Putting Faith in People Over GodSample

Step #3: Depression

Wandering away from God’s purpose for your life can lead you straight into despair.

Had Solomon walked into a therapist’s office today and verbalized the despair he expresses throughout Ecclesiastes, I can assure you he would have been diagnosed with clinical depression.

Let’s take a closer look at the diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder and examine how King Solomon would have fit the profile for it today. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Major Depressive Disorder, also known as MDD, is one of the most common clinical diagnoses in the field of mental health, affecting an estimated 21 million adults in the United States each year. Per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), this type of clinical depression is indicated when someone has experienced five or more symptoms during the same two-week period. Let’s go over each symptom and compare it to the biblical accounts of Solomon’s statements in Ecclesiastes.

The first symptom of clinical depression is showing a depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day.

Ecclesiastes 2:17–18 records Solomon expressing grief and disappointment with life. He said, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.”

The second symptom is a markedly diminished interest or pleasure in activities.

In his later years, Solomon referred to his life as meaningless and the achievements he normally would have taken pleasure in as meaningless. Ecclesiastes 2:11 says, “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” A few verses later, he said, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (v. 17).

Another well-known symptom of clinical depression is fatigue or loss of energy over a period of weeks.

Solomon said, “…I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun” (Eccles. 2:19–20).

You don’t have to look far into Ecclesiastes to spot Solomon’s feelings of worthlessness, marking another symptom of clinical depression.

In Ecclesiastes 1:2 he said, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” A few verses later he said, “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” (v. 11). Then, in Ecclesiastes 7:15, he continued, “In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: the righteous perishing in their righteousness, and the wicked living long in their wickedness.”

Last, it’s clear from Solomon’s thought process that he had been having recurrent thoughts of death as he surveyed his life and works.

In Ecclesiastes 2:18 he said, “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” In Ecclesiastes 3:19–20 he continued, “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” Toward the end of Ecclesiastes, he said, “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten” (Eccles. 9:5).

What does this mean for you?

You may read this and be tempted to think, “Well, I’m nothing like Solomon. It’s not like I’m building statues anywhere or worshipping other gods.” In reality, it doesn’t take building a statue to not be fully committed to God. What usually sways us from being fully devoted to God are small missteps here and there.

Solomon’s life is a fitting example of how one decision after another outside of God’s Will can lead us to a state of despair—the state where we feel as if nothing and no one can console us. The state where we’ve looked everywhere for a solution, and all our efforts are futile: “chasing after the wind,” as Solomon put it. The world is full of false promises that aim to get us to fall into its destructive cycle.