A famous economist once said, “There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs.” Whether we admit it or not, everything is a series of choices. Especially where to spend our time, resources, and abilities. Another wise sage made a similar observation in Psalm 127.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep. Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127, NASB95)
Written by Solomon, the psalm identifies how to spend our life with a minimal amount of waste or vanity. His first point is the utter wastefulness of pursuits that the Lord is not involved in. It is useless to build unless the Lord is building. It is wasteful to guard unless the Lord is guarding. It is empty to eat the bread of prolonged and painful labors.
This does not mean we shouldn’t build, guard, or work. There is honor, dignity, and prosperity in that labor. Solomon’s point is this – you can build an empire without the Lord, and it will crumble to dust, or you can build a home with the Lord, and it will prosper. But that prosperity isn’t measured by the world’s standards of wealth and power. The Lord’s prosperity is experienced in love, joy, peace, and children.
That’s the trade-off we must measure. Yes, we must labor to provide food, shelter, and things our family needs. But we must not neglect giving time, love, and wisdom to our children and our children’s children.
Now, obviously, there are many different circumstances. Some may labor long. Some may be without children. The priority remains, however. To build what the Lord is building, guard what the Lord guards, and labor where the Lord labors. What that means for you will be different from that of your neighbor.
I’ve known men that work long hours to build wealth for their families but rarely interact or play with their children. Their labor is vain and wasted. Their wealth is empty. I’ve known men that didn’t take higher-paying jobs because it would mean not seeing their kids as much. They sharpened the arrows in their quiver and, in the end, were far more prosperous in the things which matter the most. They created a legacy that impacted generations.
This all may seem confusing and without a right answer. Solomon is trying to say simply that when you must make a choice, lean towards God and family. If you do, then your labor is never in vain.
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