Study Desk

Wise people use their minds like eyes to see where they are going. But for fools, it is as if they are walking in the dark. I also saw that fools and wise people both end the same way.

People can work hard using all their wisdom and knowledge and skill. But they will die and other people will get the things they worked for. They did not do the work, but they will get everything. That makes me very sad. It is also not fair and is senseless.

If people do good and please God, he will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But those who sin will get only the work of gathering and carrying things. God takes from the bad person and gives to the good person. But all this work is useless. It is like trying to catch the wind.

God gave us the ability to think about his world, but we can never completely understand everything he does. And yet, he does everything at just the right time.

What happened in the past has happened, and what will happen in the future will happen. But God wants to help those who have been treated badly.

I also saw these things in this life: I saw that the courts should be filled with goodness and fairness, but there is evil there now.

Maybe that is true. But I say it is better to be satisfied with the few things you have than to always be struggling to get more.

I saw a man who has no family, not a son or even a brother. But he continues to work very hard. He is never satisfied with what he has. And he works so hard that he never stops and asks himself, "Why am I working so hard? Why don't I let myself enjoy my life?" This is also a very bad and senseless thing.

If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them.

If two people sleep together, they will be warm. But a person sleeping alone will not be warm.

An enemy might be able to defeat one person, but two people can stand back-to-back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together—it is very hard to break.

A young leader who is poor but wise is better than a king who is old but foolish. That old king does not listen to warnings.

But I have watched people in this life, and I know this: People will follow that young man. He will become the new king.

Many people will follow this young man. But later, those same people will not like him. This is also senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.

In some country you will see poor people who are forced to work very hard. You will see that this is not fair to them. It is against their rights. But don't be surprised! The ruler who forces them to work has another ruler who forces him. And there is still another ruler who forces both of these rulers.

Those who work hard all day come home and sleep in peace. It is not important if they have little or much to eat. But the rich worry about their wealth and are not able to sleep.

People come into the world with nothing. And when they die, they leave with nothing. They might work hard to get things, but they cannot take anything with them when they die.

God gives some people great wealth, riches, and honor. They have everything they need and everything they could ever want. But then God does not let them enjoy those things. Some stranger comes and takes everything. This is a very bad and senseless thing.

A man might live a long time and have 100 children. But if he is not satisfied with those good things, and if no one remembers him after his death, I say that a baby who dies at birth is better off than that man.

The baby never saw the sun and never knew anything. But the baby finds more rest than the man who never enjoyed what God gave him.