Who Can Foretell?

The sermon opens with a Vietnamese folktale about a boy named Borm and a wealthy man, illustrating the profound difference between material wealth and spiritual contentment. The rich man, despite possessing countless treasures, remains unsatisfied and attempts to purchase Borm's ordinary fan, while Borm with only simple possessions remains joyful and content. The pastor points out that the issue is not the quantity of possessions but whether material things truly bring genuine joy to human life. This vividly depicts the insatiable desire commonly seen in those considered successful.

The sermon continues with specific examples of billionaires and celebrities who, despite possessing everything, meet tragic ends. Lindsay Lohan, a child actress successful from age three, falls into drug and alcohol addiction despite access to expensive private treatment facilities. Marilyn Monroe, an acclaimed superstar, also ended her life by suicide. John D. Rockefeller, one of the world's wealthiest men, earned a million dollars each week but his doctor restricted him to minimal food portions, making his life miserable and unable to enjoy satisfying meals. These stories prove that wealth does not guarantee happiness or meaningful life.

The pastor then presents writings from Ecclesiastes by King Solomon, considered supremely wise, wealthy, and successful beyond measure. Solomon writes that all is vanity, vanity of vanities, and asks what profit does a person gain from toiling under the sun. He identifies afflictions in human life such as: those with wealth yet unable to eat or enjoy it; those with many children yet see them become depraved and treat them cruelly without support; those who live long yet receive no blessing. These situations are misfortunes far greater than having no possessions or no children.

The sermon analyzes various causes of unexpected hardships in life. The pastor rejects the theory of karma from previous lives, since Scripture affirms that humans have only one life and must die once before judgment. He also questions the explanation that unexpected events occur merely from lack of knowledge or preparation, because even the most sophisticated inventions of humankind—automobiles, pesticides, television, the internet, and pharmaceuticals—all produce unforeseen consequences no one anticipated. The limitation of humanity in understanding and predicting the future is fundamental.

The sermon concludes by emphasizing humanity's basic limitations and the necessity to fear God. Solomon, though supremely wise, found no satisfactory answer to difficult questions about life's unexpected afflictions, ending with two questions: in the vanity of life's days, who knows what benefits a person, and who can foretell what will happen to anyone after them? The king's final counsel is to fear God and keep His commandments, for this is humanity's duty, since God will bring every deed into judgment, including hidden things, whether good or evil.