The Meaning of Pleasure, Prudence, & Productivity in a Meaningless World

The American Dream

John Bunyan’s allegorical book, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” is set inside of a dream of a man in the 1600’s. In this dream, Christian, a pilgrim on his way to the Celestial City. On his way to this heavenly city, he finds himself in a town called Vanity. Bunyan writes,

“Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town is "Vanity"; and at the town there is a fair kept, called "Vanity Fair"; it is kept all the year long. It bears the name of Vanity Fair, because the town where 'tis kept is lighter than vanity; and also because all that is there sold, or that comes thither is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, "All that comes is vanity."

It is in this ancient town that such merchandise is bought and sold "as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not." At all times, one can see "jugglings, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, rogues, and that of all sorts," as well as, "and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false-swearers, and that of a blood-red color."

Bunyan describes a place where the meaning of life is sought and experienced in maximizing your pleasure. The aim of your work is to maximize your pleasure and satisfaction. The aim of your thinking and decision making regarding your life is geared around maximizing your comfort. Whatever your heart desires can be experienced at Vanity Fair.

If John Bunyan were alive today I would contend that his Vanity Fair is realized in American culture, maybe even all of Western Society.

Consider for a moment what we aspire for our children. America lives by the creed: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of happiness is achieving the American Dream.

James Truslow Adams first coined the term “American Dream” in his highly successful book in 1931 titles Epic America. According to Truslow, the American Dream is

"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement."

What makes life in America better, richer, and fuller? I believe many would say pleasure, prudence, and productivity. By pleasure I mean comfort and contentment. The American Dream is free from financial stress. There is enough money in the checking and savings account for all your bills and vacations. You have enough wealth to drive new high end cars, live in safe neighborhoods with high property values, and have access to the best healthcare.

By prudence I mean well worldly wisdom; educated and cultured. Our children must have access to the best eduction that accelerates them toward the best colleges. We want our children to be proficient in culture awareness in this new globalistic world, able to converse with anyone in any country at any time.

By productive I mean work. College educated degrees put you in a position to have a high paying job to generate the wealth and keep the cycle going, even if it means you work eighty hours a week. You need to work not only only support the American Dream, but you need to retire at fifty and have enough residual income to keep up that lifestyle until you die at a ripe old age of 85.

In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon is disrupting the fantasy of the American Dream with this reality.

The Dream of Pleasure is Meaningless Apart From Jesus (Eccl 2:1-11)

“Inside the house of Hedonism are many rooms, and Solomon tried to sleep in every one of them.”

Mark Twain once said of laughter,

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” Mark Twain

Solomon seems to take issues with Twain in verse 2. He says

Ecclesiastes 2:2 ESV

I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?”

Its not that humor does not have a place in this life. Laughter is a gift of God to ease the burden of our misery. Laughter lifts our spirits by taking our eyes off of the brokenness of our world giving you the opportunity to not take yourself or your circumstances too seriously. Laughter actually has a physical effect on our bodies, releasing endorphins that bring the sensation of pleasure. But humor, however, cannot be a philosophy you live by. You cannot approach life solely through the lens of comedy.

The problem with wittiness is that like the endorphins, as soon as it comes it goes. Also, as Alister Begg points out, comedy does not deal with the weighty matters of life (“Search for Satisfaction”). Humor cannot adequately handle your pain or your fears. it does not have a good answer for why bad things happen to good people or ridding yourself of the guilt you feel when you know you’ve done something wrong.

Think of it this way. Contrast the difference between the time you went to a theater and watched a comedy verses when you watched the Passion of the Christ. I was absolutely speechless at the end of that movie. The entire room was speechless. The Passion of the Christ had such a profound effect on movie goers that news agencies did stories on how people reacted to the movie. People made professions of faith, converting to Christianity, after watching that movie. That did not happen after watching “Caddy Shack,” or “The Handover.”

What is the difference?

The Passion of the Christ deals with weighty realties our hearts wrestle with: sin, unrighteousness, Injustice, suffering, death, judgement, eternal life, resurrection. Humor falls short in satisfying these realities. That is why Solomon says to put your hope in humor is madness (v2). The madness of laughter is that it works like novocaine. it numbs for a while but eventually wears off. Being witty is not the solution to life’s difficulties.

Jonathan Akin says,

“Laughter can momentarily distract us from real pain, but it cannot overcome it.” Jonathan Akin

Solomon moves from wittiness to wine. I’ve often joked that I never understood why so many middle aged men and women have an affinity for wine until I entered my forties. Though I don’t recommend it, I understand why so many people my age turn to drinking to find some relief from life.

By the time you are in your forties, generally speaking, you have a family with kids ranging from adolescent to teenager, a job demanding more of your time than you care to give, new health concerns, a loss (grieving) of youth which leads to a midlife crisis. Sometimes the stress of it all makes you think relief is found at the bottom of a bottle. Solomon says he will give it shot.

Ecclesiastes 2:3 HCSB

I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly —my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

Solomon did not go full blown lush. There is an aside he makes in verse three that suggests he used temperance when drinking. He says, “my mind still guiding me with wisdom.” He drank wine to degree to find pleasure and relief, but not enough to be an alcoholic. He drank on a spectrum somewhere between frat boy and wine connoisseur.

The question for Solomon is will wine deliver on its promise to take away the pain. Will wine provide meaning to the monotony of life? Will wine better the merriment of life? Will wine be able to handle the reality of death, whether it is the loss of a loved one or your own mortality. Death weighs heavy on your mind, especially the older you live out your days under the sun. Solomon says the answer is no.

Old Testament scholar Duane Garrett is helpful in helping us understand Solomons wisdom. Garrett points out, Solomon wanted to find out if drinking and parties were the best solution to the emptiness of life in the face of death, and he concluded that drinking does not take away the pain (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 291).

Elisa Morgan, who was the president of MOPS International gives a glimpse into the life of a family where wine is the hope for relief. Listen to her story. Unfortunately, it is a common story, especially around Litchfield.

My parents divorced when I was five. My older sister, younger brother, and I were raised by my alcoholic mother.

While my mother meant well—truly she did—most of my memories are of my mothering her rather than her mothering me. Alcohol altered her love, turning it into something that wasn’t love. I remember her weaving down the hall of our ranch home in Houston, Texas, glass of scotch in hand. She would wake me at 2:00 a.m. just to make sure I was asleep. I would wake her up at 7:00 a.m. to try to get her off to work.

Sure, there were good times, like Christmas and birthdays when she went all out and celebrated us as children. But even those days ended in the warped glow of alcohol. What she did right was lost in what she did wrong (Elisa Morgan, “The Upside of an Upside-Down Life,” Christian Parenting Today (May–June 1999)).

Wine promises to be your therapist and your jester and your rock. But, like anyone who has tried to stand on water or wine for that matter, you sink into its depths. Every part of your life becomes warped in the glow of wine.

Solomon reminds you this morning that the Genesis 3 reality which we all live rudely and abruptly makes itself known when the hangover comes. Even if its in moderation, wine cannot bring happiness, it warps everything. Its madness. Ask any one who struggles with drunkeness or any addiction, and they will tell you it is pure madness. So, after wittiness and wine fail him, Solomon turns his attention to wealth.

If there is anything Solomon knew well it was wealth. Solomon used his wealth to make life comfortable. He went to work in verse 4, indulging himself in whatever his heart desired.

He indulged in Architecture.

Nothing displays the wealth of a nation more than its architecture. If you go to Dubai, you will see luxurious buildings surrounded by sand. Dubai houses the tallest building in the world at over 2700 feet, the Burj Al Alam. The Burj Al Alam is a symbol of Dubai’s wealth to the world. They took a play out of Solomon’s playbook.

Solomon built fabulous buildings. For starters, he built the temple of God (1 Kings 5-6). The he built himself a mansion, a royal palace, investing 13 years of his life to perfect it (1 Kings 7:1). He built other houses and shrines creating new neighborhoods generating more wealth (2 Chronicles 8:1-6). Nothing says wealth like fabulous architecture, and Solomon did not spare himself any luxury in his building plan.

Indulged in Agriculture.

The centerpiece to new York City is a 6.2 acre lot of grass called Madison Square park. It is often referred to the heart of New York City. Its beauty and recreation attracts the businesses, the film industry, and philanthropies from all over the world to enjoy it. it was no different in Jerusalem under Solomon’s reign.

In verse 5, he built vineyards, gardens, and parks that were part of the glory Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6:29. He says in verse 5,

Ecclesiastes 2:5 TOTC Ec (Heim)

5 I made myself gardens and orchards and I planted in them fruit trees of every kind.

It was as if Solomon was creating his own Garden of Eden. The Queen of Shaba marveled at the diversity of his garden.

Indulged in Engineering

Solomon uses his wealth to develop technology and irrigation systems to water his gardens and parks. With his wealth and wisdom, he was able to feed and water his entire community without a problem.

Indulged in Extravagance

Solomon says in verse 7, that he has servants and maidservants and their children. He has the most sheep and cattle of all the land. He tax system provided him an ungodly amount of silver and gold. There was so much silver that 2 Chronicles says it was as common as stone (2 Chronicles 9:27). They didn’t haveAmazon Music or Spotify back then. So Solomon bought himself a choir to sing to him at his pleasure (2:8).

Indulged in Sexual Pleasure

Ecclesiastes 2:8 HCSB

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.

Solomon had acquired seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11). A concubine was a woman whose sole job in life was sexual pleasure for the king. Only Wilt Chamberlin (who claimed he slept with over 20,000 women) and Hugh Hefner could possibly compete with Solomon. The magnitude of women these three men used for their own pleasure goes to show just how endless the search is for sexual pleasure. The American Dream is obsessed with sexual immorality and it is proving to be an endless cistern.

In verse 10, Solomon says

Ecclesiastes 2:10 HCSB

All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.

He indulged in every pleasure his heart desired, from architecture to sex and he concludes in verse 11

Ecclesiastes 2:11 HCSB

When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Everything was futile. The buildings, the gardens, the silver, the gold, the choirs, the servants, the physical intimacy, all of it was meaningless at the end of the day. There was no end to satisfying his desire for pleasure. The more his heart got the more he wanted. His heart was never content. The dream of pleasure was nothing more than a dream. And just as soon as the dream began, it faded away.

Ask yourself this question. What do you think will make you happy? What pleasure promised by the American Dream are you pursing to make you say, “Now I am content,”? Finish this sentence,

If I could just have__________, then I would be happy.

How does your answer fit in light of what Solomon, the Spirit of God, is saying to you this morning?

Jump down to verses 24-26

Ecclesiastes 2:24–26 HCSB

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand, because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him? For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Do you see the point in verse 25? You cannot enjoy life apart from God. You cannot experience true long lasting heart fulfilling pleasure apart from God. Too many of you believe in your heart that God is not a killjoy, the holiness cannot mean happiness. The Bible teaches you that God loves pleasure and desires for you to have pleasure. He promises every one who puts their hope in Him ever lasting pleasure.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Experiencing pleasure is not the problem. Its when you make pleasure the king of your heart. Sin distorts pleasure. Your heart pervert God’s good gift of pleasure. You find satisfaction in the creation instead of the Creator. You believe that creation itself can satisfy the eternity that God has put in your heart. That is the problem of Vanity Fair. Vanity fair is filled with worldly pleasure apart from God and is in turn futile and vain. So if you are banking on the American Dream to satisfy the pleasure you desire, you are mad and foolish and will perish.

Pleasure is Meaningless Apart from Jesus (v11)

The real issue with the American Dream is its false sense of independence. The American Dream teaches you that to have a richer and fuller life, to experience pleasure in this life, you are the master of your destiny. Work hard and do the right thing and you will be successful. Your experience of pleasure is dependent upon you and how much you will work and sacrifice to get it. The cross destroys every leg the American Dream stands on for the pursuit of pleasure.

The cross says that your pleasure is not dependent on your own grit or work, but on the work of someone else. All of your joy in this life and in the life to come is dependent upon what Jesus has done for you; his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. You cannot enter heaven apart from the work of Christ. You cannot please God apart from the work of Christ. You cannot receive God’s favor and blessing apart from the work of Jesus. It is the Spirit of Jesus that changes your heart to desire the things God desires. To make the dream of pleasure a reality for your soul, you must surrender your life to Jesus. You must become dependent upon Him.

Dependency upon Jesus brings your life true pleasure.

How are we to understand dependency in the monotony and merriment of life?

Tony Evans helps explain this well. He says this about pleasure.

Surfers enjoy temporary pleasure. They wade out, catch a wave, stand up, and for a few seconds, ride the wave for a thrilling moment. A water skier is different. They are holding on to a boat that is pulling them. While the surfer is dependent upon his own ability to stay afloat, a water skier can ride all day if they choose because they are not dependent upon their own ability to find and stay afloat of a temporary wave.

Are you surfing or skiing?

Hold the rope of Christ. Trust the Son with everything under the sun. Tase and see that he is good and will give you the desires of your heart when Jesus is the king of your heart.

The Dream of Prudence is Meaningless Apart From Jesus (Eccl 2:12-17)

Wisdom has its virtue… (v12-14)

Wisdom has its end… (v15-18)

Prudence is meaningless apart from Jesus (v19)

The Dream of Productivity is Meaningless Apart From Jesus (Eccl 2:18-23)

Pleasure, Prudence, Productivity Find Their Meaning in Christ (Eccl 2:24-26)