“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”  Ecc. 1:2

The book of Ecclesiates is one of my favorite books of the Bible because of how honest it is about life in this temporal world. In many ways the “Preacher” of Ecclesiastes sounds like a young man of today who sees people chasing after money, fame, and power and says, “it’s all pointless.” I can almost imagine this modern ecclesiastical man venting on Tiktok about the struggle and frustration of life as he gains followers and prestige and finds it all void and useless. The Preacher, who was most likely King Solomon himself,  looks at the normal cycles of existence and the mundane necessities of life that weigh down our lives and he writes “all things are full of weariness. (Ecc 1:7)” 

I’m not sure about you, but I feel that weariness so often. 

Of course, what’s important to note about the book of Ecclesiastes is that the author is specifically choosing to look at everything “under the sun” without considering the realities of heaven. This means that the author is analyzing life on earth from a human standpoint and not necessarily an eternal one. He is considering existence from the perspective of someone who wouldn’t see God as their highest aim but only what this world can provide, whether that be knowledge, wealth, or pleasure. After a wholehearted pursuit of all that the world has to offer the young ecclesiastical man concludes at one point: 

 “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man”  Ecc.3:12-13

 So the Preacher considers all the world offers and comes to the conclusion that it’s all fleeting but enjoy it anyway because it’s a gift of God. So how does this perception of life coincide with our understanding of God’s glory and our future hope…and what does that have to do with monkey bread? 

 Let me explain…

This article all began with a random conversation with the one and only Syri Pendleton. If you don’t know Syri, I would encourage you to rectify that immediately. He is a great encourager and teacher who lovingly endures the ups and downs of youth ministry with a genuine love for Jesus and a smile on his face. Seeing that smile outside the church office a few weeks ago I stopped by to catch up with him. Seeing as my son is involved in the youth group we began talking about his recent birthday and the Crump family tradition of making monkey bread for birthday breakfast. Then, in a joyful exclamation Syri declares to all those around, “Dude! I love monkey bread!”

As the conversation continued, we spoke of our love for the sweet, doughy deliciousness that is monkey bread and the very real consequence of eating too much. It was then that we both jokingly quoted the long passé acronym, “YOLO.” As we stood there laughing at the ridiculousness of our conversation I was struck with a thought that began to swim around in my head. Over the later part of that day I began asking the question, “what is the point of monkey bread?” 

To be sure, the Preacher of Eccelsiates would definitely see monkey bread as vanity. After all, to spend money and time creating a food that will either rot or be consumed and then forgotten about days later is indeed vanity. It’s a momentary delight in the midst of a world in chaos. It’s a sweet treat amid a life of greater loss and struggle. For us, it symbolized a birthday that will soon be lost in the decades of birthdays to come. I do not write this to be depressing, but rather to speak honestly about the things we love in this world. It is good for us to be reminded of the temporal nature of creation so that we do not get too comfortable with it. 

This is clearly seen in Ecclesiastes 6 when we read a poetic portion that sounds similar to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:

It is better to go to the house of mourning 

      than to go to the house of feasting, 

for this is the end of all mankind, 

      and the living will lay it to heart. Ecc. 7:2

In other words, it’s good to consider the brevity of life so that you can rightly engage with all this life has to offer. Life on earth is short when we consider eternity. The experiences we have, the food we eat, and the money we accumulate will eventually fall away when we pass or when Jesus purges the world of all things tainted by sin – and this includes monkey bread.

It’s true that monkey bread is ultimately a vanity in this brief life, but that doesn’t mean it cannot be a conduit for something glorious. Read again Ecclesiates 3:13 that I mentioned earlier, “everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” While some may use this passage as an excuse to live in gluttony or drunkenness, that is not the author’s intent or the Bible’s clear teaching. Instead, this is a simple reminder to enjoy this fleeting life as the gracious gift that it is.

The delicious delights of monkey bread are fleeting and often futile, but there is something behind our enjoyment of those treats that should be considered. In this verse we see that the pleasures of things we eat and drink are a gift from God. The rich fats of the butter, the sweetness of the caramel, and the soft feel of the dough all point to a God who was kind enough to make these things a reality. This same God created us with taste buds that can capture the complex flavors of a meal and the delightful aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. 

Our Heavenly Father did not have to create food to be enjoyable – but he did as a “gift to man.” 

Therefore, for those who are in Christ, when we take pleasure in a scoop of ice cream from Outside the Cone or take a sip of a freshly prepared latte our enjoyment of that moment doesn’t stop at our taste buds. Our enjoyment of these gifts rolls up into worship of a God who is so kind to provide such things as these. This means that we can enjoy these gifts from God without condemnation when we enjoy them in light of God’s mercy and grace. What’s even more amazing is that these things are just a minor hint at what is to be enjoyed in the presence of God for all eternity. Until that day we should find the simple joys of life to be a greater and greater means of worship. 

As with many biblical truths, we must hold tension between two important points. Ecclesiastes is important because it places before us the temporary and very broken world we live in. We struggle with the monotony of life and the treadmill of work, play, sleep, repeat. We stress over the need for money, clothes, and food. We recognize injustice in our systems and the pointlessness of some of our pursuits. 

At the same time, we acknowledge God’s goodness in the midst of these things. He will one day bring purpose to the mundane, provision to the struggling, and justice to the oppressed. Until that day we can stand in faith believing that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)”

Not only that, we are free to enjoy the kind gifts of God right now! Yes, we should seek to be generous with our finances, hospitable with our homes, and gracious with our stuff – but we should also enjoy these things as gifts leading to a response of worship in our hearts and lives. 

Therefore, while we live in this world, let us seek to enjoy the simple, good gifts of God. Yes, life is full of toil because of sin but there is much to enjoy in the midst of our toil, including things like monkey bread and birthdays. May we see each good thing we enjoy as a loving gift from our Heavenly Father and find contentment on this earth in whatever place we dwell. One day it shall pass away, but until then we hold fast to Christ and rejoice in all that he has given us both now and in eternity.

“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.”  Ecc. 5:18–19

Mike Crump

Pastor of Church Communications

In his role as Pastor of Church Communications, Mike works to promote and resource ongoing ministry/events connected with the body here at Heritage. He also creates & distributes gospel-centered content (both physical & digital) among our wider congregation.