Ah, Satisfaction!
Notes
Transcript
Can you imagine having everything that you could ever want at your fingertips? Growing up, I distinctly remember wishing that I could have things, and then my older siblings would remind me that I was not supposed to be jealous.
One Christmas, I was probably around 7 or 8 years old. My oldest sister, who I will not name, received a precious moments statues. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted that. I actually left the room, crying, because of the immensity of the gift. I thought happiness would come from a precious moments statue.
Of course, we all know that it not true. But an 8 year-old boy doesn’t think clearly.
As we grow older, our wish list gets more expensive. We think about cars, boats, sewing machines, bank accounts, vacations, articles of clothing, spouses, and so on, wishing we could have this thing and if we had this thing, we could be happy. We could have satisfaction.
Sometimes we recognize the lie. Sometimes we don’t, until it is too late.
Solomon lived his life pursuing all sorts of things.
We could read in 1 Kings 10 and 11 about the wealth that he had, the horses, the chariots, the ships, the gold and silver.
It can be summed up in this short verse:
King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
He had everything he could ever want at his fingertips. But, he still felt empty.
We are walking our way through Ecclesiastes. We studied the introduction last week, in how everything in life, under the sun, is meaningless, they do not provide purpose, fulfillment, filling. Solomon in his old age is pleading with those who are younger to figure this out before it is too late.
In our text today, Solomon looks at specific things that he has pursued in life, evaluates their worth, and presents a conclusion for his readers to apply. Through it he contrasts the pursuit of satisfaction versus the actual realization of satisfaction.
Pray
1. The Pursuit of Satisfaction
1. The Pursuit of Satisfaction
Let’s talk about Solomon’s pursuit of satisfaction. We are going to walk through this passage, and discuss how each item is a draw to us, but also how it is a vapor.
A. Achievement
A. Achievement
He first looked at achievements. Being the best he could be.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
He excelled as the best. He was the epitome of everything we could imagine. He was the most powerful person in his country: he was king. He was the wisest man in the world: everyone was traveling to see him. Being the wisest man, he quickly became one of the most powerful men in the world. Kings around the world came and gave gifts to him, everyone wanted to be an ally to King Solomon.
We are not kings. But we all desire to be the best in our fields. We want to be the best publisher, the best farmer, the best athlete, the best preacher. Because deep down, we think that if we can excel than we will have some sort of satisfaction.
Some of us have never excelled. And we wish we had. We look at those who seem to have reached the pinnacle of their field. They are the captain of the football team, or whatever the equivalent is for an adult. And we feel like we are lacking because we haven’t excelled like we wish.
Solomon looks at us, speaking from excelling in his field and he says twice.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Now, God calls us to do our best, but seeking achievement for achievement’s sake is meaningless, like trying to grab our breath after we have breathed it.
B. Pleasure
B. Pleasure
He then turns to pleasures. And he experiences them all. Some commentators try to whitewash what he is talking about. But, remember he is looking back on his life with regret. No whitewashing is necessary.
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. “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 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.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 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. 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. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
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.
He tried to find satisfaction in humor, in drinking, in architecture, gardens, artwork, in leisure through many slaves, riches in animals and silver and gold, in music, in a thousand sex partners (literally). Everything his heart wanted, he pursued and experienced.
He is the epitome of “If it feels good, do it.” Planned Parenthood would be proud.
But, he looked back on this hedonism and said:
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.
Can you hear the regret? He made this huge soap bubble of his life and said: look how shiny it is. I love it. I have experienced all I wanted to experience, and then the bubble popped, and the only thing that was left was heartache.
You have been there. I know many of you have. You have experienced all the pleasure that this world has offered, and you have nothing to show for it, except for pain.
Solomon says: achievement does not satisfy. Pleasure does not satisfy.
C. Wisdom
C. Wisdom
He says that wisdom does not satisfy. And, remember, he was the wisest man in the world.
Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?
I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.
Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!
We read accounts of Solomon, like when the two ladies came fighting over whose baby was whose. They slept on the same bed, with their two babies. One baby died, and its mother claimed the live baby as her own. Solomon, in his wisdom called for the baby to be cut in half so that the ladies could share it. The one who wasn’t the mother agreed, and the real mother declared that the other lady could have it in order for the . Solomon than presented the baby to the real mother. And we say: Wow! How incredible! I wish that I had the amount of wisdom that Solomon did. My life would be so much easier. Think of the decision I could make.
Solomon looks at us and says: it’s no use. With all the wisdom in the world, we cannot escape the same fate that fools have.
Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
We will all die and be placed in the grave. Our wisdom will not be remembered by those who remain, and our life after death is not affected by how wise or foolish we are.
We could have the best wisdom in the world, but we cannot escape the pain and turmoil of this life, or the decay of death.
Yes, we should try to be wise, but wisdom for wisdom’s sake will not bring happiness. It will not bring satisfaction. It will not be lasting joy. The wisest man in the world assures us of this fact.
Just like riches: we can be incredibly rich and still feel empty. So also, we can have all the wisdom and knowledge in the world, and still feel empty.
There is no satisfaction in wisdom, in pleasure, in achievements.
D. Work
D. Work
There is no satisfaction in work.
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. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which 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. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
I am reminded of the parable that Jesus shared:
A rich man had an abundant harvest and didn’t have any place to put that harvest. So he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones.
And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Even if we work hard, we will not be able to enjoy our labor. In the midst of it, we are filled with anxiety of what might go wrong, and we stay up late fretting. Than we accomplish our task, we gain the reward and then we die, having not enjoyed the product.
Yes, we might leave an inheritance to our children, but we have no idea what they will do with it. They might squander it away. Then what purpose was all the work that we did.
Solomon says:
What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
So many people in this area, and around the United States, are workaholics. They believe that working will provide something for them. And if they do not work, they will be missing out on something.
Now, Solomon is not saying that we shouldn’t work, or that there is no value to working. Elsewhere in Scripture we read:
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
But work for the sake of work is meaningless. It brings no satisfaction.
There is no satisfaction in work, in wisdom, in pleasure, in achievements.
2. Realization of Satisfaction
2. Realization of Satisfaction
Thankfully, Solomon does not stop there. After pursuing all these things to bring satisfaction and coming up empty, he finally realizes the key to satisfaction. He presents three things.
A. Contentment
A. Contentment
First, he urges contentment.
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
Instead of seeking to get the next best thing and lay up treasures to last throughout our life and into our grandkids, we are to be content with what we have and enjoy what we have.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t do our best and invest wisely for the future and provide an inheritance for our kids and grandkids. All those things are good and godly.
But they do not bring contentment.
What does is enjoying what we are able to do, enjoying what we have, each moment.
A group of farmers in South America harvest cocoa beans, but had never tasted the chocolate. One day, after years of harvesting, someone brought chocolate for them to taste. They were amazed and realized why they were doing what they were doing.
Satisfaction comes from being content and taking the time away from the labor to enjoying the products of our labor.
He urges contentment.
B. Trust
B. Trust
Then, he urges trust.
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
We must realize that what we have is from God and not from our own toil. We might work from sun-up to sun-down, striving to get our task done so that we can provide for ourselves and our families, so that we can take that trip or acquire that thing. But, at the end of the day, as we lay awake wondering if our world is going to come crashing down around us, we must realize that we are not providing anything. God gives us what we have, and it is only in trusting him that we can find enjoyment in this life.
Jesus says:
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
James writes:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Satisfaction comes from contentment with what we have, once we trust that God will provide and has provided for us.
C. Faith
C. Faith
Finally, Solomon urges faith.
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.
He contrasts the person who pleases God and the sinner, the one who doesn’t please God. God provides satisfaction to the one who pleases, and he provides a meaningless existence to the sinner.
This begs the question: what does it mean to please God. We could create a whole set of rules: saying we have to fulfill these in order to please God. We could create a whole set of religious rituals: saying that we have to complete these in order to please God.
And people have done and said both.
However, Scripture says something different.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
We please God by our faith. Enoch had faith and he was known as someone who walked with God.
God doesn’t want us to be workaholics, to be wisdom worshipers, to be pleasure hogs, or achievement fanatics. He wants us to have faith in him, which results in our seeking him and walking with him.
When we do that, we will learn to trust him and be content, and then and only then, will we have satisfaction in life.