Should Christians Enjoy Life? (Ecclesiastes 9-10)
Should Christians enjoy life or is that selfish? Scripture shows that while joy must be rooted in God, His good gifts are meant to be enjoyed fully.
Ecclesiastes 9-10
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Should Christians enjoy life?
To some, this feels like a trick question. They know they should find joy in God but don’t know how much of life they should enjoy. In the back of their minds, they think Christians should always live a bit miserable and view activities like parties as frivolous. But Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 offers a different perspective. Here, the preacher of Ecclesiastes says:
7 Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. 8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. 10 Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
Those who place their hope in God are to “carpe diem”—seize the day. This isn’t to say we ignore the reality of death. Quite the contrary. In fact, the preacher spends the first six verses of this chapter making this exact point. We are to acknowledge the sting of death yet also live life to the fullest. Daniel and Jonathan Akin write: “Contemplate death and take it to heart so you can enjoy life. That is his point. Go to a funeral rather than a party so that you can contemplate your frailty and finitude as a means to live wisely and enjoy life.”[1]
Only as we properly understand death can we enjoy life to the fullest. Deep down, every person is on a quest for personal enjoyment. But this quest should make all of us stop and ask ourselves this question: Is what I am pursuing right now bringing me the greatest source of enjoyment, or is there something better?
God’s greatest desire for our lives is that we find our ultimate enjoyment in him. He is the one our hearts really desire. It is him we are really longing for in the midst of our pursuit of temporary earthly pleasures. Saint Augustine offered this simple and yet profound prayer to God when he said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
