Introduction

As I read Ecclesiastes, I've come to Chapter Six, which speaks of: What advantage then does he have? The benefit is very important, yet often forgotten.

Recently, I was on a flight next to a senior executive with medicated plasters on his neck, clearly uncomfortable, yet still speaking bombastically. I chatted with him about education, employee training, and so on. Then I said: People live and forget what living is for; the most important thing is to enjoy happiness! If one does not enjoy happiness, what advantage is there? He looked at me intently and said, Your words have awakened me, and his chest immediately relaxed. He was carrying so much in his heart that he had lost his joy. Being a senior executive is not easy, facing fierce competition.

He shared that his competitor drove a bus to his company to poach talent, parking right in front and displaying a large sign: If you hold position X at company Y, you are hired without interview, with a 30% salary increase. His entire team was poached. Facing such competition, people often forget the competition itself is also vanity.

People work hard for wealth, abundance, and honour, but though they attain them, they are troubled. They live and forget that the purpose of life is to enjoy happiness.

How Should One Live?

People live and forget what living is all about. Recently, a brother called me, weeping. I was puzzled and asked if he had eye problems. No. Ear problems? No. Arms and legs were fine, but his heart was troubled. He was pursuing a master's degree and had a minor conflict with his advisor, which led to a breakdown. I also pursued a master's – it is a simple matter.

Here is a grievous problem I have seen under the sun: Wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner: or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him to inherit. Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous problem: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. (Ecclesiastes 6:1-7)

It is deeply regrettable if one toils solely for the stomach and mouth but remains unsatisfied in the heart. Is this not common? A couple, with enough to eat and drink and no shortage of money, bicker idly, and both are unhappy. I have found that whether wise or foolish, rich or poor, people always have troubles. It is a great affliction.

Why do people create problems when they have nothing else to do? Why is it so hard to live joyfully? Why is it hard to enjoy the work of their hands? It is because they have not understood what living is about, what the purpose of life is.

You may know about beasts, but not about man. Some Christians often ask, What is your zodiac sign? and reply, I am a dog. Why? Why a chicken, dog, pig, snake...? Why not a human? Man is born as a beast, toiling for the stomach.

What is the difference between man and beast? It is vast. If you see yourself as a beast, you will be one. If one does not know what man is, what is the advantage of these increasing vanities? Living like a beast is like being half-dead. A long life is like a short one, having much money is like having none, being wise is like being unwise.

The most talked-about topic is earning money. Most people think of making money. Only a few ask: What is man? What is life for? You neither know what man is nor how to live, only how to earn money. But you earn money and cannot use it or enjoy it. Then you come in vanity and depart in darkness, your name covered in darkness, never having seen the sun or known anything. You pass by in confusion.

What is man? How should man live? This is the most important question in life. I find Christians trying to make money everywhere, selling things, feeling proud. But think about it: they return to the starting point. Why? Because they do not know what man is. If one does not know what man is, what advantage is there?

Do What is Beneficial, Restore the Image God Created in Us

Do you know what man is? Man is made in God's image. To live out God's image is to be truly human. If man lives out the image of a beast, he is a beast. So if you ask my zodiac sign, I belong to God, to Jesus.

For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? (Ecclesiastes 6:12)

Understanding that life is like a passing shadow, you know what is beneficial. The world continues after you die, the earth keeps turning. No matter how much vanity you gain, it is of no advantage. Getting a master's degree is not very beneficial, but dropping out halfway is also not very beneficial. Earning money is not very beneficial, not earning money is also not very beneficial, having much money and supporting many people is not very beneficial, being dirt poor like Yang Bailao is also not very beneficial.

Life is like a passing shadow, and people pursue vanity, adding more vanities, seeking wealth and status. They give gifts, entertain guests, and are corrupt to achieve their goals, making things worse.

The problem is not knowing the fundamental thing: that man has the image of God. We have the glorious image of God, and restoring that image is beneficial.

A sister sent me an article about a Nobel Prize-nominated physicist with a high chance of winning, who jumped from a building in his fifties, at the height of his career. He did a doctorate, research, and worked hard for decades, about to win the Nobel Prize, yet he jumped. The world sees it as a joke. People do not know what is beneficial. These things cannot satisfy our hearts. Only God living in our hearts, only our willingness to restore God's glorious image is beneficial.

How can one live out the original dignified image that God created man to have? By giving oneself away. I find that dedicating oneself to be a blessing to many brings great joy. If I am a senior executive and my employees are poached, I will not worry. If my business is struggling, I will be upset, but I will wake up, for what advantage is there?

If one restores God's glorious image, vanity decreases and substance increases, which is beneficial! I understand that extreme selfishness is mental illness. The fundamental problem is that people constantly add vanity and live like beasts, only for themselves. That is why Chinese Mingding Destiny is not right.

We do not know what will happen when we live, but we will understand after we die. We study and work hard, then buy houses and cars, and make money in business. Then, we close our eyes, our spirit leaves our body and enters the spiritual world. Looking back at the world, we regret it! All our serious living and hard work were vanity, chasing the wind, a shadow. Where do we go? To hell or to God. What I say is true. Have I been there? No, but I want to go. Why? Because I know it is real.

Seeing Through Things to Live Well

What a person fundamentally is: one has a physical body, and after you eat, your body is nourished. However, inside, there is also a spirit, and your spirit can become depleted. If you nourish your physical body to the point of obesity, lacking nothing in terms of food and drink, but your spirit is not satisfied, you will likely live with great discomfort. What I am saying is consistent with the 《Bible》. In life, you will see some people who appear to be living well on the surface, but are very unhappy inside. From a carnal perspective, whether one lives well or not makes a big difference, but from a spiritual perspective, the condition of the physical body, whether good or bad, is of little real value.

Can we see through things today? Many pastors among us are filled with a lack of insight. One day, I told some of our leaders: if you are willing to go out and start your own ministries, that's fine. Just tell me, and I will help you. They looked at me, stunned. What kind of talk is this? You might ask: then what are you working so hard for? I do not care about the things of this world; I only care about whether I can live out the glorious image of God.

I have found that Jesus was like this. When did you ever see Jesus wanting to build a church of five thousand, or even fifty thousand, or five hundred thousand people? No. When Jesus saw a large crowd coming, He said something, and after hearing it, people left. What did Jesus say? He said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. These words are too hard, who can understand them! No one understood, and eventually, all these people left. Then Jesus said to the twelve disciples, Do you also want to leave? Peter replied, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Many people think they are more capable than Jesus, building churches of tens of thousands of people, only to end up in jail. I find this generation so tragic. Do not think that preachers can see through many things; many preachers lack substance.

How can one have substance? It is by understanding many things clearly. The first thing to understand is: to know what a person is. Then, to know what things are vain and what things are beneficial to us. Look at the foolish people; they think that money is very beneficial to them. But is it really beneficial? They do not know.

Recently, the son of a very wealthy celebrity was a drug addict, and his daughter was a lesbian and married another woman. In this generation, having money is also very helpless. I do not like to pursue vain things; wealth and glory are all vanity. What we pursue is to live out the glorious image of God. How do we live it out? By completely offering ourselves to God. Some say that giving yourself to God is foolish, but I find that this way of living is more effective and brings more joy than living only for oneself. Because my bottom line is God, who can move my God?

If your bottom line is your degree, you will collapse if there is a problem with your degree. If your bottom line is your career, you will also collapse if anyone touches it. Restarting once today and restarting again tomorrow will eventually lead to trouble. A person's life passes like a shadow; do you know what is beneficial to you? Do you know what will happen when you leave this world? If you do not know, even if you are very clever, what is the benefit? My mind is very clear because I know that many things are vain.

Some say, then you are very real. This boast seems a bit too big, as if others are not as good as us. But I really think that many people are not as good as us because many people do not know what a person is or what life is about. Then they live their whole lives pursuing vain things, and with so many vain things, what benefit is there for a person? One of the Four Young Masters of Beijing, young and promising and wealthy, who would have thought that he would suddenly commit suicide. Can you understand why a person would do this in this world? I cannot understand it.

I am not very interested in making money, but I am full of interest in being a person. A few days ago, I saw a sister whom I had not seen for several months, and when I saw her, her face looked like a bitter gourd. She was fine before, how did she become a bitter gourd? She did not say, but I guessed that she had some vain things inside. When a person's vain things increase, can she be joyful? No, because she is uncomfortable. So we must wake up and stop pursuing vain things.

I call on God to open the hearts of these people! We live under the sun, how can we not know what is beneficial to us in our lives? Some time ago, I said something to a sister, and she cried. Actually, I did not say much, but later I found out that she felt unappreciated. What is there to appreciate or not appreciate? If you want me to appreciate you, who will appreciate me? No one appreciates me, so who do I cry to? I only value one thing: I want to live out the glorious image of God.

Summary

A person's height is very important; if your height is so low, how can you serve? Then you say you will not serve, and if you do not serve, your height will be even lower. What to do? Raise your vision, raise your spiritual height. Why are people entangled in so many things? It is because they are too low. Why are you living your life? If your way of living can bring you complete happiness, then I thank God. But the problem is, how long can you enjoy it? Start to know what is beneficial to you.