Living Beneath the Line of Despair

To start a lesson or sermon you might use a funny story, a provocative question, or a comment about current events. One ancient teacher introduced his lesson with a depressing philosophical observation. He exclaimed, “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

That’s a jarring introduction, but it resonates with modern minds. In the 1970s, Francis Shaeffer described what he called the line of despair. Western culture, he warned, is abandoning the pursuit of rational, objective biblical truth, and if we decide life has no ultimate value or logical foundation, the result will be pessimism, loss of hope, and philosophical, artistic, and cultural decay. If the universe is a closed system of natural causes, what is the basis for human dignity and meaning? In his small but still-relevant book Escape from Reason, Schaeffer argued that dissatisfied individuals living beneath the line of despair pacify themselves with drugs and alcohol; or they take non-rational leaps of faith to find meaning in a world that seems absurd; or they simply abandon the quest for truth altogether and make personal peace and affluence their ultimate goal.

Searching for Significance

In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon describes his own pursuit of happiness and significance.

Is education the key? According to 1 Kings 4:32-33, Solomon became an expert on literature and music, writing 3,000 proverbs and composing 1,000 songs. He learned about botany and biology (plants, animals, birds, reptiles, and fish). But he also discovered problems he couldn’t solve. He wrote, “The more knowledge, the more grief” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Christians value learning. Jesus said to love God with all your mind (Mark 12:30). But education alone isn’t the key to life.

Is pleasure the key? Solomon became an expert at fooling around and making people laugh. He said, “I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly” (Ecclesiastes 2:3). But even if you’re the life of the party, what will you do when the party is over? Enjoyable vacations and relaxing holidays eventually come to an end. Is your goal merely to survive from one weekend to the next? Temporary pleasures offer short-term enjoyment, but leave us empty and unfulfilled.

Are possessions the key? Solomon built houses, vineyards, gardens, and parks. He lived in a huge palace that was half the length of a football field, with rooms paneled with fragrant cedar wood. He said, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure” (2:10). Delicious food filled his table. Choirs of singers entertained him. His treasury overflowed with silver and gold. Hundreds of women met his sexual desires. But his soul remained unsatisfied.

Is work the key? Solomon gained an international reputation as a wise, effective leader. But he learned that when you climb the ladder of success in your career, you will also experience grief, pain, and restless nights; and when you retire or die, you leave everything you worked for to someone else (2:19-23).

Looking Above

Solomon admitted, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (2:17). Pretty depressing, huh? But realistic. Is the goal simply to squeeze a bit of happiness out of life before you grow old and die?

If life’s meaning can’t be found through education, pleasure, entertainment, prosperity, and work, what is left? Where should we look for answers? Is there any hope for those living beneath the line of despair?

Francis Schaeffer answered these questions by writing The God Who Is There and He Is There and He Is Not Silent. His books are half a century old, but they offer valuable clues for understanding our 21st-century culture. And so does the ancient book of Ecclesiastes, which as someone has said, “asks the questions that the rest of the Bible answers.”

This is the first in a series of articles based on the book of Ecclesiastes. Next week: “A Time for Everything,” from Ecclesiastes 3.