The Emptiness of Worldly Pleasure
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
If money were not an issue what would you do?
Most of us have probably thought about that.
The Sunday School answer- Give it all away, fight world hunger, build an orphanage.
The young person’s answer- party, buy cars, houses.
The older person’s answers- retire, invest, make sure my kids were taken care of.
This morning we look at a man named Solomon and money was not an issue for him.
People have tried to estimate his wealth by reading 1 Kings 4-10. It’s estimated that he was worth hundreds of billions of dollars and some even estimate trillion. It’s safe to say that Solomon was the richest individual to ever live. He was the Elon Musk 2.0 of his day.
Solomon wanted to find meaning in life. That’s what the book of Ecclesiastes is about. In chapter 2 he tells us that he decided to look for meaning in pleasure. We’re going to take a look at how that went for him.
1. Solomon looks for meaning in pleasure (1-11).
A. He tried the party scene (1-3).
Notice that Solomon was testing himself. Look at verse 1.
“I said in my heart, I will prove thee”
It’s almost like an experiment. He’s trying different things to see if they make him happy.
He submerged himself into a party scene. Obviously this included alcohol. But there is something interesting about his drinking. Notice in verse three his drinking is tempered with wisdom.
This doesn’t mean he didn’t get drunk. It means alcohol did not consume him. He wasn’t a guy who couldn’t handle his alcohol.
Yet still, he gave himself to wine.
He’s surrounded by people having a good time.
They are laughing. The language describes the scene at a banquet where people gathered to drink, dance, and hook up.
He probably figured “These people look happy.”
It’s not hard to look happy when you’re intoxicated. If you’re happiness comes when your intoxicated, you have to stay intoxicated to stay happy.
Solomon quickly realized how foolish the party scene is. Those people aren’t happy, they’re drunk.
B. He tried pampering himself (4-10).
He lived for himself. Notice how many times the word “me” or “myself” is used in verses 4-8.
Made me great works
Built me houses
Planted me vineyards
Made me gardens
Made me pools
Got me servants
Gathered me silver and gold
Got me singers
He became very selfish. He lavished himself with the finer things in life.
Look at all he built:
Palaces
Pools
Gardens
He could walk around his land and enjoy all of these marvelous things.
Look at all he obtained:
Servants
Cattle
Silver & gold
Choirs
Musicians
He could invite hundreds of people to his home, seat them by the pools, feed them all steaks, and provide live music for them.
Notice again in verse 9. His wisdom remained. He had wisdom like no other. The man was smart. A fool and his money are soon parted. Solomon was no fool. He spent money but he made more than he spent.
He said he was great (9). He was known all over the world. The Queen of Sheba came to visit him because she heard of his greatness. She left impressed (1 Kings 10).
I would imagine all these projects kept him busy. Eventually you run out of things to do for yourself.
Look carefully at the end of verse 10. His reward for all his work was the pleasure his things gave him. The problem was it was a temporary pleasure. To get more pleasure he had to build or buy something else.
C. The pleasures he enjoyed were temporary (11).
Look at verse 11.
Imagine Solomon looking at all he had done.
He walks out to the vineyards, sits down, and looks.
He looks out the window at his pools.
He visits his fields of cattle.
He looks at all of this. He meditates on all he has accomplished and feels like he hasn’t really done anything at all.
I remember watching an interview with Tom Brady on Sixty Minutes when he was 27. After winning three Super Bowls he said this:
“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be … I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”
He then asked “What else is there for me?”
The host asked him “What’s the answer?”
Tom Brady replied “I wish I knew.”
Solomon had the same problem. He had accomplished more than anyone could hope for but he found no true meaning in the pleasures he pursued.
2. Solomon is frustrated by his own mortality (12-23).
A. The difference between the wise and the foolish is temporary (12-14).
Wise and foolish here does not mean lost and saved as it does in most places in the Bible.
Wise here means worldly wisdom: skill, self-control, intelligence.
Foolish means the opposite of that.
Human wisdom can make life easier in this world. You can be lost and make a good life for yourself.
Solomon says know one could do any better than he has, from a worldly standpoint. He has accomplished as much as is possible on this earth.
Human wisdom is good. Look at verse 14. It helps a person walk through this world. Fools just stumble through life. But in the end both the wise and the foolish die. Solomon says one event happens to them all.
Let’s take a trip down to the funeral home. Let’s go in the back and take a look.
Here we have two men.
Yonder is a fool. He wouldn’t work, wouldn’t be a father to his children, was a leech to society and never accomplished anything of lasting value.
Beside him is a successful man. He was married to one woman. He sent his children to college. He left an inheritance.
One is as dead as the other.
Solomon thought about that, and it bothered him. In the grand scheme of things what did it matter if you were wise or a fool?
B. Solomon hated his life (15-17).
Look at verse 17 “Therefore I hated life.”
Look at verse 18 “Yea, I hated all my labor”
Why?
Because he was going to die just like a fool dies (15).
He questions why he even tried:
“Why was I wiser?”
Solomon studied. He was well read. He learned to do things. He put his heart into a task.
He is mad at himself for putting in all the effort because in the end he’d be no different than anyone one else.
He’s looking at this from a worldly perspective. You can see that in verse 16. He wants to be remembered. He wants people to recognize all he has done. He doesn’t want his work to be in vain.
It should not be our goal to be remembered by man. If it is, we will be disappointed. It should be our goal to be honored by God.
C. Solomon feared what his heirs would do with his estate (18-23).
Solomon had worn himself out. He had worked hard for what he had. His concern is he is going to leave it to a fool (18).
He did. His son Rehoboam was an awful leader and lost half of the kingdom.
This fear of leaving all he worked for to a fool grieved Solomon (20).
He says he couldn’t sleep at night thinking about this (23).
There are many who work all their lives and then worry to death about who they are going to leave what they have to.
Who deserves it?
Who will be wise with it?
Who will honor my requests?
Who will get mad?
Who needs it?
Who will sell it?
Who will waste it?
Solomon’s dilemma was “I have all of this now what am I going to do with it?”
3. Solomon recognized the benefit of enjoying the life God has given you (24-26).
A. We should enjoy the fruit of our labor (24).
God wants us to enjoy life. But God does not want us to work ourselves to death.
Solomon says, “Live life.” Of course, we are to use godly wisdom, but God wants us to enjoy our time on this earth.
Stop trying to build bigger barns.
Stop trying to make a name for yourself.
You’re going to leave all you have behind and eventually you are going to be forgotten. If you are fighting to keep what you have and to be remembered on this earth forever, you are fighting a losing battle.
Slow down.
Enjoy life.
God gives us the ability to work and enjoy life. Take advantage of it.
B. Recognize that God is sovereign over your life (26).
Solomon says in verse 26 that God gives to a man what he receives. This is making a distinction between the lost and the saved. I’m speaking to Christians now.
You are blessed beyond measure.
God has given you:
Wisdom
Knowledge
Joy
He has given you the wisdom and the knowledge of who He is and that should give you joy.
We are what we are by the grace of God. Therefore, I should be filled with joy. I should enjoy my life.
I’m not Solomon and I never will be.
Most of us will likely never be rich.
We will likely never be on a list of Who’s Who?
We are who God wants us to be. Because of that I can enjoy my life.
Enjoy YOUR life. Enjoy your present life.
If you can’t enjoy what you have you won’t enjoy what you get.
Illustration:
The catfish community has gone crazy. Catfish have become trophy fish now. People don’t even want you to eat them. They want you to let them go. They’re always criticizing people.
You should have let that fish go.
I’ve caught bigger fish than that.
That’s not the right bait.
It’s insane. The people aren’t happy. Fishing is supposed to make you happy.
These guys want to have this great catch.
They want to be in the record books.
They want to be recognized for their skill.
I just wanna catch supper. If I ever get as upset as these guys do about fishing, I’ll stop.
God has given you a life. Don’t waste it trying to find pleasure in a life He doesn’t have for you.
C. If you are lost, when you die you will lose everything (26).
Verse 26 says the sinner loses everything. All you really have is your soul. If you lose that you lose everything.
Illust:
Jesus gave a parable about a man who built bigger barns.
Christ has accomplished everything for you through his death and resurrection. In Him you will find the meaning of life. In Him you will find true pleasure.