Work, Achievement, Loss, Vanity

The formula for a Ferrari 250 GT daydream goes something like this: You’re a time traveler who goes back to 1968 with a wad of cash and keen eyes watching for classified ads in the back of car magazines. Maybe you’ll find one that lists a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT “with 40,000 miles. $5,000 or best offer” (this actually happened). For perspective, $5,000 in 1968 could buy two new Mustangs, or a rare Italian convertible now worth eight figures.

The other Ferrari 250 GT daydream involves a rich old uncle who leaves you your choice from his collection of cars. Oh, what a daydream! 

But what about the uncle? He probably worked hard to earn enough wealth to amass that collection, and now, writing up a will with a cadre of lawyers, he’s facing death and the distribution of everything he worked for. What about the sap selling the Ferrari like a cheap used car, now regretting exchanging it for grocery money when it’s now worth private-island money? They’re thinking about the same car, but it’s more of a living nightmare than a daydream. 

In the Bible, Solomon was regarded as the wisest man who ever lived. He was also one of the wealthiest. Unfortunately, he had to suffer a lot of regret to understand some of the wisdom that he later wrote down for future generations: 

“I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless…” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19)

Solomon’s regret takes on two flavors: 

• Vanity: The person who lives after him won’t manage his estate to Solomon’s preference. They will repose in luxury without earning it, or without appreciating the work (done by Solomon) that bought it. 

• Stewardship: Solomon’s assets could one day be in the hands of someone who could trash it. “His” kingdom could be ruled by policies that leave people unprotected or even unfed.

Anyone who feels their work being unappreciated or unrecognized, or benefitting someone unworthy of it, can relate to Solomon’s regret. Which means anyone can also learn from what he learned three thousand years ago. After mourning the loss of the wealth and power he thought would stimulate, fulfill, and edify his mind and soul throughout his life, he unveiled his new treasure – a life devoted to God – and a warning to people who think they can keep trying to fill themselves with the pursuit of empty things:

“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:26-27)

Although Solomon acknowledges the totality of human sin, he uses “sinner” here to mean a person who chooses to pursue the creation instead of the Creator. And he describes their plight with a touch of sympathy. Their “task” is their Sisyphean labor, which can never give the “wisdom, knowledge and happiness” that God gives. As long as they’re burdened with that task, they lack the wisdom to advise other people to avoid it (as opposed to the wisdom from God, which urged Solomon to not only figure this stuff out but motivated him to help everyone else figure it out). As long as they’re obsessed with earning their reward by their own effort, they can’t grasp the knowledge that reveals the fruitlessness of this exchange. And no amount of hard work can provide the happiness that God provides. No one who enslaves themselves to their individual success has happiness. 

But if you “work” to please God – by listening to his truth and guidance, and loving and helping people – you are living under the provision by God as the benevolent uncle. The “task” and toil of Jesus’ ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection earned an inheritance of “wisdom, knowledge, and happiness,” and eternal life. You’re in the will. You get to use these blessings like Solomon did, to repose and enjoy the blessings from God while working to warn and encourage anyone still obsessed with their labor. It’s like a dream come true.

The first 250 GT California was built in 1957. Just 104 examples were built, with a host of variations including wheelbase length, headlight covers, spark plug location, and even brake type (earlier versions had drum brakes). They all were blessed with the 3.0-liter Columbo V12, an engine that earned success for the California on the racetrack years before. That’s interesting; the 250 GT didn’t earn that success.