Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. – Ecclesiastes 11:7

Today's Scripture Reading (February 6, 2026): Ecclesiastes 11

Where I live, the days are getting noticeably longer. At their shortest, just a few days before Christmas, the sun was in the sky for less than 7.5 hours, meaning darkness ruled for over 16 hours. Of course, the flipside is true in late June. I don't know where we were, but I remember being on a campout in late June as a kid and staying up late around a fire, telling stories. That night/morning, we watched as the sun's glow died in the west, and by the time it was gone entirely, it was rising again in the east. It was dark, but the glow on the horizon that night was a constant.

The lack of light in December and January can have a dramatic difference on our moods. At the severe end of that spectrum are people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The lack of light in places like where I live can cause severe depression, fatigue, and irritability in some people. And maybe that explains part of my adverse reaction to Christmas and New Year's, a reaction that extends to even the music of the season. I admit that I often try to find radio stations that refuse to play Christmas Carols during December.

Reading Ecclesiastes at this time of year probably should be avoided. The Preacher's writing is not encouraging. But the Preacher admits that light is sweet, and we like to see the sun. That was probably even more true for the Preacher and the people who first read his sermon than for us. After all, we have so many ways of adding artificial light to chase away the darkness. But the Preacher also wants to remind us that even when the sun shines, times of darkness are always coming. As I write these words, the sun is shining, and there is ample blue in the sky above. But it will only be another five or six hours before the darkness dominates my city once again. And while the days are getting longer, they will begin to get shorter as the days of summer begin. So even the sun's presence, according to the Preacher, is meaningless.

So, enjoy the sun while you can, but if you want to add meaning to your life, even the sun can't do that. Light might be sweet, and Seasonal Affective Disorder might seem scary, but we need more than the sun to give our lives meaning.  

As a Christian, I would say we need the Son, not the sun. A change in our moods comes only from Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 12