Does Life Feel Worthless? (Ecclesiastes 1-2)
Have you ever chased the dream of having it all? Ecclesiastes reveals that success without purpose is meaningless and nothing satisfies under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1-2
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live with unlimited wealth, power, and sexual partners and still hold the highest reputation among your peers?
These are the four pillars of the American Dream. They represent the life everyone wants, but few can ever have. It’s the embodiment of James Bond meets Alice Walton meets Bradley Cooper meets Mother Teresa. The person who holds all four of these pleasures in check never walks into a room as the second most powerful person. They always command people’s attention whenever they speak, they enjoy going to bed every night with their sexual fantasies fulfilled, and they garner the respect of even their wisest colleagues.
It’s a life of total control, passion, ability, and influence. Few live like this because, in real life, one or more of these four legs are always missing from the table. Despite the endless commercials that promise we can have it all, deep down, each of us realizes how improbable a life like this is. There are natural desires, lusts for power, and areas of passion we harbor that will forever go unrealized. It’s the separation between internal fantasy and realistic expectations.
But picture what your world might look like if all your lusts became reality. What if your desires for fame, fortune, and power came true? How would you live? What would you do? Where would you live? And whom would you live life with? Bizarre as this sounds, it’s an experience the preacher of Ecclesiastes had the opportunity to live.
While ancient tradition referred to this individual as King Solomon, some modern commentators offer a different perspective. Regardless, the author is either King Solomon or someone with an uncanny number of parallel experiences. The preacher’s life was a tale of two realities. If ever there was one who could grab hold of all the fruits of pleasure life had to offer and squeeze every last drop of juicy excitement, it was him. He was the poster child for what the American Dream would become. Ecclesiastes tells us he had everything at his disposal. Gardens, ponds, livestock, servants, riches, and sexual partners were just a few of the many luxuries the preacher experienced.
In Ecclesiastes 2:9-10 the preacher makes this casual, humble brag and observes that he became great and surpassed all before him in Jerusalem. 9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. 10 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 was what we might call a modern-day playboy. But despite his tremendous wealth and success, the preacher makes this astonishing remark in verse 11: “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.”
In a bizarre contradiction of epic proportions, the very man who arguably gave the most incredible speech on the meaningless of life came from the lips of the man who had it all.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Lord, I recognize that even if I had all the wealth, power, and pleasures the world offers, they would still leave me empty. Your word reveals that true satisfaction and purpose can only be found in you. I praise you because in you alone is the fullness of life.
Release | I let go of the desire to chase after fleeting pleasures and achievements the world promises will bring fulfillment. I confess that, at times, I’ve been tempted to place my hope in things that cannot satisfy. I release my grasp on these empty pursuits and surrender to your guidance.
Ask | Lord, give me the wisdom to discern what truly matters and to focus on what has eternal significance. Help me live with an understanding that everything under the sun is fleeting, but in you, there is lasting joy. Teach me to align my desires with your will so that I can live a life of purpose in Christ.
Yield | I yield my ambitions and dreams to your greater plan, knowing that only you can bring fulfillment that transcends the vanity of worldly pursuits. I commit to living for your glory rather than chasing after what cannot satisfy. Lead me in paths that bring true meaning and honor to your name.
