Monday, July 19, 2010

Pleasures are Meaningless


Have you noticed that the world we currently living in, is filled full of people who want things for themselves? They desperately work long hours at a job that they don't like in the hope of someone noticing their effort and thus giving them praise, a promotion or perhaps even a raise if not all three. So what is the motivating factor in all of this?

Pride? Envy? Honor? Status Quo? or perhaps just keeping up with the Jones?

Yet no matter how much we work, how much money we make, what we spend it on, nothing satisfies. It all comes back empty! Every single time.

Sure it might work for a short time, perhaps a week but it won't last. No matter how great your home, you job, you car, your vacation, your family, the only thing that lasts and truly satisfies is our relationship with God. That is what sustains us in the dry seasons of life.

Let's look at Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11 and look at the wise words from Solomon.

"I thought in my heart, '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 foolish. 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 worthwhile for men to do under heaven 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 slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and fold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well - the delights of the heart of man. 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 work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.

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. "

So as you can see even the most wisest of men in God's kingdom and even Jesus himself told us that money and things will never satisfy. We will always want more.

We should begin to build our treasures in heaven where nothing can take them away. Let us begin today but seeing what we can do for others instead of focusing our eyes on ourselves. Let's spend more time with God hearing his voice through the Word we have each day in the Bible and see just how much God will bless us when we take our eyes off ourselves.

14 comments:

Danae Hudson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beth E. said...

I just wrote a post about prioritizing my life and spending more time with God.

This is a great post. You speak the truth...amen!

Mari said...

Solomon's words have real meaning for today! Great post!

David C Brown said...

As the old hymn says:

"I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,
But ah! the waters failed!
E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled,
And mocked me as I wailed.

Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
There's love, and life, and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee."

Elle Bee said...

Love this Kat! Only God can fill up that hole that we keep trying to fill up with material things.

Denise said...

Amen, we need to be selfless, not selfish.

He & Me + 3 said...

Absolutely Kat. What a great post and so appropriate for the times we live in. I can't stand how much stock people put into their material possessions...when in the end they will all be burned up anyways.

Beth Herring said...

oh, what a great post my friend. great reminder that the 'new wears off' fast of most things. we need to be spending out time on the eternal and not the temporal.

NanaNor's said...

AMEN!
Hugs to you today.
Noreen

wendy said...

What a nice post.....so true.
Every thing we have here... all these temporal things....are not what brings us real joy.
Now that I am retired and living in the country, I am becoming less "stuff oriented".

loveing nature instead

Rita said...

What a great post. Solomon was very wise and we should be too. We live in a "me" world and it is hard to get away from it. Thanks for the reminder.

Girly Muse said...

So true and something I need to be reminded of on a regular basis!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Amen and a great reminder.

Seizing My Day said...

funny.. I was singing that crazy material world song today ...which then made me think of how I want to teach my kids to appreciate joy without materialism! =)