Christians Living in Futility

Aim: To live purposefully and thoughtfully—for Christ.

Doctrine: It is certainly possible for the lives of those in the covenant to be practically pointless (for a while, at least). This usually happens almost imperceptibly, but it may be remedied through a return to the true religion.

Exegesis: How to discover whether our faith profession is alive or dead: stop, and honestly evaluate my priorities (v. 5); take account of my ''activity & return'' ledger (v. 6a); ask, ''Is there a blessing on my resources, or not?'' (v. 6a)

Further application: How to recover from a futile (religious) life: build the Lord's house first, and then enjoy God's glorious liberty.

Key verse: v. 6 ''You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.''