Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Eccl. 2:1 ¶ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 

Eccl. 2:2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 

Eccl. 2:3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. 

Eccl. 2:4 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 

Eccl. 2:5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 

Eccl. 2:6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 

Eccl. 2:7 I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 

Eccl. 2:8 Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines. 

Eccl. 2:9 ¶ Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 

Eccl. 2:10 All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. 

Eccl. 2:11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. 

******************************************************************************************

I recently read in a book that the whole desire of a man is to be happy.  No matter what we do, that is our end goal.  We'll go through suffering now in hopes that it will bring us a lasting happiness.  The first place people go to find happiness is the pleasures of this world.  Whether it's a fancy vacation, sitting in front of the TV or movie, playing sports, drugs, alcohol, sex, fancy cars, electronic gadgets, and a millions other things, we are searching for a pleasure that will make us happy.  Solomon tried it all, and though it brought temporary pleasure, he soon found that he was empty again and had to try something else to make him happy.

If you pay any attention at all to news out of Hollywood, you read stories about people who seem to have it all.  Fame, fortune, fancy houses, nice cars, and what seems to be the perfect life.  Yet about everything there has a therapist, many are on antidepressants, they are getting divorced all the time, and discover that though they seem to have it all, they are not very happy.  The place I've been that seems to have had the people who were the most happy was the village of Ojague in Guinea.  They didn't have anything, not even electricity.  Yet they seemed to be a happy people.  They laughed, they played, they were generous to a fault, and seemed to have a higher quality of life than most.  That's not to say their life is perfect, they have many hardships.  But as people have studied various people around the world, the ones that seem to have the strongest faith, the most hope, and have the most happiness are the poor.

Solomon decided that laughter was madness.  Laughter is not a bad thing, I think it's one of the most important gifts from God.  But if we seek to fill the God shaped hole in our heart with laughter we will find ourselves empty.  A joke may have us rolling on the floor the first time, by the fifth time it won't even be funny.  It's a happiness that can't laugh.  Partying doesn't fill that void either.  

Solomon built gardens, houses, and great buildings.  None of them brought him happiness.  They weren't bad things, they just didn't fill the void.  He collected slaves and treasure, they didn't do it either.  At over 600 concubines, it seems that Solomon never found anyone that could satisfy him with sex either.

Solomon tried everything that he thought might make him happy and in the end he was left empty.  We can't depend on the things of this world to make us happy.  They might for a moment, but the moment will soon be past.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy things in life, but we can't view them as filling the God shaped hole in our lives.  Only One is big enough to fill the God shaped hole in our heart and we must seek Him to fill that hole.  He may allow pleasures and His good gifts to be a part of that, but our focus and desire must be in the Giver and not the gift.