00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:10.019
 and time and aesthetics.

00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:19.699
 And in other careers, we're talking about people's lives and the success or failure of products that could impact disease and death.

00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:29.279
 So, there's a certain indignation sometimes that occurs, you know, within, I think, within me when I see the same problems.

00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:34.960
 And when I raise these objections and stuff, I can do it in a very harsh way.

00:36:35.460 --> 00:36:41.040
 And it can be very alienating to those around me.

00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:47.160
 But at the same time, you know, there's a time and place for that.

00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:49.219
 So, I don't know if you have some thoughts on it.

00:36:49.259 --> 00:36:49.420
 Yeah.

00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:55.899
 So, the question is how to sort of push back in a godly way on things that we think are unwise, perhaps.

00:36:57.879 --> 00:37:00.219
 So, yeah, money.

00:37:00.339 --> 00:37:03.960
 A lot of decisions at Yale are made based on money.

00:37:03.960 --> 00:37:13.940
 And related to that, an unrealistic expectation of what money can buy sometimes.

00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:27.840
 And so, you know, between my colleagues and I, sometimes as we're brainstorming what's going on and, like, there's a component of this project we really think is important to do, we'll be talking about it.

00:37:28.059 --> 00:37:32.559
 And I keep always coming back to, you know, it's either worth doing or it's not worth doing.

00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:33.240
 Right?

00:37:33.239 --> 00:37:43.779
 Like, if the provost really wants this, it's either worth doing here at the quality that we expect at Yale or it's worth not doing at this time because the money's not there.

00:37:44.039 --> 00:37:46.719
 So, sometimes there are those frustrations.

00:37:46.919 --> 00:37:55.319
 But more to your point, perhaps, is, you know, there are definitely occasions where something has been excluded from a project.

00:37:55.320 --> 00:38:04.720
 And not constantly but periodically over the course of design and even into construction because we carry contingency monies to cover certain changes and that sort of thing.

00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:24.339
 I will, one element in particular of a recent project, I never got it covered, but periodically I was saying, listen, I think that the right thing to do, ultimately, it's a practical, practically doing this now will keep us from having to come back in five years and do it in the same space that we're already in.

00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:30.360
 So, there's a practical, but also aesthetically for the quality of the university, like, this is something.

00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:40.820
 And, you know, I did that three or four times to try to get a certain element brought back in for a small incremental cost relative to the whole.

00:38:40.820 --> 00:38:47.300
 And at a certain point, I did all I could do, you know, I guess I had to say hevel.

00:38:47.680 --> 00:39:02.820
 Like, I couldn't, there was, there was no more to push back on because it wasn't, you know, working, working under, working to make a finite set of decisions under a larger decision-making body can be difficult.

00:39:02.820 --> 00:39:12.580
 But, you know, when I feel it's appropriate, I do push, but it doesn't always, it doesn't always work.

00:39:12.660 --> 00:39:13.680
 I don't know if that answers your question.

00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:15.700
 Kirsten and then John.

00:39:16.580 --> 00:39:29.160
 I'd like to commend you and your wife, first of all, on making the difficult decision to put your family first and make a job change, which was not popular among your peers, especially now.

00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:34.159
 So, it's something that people just don't understand.

00:39:34.399 --> 00:39:37.799
 And it's not a, it's not even a basis of whether you're a Christian or not.

00:39:37.899 --> 00:39:46.019
 It's just in a career-driven society, everyone just assumes both of you are going to have full-time jobs with extra hours.

00:39:46.420 --> 00:39:49.399
 And it's a, it's a sacrifice that you can do.

00:39:49.399 --> 00:39:55.639
 And, come to me, being a little bit older than you, we are on the other tail end of married children.

00:39:55.639 --> 00:40:02.119
 And, um, I thought I was going to go back to teaching full-time, you know, and my kids went into school full-time.

00:40:02.420 --> 00:40:04.039
 The Lord had other plans for me.

00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:08.099
 Being on this other end now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

00:40:08.460 --> 00:40:15.859
 Because that all is hebel doesn't factor in into the big picture of things, you know, for us personally.

00:40:15.860 --> 00:40:28.760
 Um, so, that difficult decision to switch to Yale and not be in the high-intensity work, or whether it's just as simple as saying yes to one job and not another.

00:40:29.220 --> 00:40:33.800
 Um, you know, are we listening to the Lord and what he has promised for us in the future?

00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:37.380
 Or are we listening to what our peers are saying and what society is saying?

00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:48.860
 And in the job world right now, with it being as competitive as it is for those new, really good jobs that are out there, it's really a difficult decision to make and not one to be taken lightly.

00:40:49.599 --> 00:41:00.079
 So, I just, you know, I, I hope that you feel that the, the sacrifice and the switch was worth it, even if you don't feel it every day.

00:41:00.619 --> 00:41:02.220
 Yes. Yes and yes.

00:41:02.220 --> 00:41:02.800
 It's okay to wake up.

00:41:02.860 --> 00:41:03.460
 Yes and yes.

00:41:03.460 --> 00:41:07.539
 I see your posts about, you know, who you're next to on the bus or what you're listening to.

00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:11.440
 And sometimes you sit there saying, man, I don't know if this is worth it.

00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:13.039
 So I understand that completely.

00:41:13.559 --> 00:41:13.720
 Yeah.

00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:15.079
 John, did you have?

00:41:15.300 --> 00:41:15.740
 Yeah.

00:41:16.220 --> 00:41:17.260
 Thanks so much, James.

00:41:17.340 --> 00:41:18.780
 That was so pointy and beautiful.

00:41:19.220 --> 00:41:27.420
 And I love the way of, um, gesture too, just kind of streaks of light and hope that we have.

00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:31.559
 Because you think of, ah, Moses' cry.

00:41:31.559 --> 00:41:36.259
 And you know, God, oh God, give permanence to the world.

00:41:36.759 --> 00:41:38.079
 That long, right?

00:41:38.179 --> 00:41:39.659
 Not just a slip through your fingers.

00:41:40.440 --> 00:41:46.159
 I think of, ah, how that gnawing kind of eats at us all.

00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:57.659
 And, ah, when I think of vanity, vanity, I mean, when those, those words do, well, kallos, the Greek, which might have a semantic range, it's a pretty close.

00:41:57.659 --> 00:42:02.079
 I think of, ah, I think of 1 Corinthians 15, 58.

00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:07.279
 Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always about in the word of the Lord.

00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:11.359
 That in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.

00:42:12.779 --> 00:42:17.980
 And the therefore is, you know, 1 Corinthians 15 is just talking about the whole direction.

00:42:17.980 --> 00:42:23.980
 God will take everything, and there is a permanent quality, and it will persevere.

00:42:24.740 --> 00:42:31.740
 So, the kingdom actually seems to be the answer to our longing, that there would be something permanent in our labors.

00:42:31.980 --> 00:42:36.380
 Though it seems like the possibility that we might not invest them well.

00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:51.599
 If, ah, in Philippians 2, ah, I don't know, somewhere around, ah, what it says, ah, would you, it's always, that I might not have labored in vain.

00:42:52.119 --> 00:43:04.720
 And he would say, but he'd know that he would not, if he held fast for the work of the Lord, that he would know that in the day of Christ he had not run, nor labored in vain.

00:43:04.719 --> 00:43:14.339
 So, we have, we feel this gnawing, but the kingdom allows us to bless in such a way that it will be permanent.

00:43:14.779 --> 00:43:23.899
 He seems like he doesn't abandon the late work of his hands, and that he doesn't even abandon the work of the hands of his people.

00:43:25.119 --> 00:43:26.319
 So, thank you for that.

00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:26.919
 Thanks.

00:43:27.139 --> 00:43:27.500
 Thanks, John.

00:43:32.719 --> 00:43:33.719
 Any last words?

00:43:34.719 --> 00:43:35.679
 All right.

00:43:36.059 --> 00:43:36.939
 Thank you very much.

00:43:40.179 --> 00:43:40.659
 All right.

00:43:40.739 --> 00:43:48.099
 Let's pray for, um, let's pray for James, and, uh, pray for others who are working in architecture, and also others who are frustrated in their work.

00:43:48.759 --> 00:43:49.299
 All right.

00:43:49.299 --> 00:43:49.339
 All right.

00:43:54.659 --> 00:44:04.339
 Lord, we thank you for, thank you for James, and thank you for the way that you have, um, brought these truths home in his own heart over the years.

00:44:04.340 --> 00:44:15.260
 Thank you, Lord, for, uh, showing him, um, that our, our dream job is not, it's not, it's not all that you've called us to live for.

00:44:15.260 --> 00:44:38.780
 And, uh, thank you for, um, uh, showing him that lesson and yet bringing him through that and, um, helping him, pray that you would help him to find contentment in you day by day to, um, to live in, in the, in the gratitude, uh, for what you have given to him to, even to enjoy, uh, the work that you've given him.

00:44:38.780 --> 00:44:43.620
 Um, uh, and to persevere through the frustrations of it.

00:44:43.700 --> 00:44:55.500
 Lord, we pray for others who are working in architecture and others who may be, uh, struggling with some of these, um, uh, tensions and, and, and difficulties that, uh, that he's spoken about today.

00:44:55.500 --> 00:45:05.079
 Uh, Lord, that you would give them wisdom, that you would help them to, to work, to, to work heartily as for you and not, uh, for, uh, not for other people.

00:45:05.079 --> 00:45:18.159
 Uh, Lord, that, uh, you would help them to, uh, to, to, to know that you are, uh, to, to find hope and joy in those promises of, of restoration that you are building.

00:45:18.619 --> 00:45:26.480
 You are building a house, uh, for us, uh, Lord, that one day we will enjoy, uh, the, the fruit of, uh, of your work on our behalf.

00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:34.819
 Uh, and Lord, we pray for, uh, pray for, especially for those who are, uh, just facing frustrations or feeling like their work is toilsome and, and even,

00:45:34.820 --> 00:45:37.320
 and empty Lord, that's all of us at one level.

00:45:37.940 --> 00:45:48.380
 Um, but I pray especially for those who just feel that, um, in an oppressive way or on a daily basis, uh, or an hourly minute by minute basis.

00:45:48.380 --> 00:45:55.760
 Um, uh, Lord, that you would draw near to them in, in their frustrations, that you would help them to bring those frustrations to you.

00:45:56.360 --> 00:46:04.800
 Um, that you would help them to, um, uh, to, to, to look, to find some of the wisdom, to find some of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes.

00:46:04.820 --> 00:46:09.500
 Uh, as well as Proverbs and, and Job, uh, to be helpful to them.

00:46:10.380 --> 00:46:22.380
 Um, uh, Lord, that they would, that, that you would, um, yeah, just give them wisdom about how to, how to live in a very, in, in very frustrating work environments.

00:46:23.059 --> 00:46:30.880
 Um, uh, and Lord, we, uh, yeah, we thank you for this, uh, for all that you've given us this morning.

00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:35.579
 Um, pray that you would help us to, uh, take it to heart, uh, and encourage one another with these words.

00:46:35.619 --> 00:46:36.440
 In Jesus' name we pray.

00:46:36.640 --> 00:46:36.900
 Amen.

00:46:39.160 --> 00:46:39.519
 Thank you.

00:46:39.880 --> 00:46:40.280
 Thank you.

00:46:40.280 --> 00:46:40.420
 Thank you.

00:46:40.960 --> 00:46:41.039
 Yeah.

00:46:41.860 --> 00:46:42.539
 Thank you.

00:46:42.920 --> 00:46:42.940
 Yeah.

00:46:42.940 --> 00:46:44.300
 Thank you.

00:46:44.579 --> 00:46:45.280
 Thank you.

00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:48.059
 Thank you.

00:46:52.980 --> 00:46:54.140
 Thank you.