If Only We Lived for the Good of One Another (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)
Sermon Notes
Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes - Striving After Wind
Sermon Title: If Only We Lived for the Good of One Another
Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:1-16
Preacher: Ashley Herr
He Saw Oppression (4:1-3)
The first result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:
1. We use our power to pursue our own good at the expense of another
He Saw Envy (4:4-6)
The second result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:
2. We compare ourselves to others, competing w/ others
When we compare ourselves to others, competing with others:
We view the relationships we have as rivalries
We view the resources they have with resentment
Let’s not over-react, doing nothing, because:
Laziness is self-destructive (v5)
Complacency is self-deceptive
He Saw Hoarding (4:7-8,13-16)
The third result of living for good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’:
3. We accumulate more to satisfy ourselves, rather than to share w/ others
Another Perspective (4:9-12)
Three results of living for the good of the ‘we’ over the ‘me’:
Provision (v10)
Presence (v11)
Protection (v12)
Reflection
Ask yourself, “How have I been living for my own good, seeking the good of the ‘me’ over the ‘we’? Think about:
how you use the power and influence you have, using it for your own good at the expense of others
why you are doing what you are doing, why you are working as hard as you are, what is motivating you
who you are doing all of this for, who is benefiting from your work
Read Galatians 5:13-16,22-26; 6:2-3,9-10
