In Ecclesiastes, chapter four, verses four through eight, “Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit,” from the sixth verse of this theme. Hard work and the development of skill can spark jealousy and rivalry with one’s neighbor, and the spirit of selfishness and competition; Those motivations are self-destructive, as in the fifth verse of this theme, “The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.” God wants us instead to seek a life of moderation: to do good work and to live in a quiet, godly manner. We must work together, as in verse nine of this chapter, and help each other as in verses ten to eleven, respectively.
Handful with quietness rather than with travail is roughly the title from verse six of the theme, “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” The scripture here can refer to neighbors in a community. Often hear of neighbor rivalry where one neighbor is quietly working and improving their home in their spare time. Meanwhile, on the other end, a neighbor is carefully watching what the other neighbor is doing to make improvements. The question is, why would a neighbor waste time doing such an idle activity? If the “peeping Tom” neighbour were focusing on their home, maybe they would not have time to engage in such indecent behavior. However, in many situations, that is not the case. This kind of attitude is a result of either envy, hatred, or pride.