You Can Strive Alone, or You Can Thrive Together

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

Yesterday, we heard Solomon’s warning loud and clear: You can paddle your way to "victory" but still miss the point entirely. Winning the race "under the sun" doesn't bring joy. My canoe trip story reminds us of what striving alone can cost us. It’s easy to get caught chasing a version of success no one else is chasing—approval, comfort, control—and miss out on the people, purpose, and joy God has placed around us.

Ecclesiastes 4 exposes the emptiness of a self-driven life: “There is no end to all his toil… yet he never asks, ‘For whom am I toiling?’” (v.8). Solomon says that’s not just vanity—it’s an unhappy business.

God didn’t design us to go it alone.

We need each other to help carry burdens, speak truth when we’re drifting, and lift us when we fall. “Two are better than one,” Solomon writes, “and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” The beauty of gospel community isn’t just strength—it’s shared life.

So ask yourself: Am I showing up—but staying distant? Am I living for something that doesn’t actually require anyone else? If so, it’s time to unwrap the layers of comfort and control and step into real, sometimes messy, but always meaningful relationships.

This week, take action:

• Reach out to someone in your KGroup. Ask how they’re really doing.
• Invite someone over for a meal.
• Don’t just attend your FightClub—engage.

You weren’t meant to race alone. You were made to thrive together.

Let’s live Monday in light of Sunday.