In our study of Ecclesiastes chapter two, we look at man's attempts to find purpose in this world. We will learn from a man that had everything this world could offer but was still unsatisfied.
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I said to myself, "Come now, I will test myself with pleasure and enjoying good things"; but this too was pointless. Of laughter I said, "This is stupid," and of pleasure, "What's the use of it?" I searched my mind for how to gratify my body with wine and, with my mind still guiding me with wisdom, how to pursue foolishness; my object was to find out what was the best thing for people to do during the short time they have under heaven to live.
Solomon tells us that he tried the party lifestyle to see if that would give him purpose but he found that it did not. Many people in our world today are doing the same thing as they "live to party" but the party only covers the pain and emptiness. Solomon tells us that he couldn't just turn off his mind and his mind knew that there had to be more to life than hedonism.
I worked on a grand scale - I built myself palaces, planted myself vineyards, and made myself gardens and parks; in them I planted all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the trees springing up in the forest. I bought male and female slaves, and I had my home-born slaves as well. I also had growing herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, more than anyone before me in Yerushalayim. I amassed silver and gold, the wealth of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, things that provide sensual delight, and a good many concubines. So I grew great, surpassing all who preceded me in Yerushalayim; my wisdom, too, stayed with me.
Next, the king turned to materialism and acquiring more than anyone else had ever had from fancy houses to piles of gold. Even with all that he had, he could not escape the fact that he knew that possessions were not the answer. The simple fact of the matter is that, if you pursue riches on the earth, you will never have enough as you compare yourself to someone that has more. There can only be one person on the earth that has more than everyone else and so this pursuit of wealth through possessions will leave everyone else feeling like a failure.
I denied my eyes nothing they wanted. I withheld no pleasure from myself; for I took pleasure in all my work, and this was my reward for all my work. Then I looked at all that my hands had accomplished and at the work I had toiled at; and I saw that it was all meaningless and feeding on wind, and that there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
What's it worth? That is the question that Solomon answered with his exploration of materialism. He had everything that any man could ever want and found that it didn't matter. He felt entitled to it because of his work but, in the end, realized that he wasn't going to take it with him when he died. That is what Jesus was talking about when He called us to store up treasures in heaven (see Matthew 6:20).
So I decided to look more carefully at wisdom, stupidity and foolishness; for what can the man who succeeds the king do, except what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet the same fate awaits them all.
Now, the king turns to the mind and comes to the conclusion that it is better to be educated than to be ignorant. In our world today, we have got to the point that many see their worth based on how many years they have attended college or how many letters are in the title at the end of their name. Solomon found that the one with all of the wisdom and knowledge will pass away just as the one who is ignorant.
So I said to myself, "If the same thing happens to the fool as to me, then what did I gain by being wise?" and I thought to myself, "This too is pointless. For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered, inasmuch as in the times to come, everything will long ago have been forgotten. The wise man, no less than the fool, must die."
There are those who spend their entire life accumulating college degrees but, when they die, it does not mean anything and they are soon forgotten. Even the most famous thinkers will eventually be forgotten and replaced by a new generation.
So I came to hate life, because the activities done under the sun were loathesome to me, since everything is meaningless and feeding on wind. I hated all the things for which I had worked under the sun, because I saw that I would have to leave them to the man who will come after me. Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the things I worked for and which demonstrated how wise I am under the sun. This too is pointless. Thus I came to despair over all the things I had worked for under the sun. Here is a man whose work is done with wisdom, knowledge and skill; yet he has to leave it to someone who has put no work into it. This is not only pointless, but a great evil. For what does a person get from all his efforts and ambitions permeating the work he does under the sun? His whole life is one of pain, and his work is full of stress; even at night his mind gets no rest. This too is pointless.
Many have made their work (job) their god as they spend all of their waking moments thinking about what they need to do to make more money. This money is spent on building up an estate that must be left to an heir when they die. When one does so, they do not know whether the heir will squander it like the prodigal son (see Luke 15) or invest it and grow it to give to those who are in need. The one who earned it has no control over it and it can be gone just as fast as the wind blows.
So there is nothing better for a man to do than eat, drink and and let himself enjoy the good that results from his work. I also realized that this is from God's hand. For who will eat and who will enjoy except me? For to the man who is good from [God's] viewpoint he gives wisdom, knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of collecting and accumulating things to leave to him who is good from God's viewpoint. This too is pointless and feeding on wind.
Do you find satisfaction in your daily job? If you do, then, this is from God. All good things are from God and He gives them to His children. A Christian is given the ability to work and even to enjoy their work while the lost are chained to a job. Many have great jobs making lots of money and yet still cannot find any happiness in their riches. The fact of the matter is that we, as Christians, will inherit all things and so the wealthy are only building up things that they will leave to us.
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