I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
He started by pursuing pleasure to no end. He tried to drink and act ridiculous (like many drunk people do), and later, he talks about experiencing the pleasure of many voluptuous women, too. The man did whatever he wanted, trying to find meaning and joy. But, like those of us who have also given the pleasures of this world more power than they deserve, he woke up the next morning realizing all his efforts the night before were futile. And if he's like me, he felt even worse than he did before.
The thing about drowning ourselves in the pleasures of this world is that we might cover up our pain for a moment, but at some point, we do have to wake up the next morning. And the problems are still there.
And so the only way to truly live for pleasure is to live in denial of the reality that there are many hurting people around us and that we are hurting, too. But that is madness. That's insanity.
In our affluent culture, it's easy to make a god out of pleasure because options are all around us, and every single one of us has access to them. But if we think pleasures will make us happy, we will never, ever be satisfied. Our lusts are like a fire that can never be quenched. We are always left wanting more.
Nope, pleasures are not the key to this life.
So then Solomon tried posessions.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.
Now, if that doesn't sound like "The Life," I don't know what does. It sounds like paradise to me! And verse 10 sounds like something I will never experience: He said "no" to nothing! He had all the money a man could want, and he lived it to the full. There's no checking the budget, no peek at the checking account to make sure there's enough money in there. You just want it, you get it.
I have had moments in my life where I an basically picturing this scene right here, and thinking to myself, now if I lived like that, life would be perfect. Sometimes we think more money and more stuff will solve our problems. I'm guilty of it! But Solomon goes on to say:
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 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.
Even after all of that, when he looked around at all he had done and all he had achieved, he still felt that something was missing! All this stuff before him....meaningless. Vanity. Smoke.
Solomon realized that after all this work, he can't take any of it with him when he dies. And he will probably be leaving all of his fortune to someone who won't even be thankful for it since they didn't have to put in the work that he did. What a waste!
And now he begins to get depressed.
"So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun...all their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest."
All this work, and he still can't even sleep. The stuff is not bringing him the rest and contentment he thought it would.
I remember talking to a family at my school a few years ago. The husband had sold a business (one you would recognize if I told you) and made millions while he was in his thirties. They now live in one of the biggest neighborhoods in town, an enormous house, grand vacations, and neither the mom nor the dad work anymore! They're just living off of their investments! Sounds like the perfect life to me -- retired in my thirties! For months, I grew more and more envious of these people and their lifestyle. After weeks of having the mom help me in my classroom, my curiosity couldn't resist anymore, and I started asking some questions (politely). To my surprise, I found out that they are less settled than before they sold the business; the dad is so worried now about all of their stuff and has made a "job" of watching their investments daily (which I'm told is not the best way to invest), and he couldn't sleep well anymore! The look in her eye let me know it wasn't all that it seemed at times.
Sounds just like Solomon! You are worried about not having enough money, but once you have all the money and stuff, you're worried about keeping it! The cycle never stops!
And so, Solomon has learned that the stuff will never satisfy, and he is depressed. But a life built on "self" and "vanity" tends to head that direction.
A person can do nothing better in himself than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
And there it is. In ourselves, we can only eat, drink and try to find satisfaction in our work. And then we die. But man must go outside his own finite self to find what is infinite.
And that is God. God is the one who provides meaning and direction and even the ability for us to just enjoy what we eat and drink and do.
And He does that. He gives us grace -- something we have that we do not deserve. There is no happiness in life without God. Without Him, we are just on a random, pointless cycle that ends in death. We must look to Him!
26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
The person who fears the Lord, loves Him, follows Him, honors Him -- to them, He will give the wisdom and happiness that man so desires, because it is found ONLY in Him! Nothing this world has will satisfy us because it, too, is finite. You want real worth, purpose, and contentment? We must look Up.
If you don't know God, you don't know much. That's not being prideful; that's how God designed it.
I want to end today with a quote from Francis Shaffer's daughter. She was attending college in Switzerland in the 1960s, where the predominant views were atheism and nihilism. Some of her classmates even doubted that they themselves existed! But she had no problem answering the intellectual questions she faced. Her friends asked her why she seemed so content. She said, "Because I believe that the infinite, personal God made us, and we're not simple part of nature. We are created in the image of God. Evil is not just something out there that looks unpleasant; it is truly evil because it's contrary to Him. God has made Himself known in the Bible. The paramount idea of the Bible is the person of Jesus Christ who came to save us from sin. Through Him we can know God and enjoy everything He has given. We can die in hope."
Some may call it a cop-out. Others may call it Truth. But as for me, that's the only reason worth living.
Lord, help me to not fall into the trap that pleasure and possessions will make me content and joyful. I don't need money, or cars, or houses, or fancy vacations. I just want Jesus. Help me to seek Him above everything else this world has to offer. I know it's not my natural position, so please help me to do it with Your strength. I just want You, God. Only You can satisfy.
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