Is there anything new under the sun?

I’ve read the Bible cover to cover a few times over the years, and one of my favorite books is Ecclesiastes. Maybe more to the point, the Wisdom Books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job) are my favorite books or collection of related texts in the Bible.

The funny thing is that Ecclesiastes doesn’t really get the air time it deserves. Most of the attention goes to the Torah in the OT, or the Gospels in the New. Of course the major prophets get plenty of press, and Paul’s works are used constantly. But Ecclesiastes seldom gets the treatment it truly deserves.

King Solomon was considered to be the wisest man of all time, and it was not from nothing: he’d seen some stuff. But clearly, the source of his wisdom was something supernatural, and you can argue this but I don’t care. His texts are still being read thousands of years after he died, and they will still be some of the most important philosophical writings centuries after I am dead and gone.

But to the point: there is nothing new under the sun. Everything that you have thought of has been tried before, and it will be tried again. Evil politicians are trying the same evil schemes (communism) that have been tried and failed hundreds of times. People are trying the same get rich schemes that they always have. And in a less cynical light, the same things that have always been successful will again prove to be successful, no matter what you do in life.

• Overdelivering your products or services.

• Being on time or early

• Doing more than you signed up for

• Having a good attitude

• A strong work ethic

It doesn’t take a whole lot to stand out from the crowd. I am not the best at SEO; I am still learning the ropes to be truthful. I am not the best writer I know. And you don’t have to be either.

People tend to shy away from Ecclesiastes (by people I mean pastors) but I think it’s because either they don’t understand context, or they don’t believe their congregation gets it, either. But I do.

That quote at the beginning is double-edged. All of the bad things have been tried, but the things that work will still always work. That client above? That’s my longest-running client right there, and he is telling me I am exactly what the marketing team and company as a whole needs right now. I am doing what I have always done, but it is being viewed through a different lens.

There isn’t anything new under the sun. Bums will be bums, but those willing to lean into the hard times will inherit great things. Keep going, friends. Your breakthrough is closer than you think.