The Depression Book
The book of Ecclesiastes kind of holds a somewhat tainted reputation. It probably has a lot to do with its placement in the construction of the Bible. Here is this little book of depression cuddled up next to the “spicy” Song of Solomon, piggybacking on the wisdom of Proverbs and literally just a few doors down from the poetic majesty of the Book of Psalms. It is the literary equivalent of having someone like “Plain” Jane Eyre living next to Helen of Troy, Sherlock Holmes and Beethoven. Or at least that’s what it often seems like on the surface. The better analogy would be having Father Brown living next to the same line up. Because, like Father Brown, Ecclesiastes is far more than it seems on the surface. This book is profoundly chalked full of wisdom and insight into the human condition. Which, without God, is extremely bleak and depressing.
Truth be known, I often refer to Ecclesiastes as my “Depression Book”. Have you heard the adage “Misery loves company”? If you find yourself in a deplorable state of mind – Ecclesiastes is all the company that you need. Trust me! The author of Ecclesiastes, who identifies himself as the preacher, is the kind of company that doesn’t sugarcoat the truth (because that doesn’t help anyone) nor does he pour salt on those wounds (because that is just rude). He deals with the human condition exactly as it is. And yes, sometimes the preacher is a depressing, biblical version of Parmenides, crying “Whatever is, is.”. Or better yet, “Whatever is, is depressing, pointless and short-lived.”
What’s the point to this? Why focus on the bad stuff? I mean doesn’t Paul expressly tell us, in his letter to the Philippians, to think about the good stuff? Yes, he does. Well, kind of. He tells us to think on things that are true and honest. We are never anywhere in Scripture instructed to fake it until we make it. We are never told to put on a happy face and pretend like everything is ok. Especially, when it isn’t.
Perhaps an example from everyday life might help. I grew up watching a show called “The Joy of Painting” with a guy named Bob Ross. Maybe you’re familiar with it. The show is awesome. He just stands there and paints happy little trees while dishing out life lessons and talking about these strange pets that he has. Great entertainment. Before television took a nosedive into the toilet. Anyway, my favorite paintings that he ever did were the nighttime scenes. I loved one called “Black Seascape”. It is beautiful. He doesn’t use a lot of different colors in it. Mostly just whites and blues. But before he starts, do you know what he does? I mean before the show even begins. He takes an acrylic paint, called black gesso and covers the whole canvas with it. He makes the entire canvas pitch black. Why does he do that? He does it to create a backdrop that will allow the light colors to be seen in a much more prominent manner. You can’t miss the whites of the beautiful waves cresting against that black backdrop. It’s breathtaking.
This is like what we see beginning to occur in the Book of Ecclesiastes. The preacher, whether knowingly or not, is creating a backdrop for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I call it the “Un”Gospel. Interesting title? It isn’t arbitrary. We usually take the prefix “un” to mean “not”, which is certainly true. It doesn’t mean less than not. However, it carries an extra connotation with it. The prefix “un” carries this idea of an opposite force. So, it isn’t just that Book of Ecclesiastes isn’t the Gospel. It is the opposite of it. The Gospel, literally translated, means the “Good News”. Specifically, the Good News of Jesus Christ. By being its opposite, the Book of Ecclesiastes is in a unique position to create the question that the Gospel will seek to answer.