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I thought to myself, “Now I want to experiment with pleasure and enjoy myself.” But even this was pointless. I thought, “Laughter doesn’t make any sense. What does pleasure accomplish?” (Eccl 2:1-2 GW) [context– Eccl 2:1-11]
It’s never enough
We live like millionaires. I don't have a million dollars, nor am I expecting to any time soon. But compared to the majority of the world's population, the average American lives like a millionaire.
Fifty years ago, flight travel was uncommon for most Americans, not anymore. Looking back to the sixties, the average home was smaller, cars were bigger, gas was way cheaper, and salaries were a lot smaller.
As a nation, we have more now per capita than ever, yet it’s still not enough for many.
Unless you've traveled to under-developed nations—what I call MOTROW—the idea that you live like a millionaire may seem hard to accept. But ask those who want to immigrate to the US and you might start to understand.
King Solomon, who was beyond wealthy and able to pursue as much pleasure as he wanted, realized the problem with pleasure and having all you want.
Way too many of us fantasize about what it would be like to be rich and powerful. Do you think not? Look at who and what we venerate.
Athletes and entertainers make outrageous amounts of money and live at a level we can only imagine. CEO's receive huge salaries and bonuses and act as if they deserve it even when their companies lose money.
Even within the church, many pastors and leaders of ministries receive well-above-average salaries, as mega-churches claim to build bigger and better buildings for the kingdom.
This tells me we haven't learned from the wisest and wealthiest king of Israel.
The problem with pleasure and wealth is that it's never enough.
Insights
In these opening verses of Chapter 2, at least three things stand out. Abundant use of the personal pronouns—me, myself, and I, a pursuit of pleasure without restraint, and a conscience.
These verses reveal someone who’s self-absorbed. King Solomon is plagued with what could be called me, myself, and I syndrome.
Of course, this is common to American culture today, perhaps accentuated among younger generations as it was during the ‘70s in the “Me Generation.” In truth, it’s an ancient problem.
Solomon says he intentionally pursued a carefree and pleasurable life including wine to a point of excess. He tried to live without restraint and tested the boundaries of excess because he could, and justified living without restraint as his “reward for all my hard work.” (Eccl 2:10 GW)
What work did Solomon do? He gives us a list that begins, “I accomplished some great things…” (Eccl 2:4-8 GW). Each accomplishment is preceded with “I”, and though these accomplishments may seem desirable they weren’t honorable in God’s eyes (1 Kings 11:6, 9).
And yet, his conscience prevailed throughout his plunge into pleasure and excess and helped him realize how his selfish pursuit of pleasure was “pointless… like trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing.” (Eccl 2:3, 9, 11 GW).
When Solomon speaks of his wisdom remaining with him throughout his pursuits and accomplishment, he’s referring to his conscience. This serves as an example of how we can suppress our conscience and even become numb to it.
But our conscience is our God-implanted sense of right and wrong. It’s what CS Lewis called the Moral Law in his book, The Case for Christianity.
But it’s dangerous to ignore our conscience as proved out in Solomon’s life.
Existential Reflections
Reflecting on all of this brings to mind both a question and a certainty.
How far is too far and beyond the reach of God’s grace?
Once we step over a line we can’t go back to the way things were.
Whatever boundary we cross, whether good or bad or neutral, we can’t cross back over it as if we’d never stepped over that boundary.
We have free will to make choices but every choice has a consequence. Some choices are good and have favorable consequences like treating others with kindness or exercising self-control.
Other choices lead us into harmful or potentially destructive consequences such as lying, hurtful words, or carelessness. Once we tell a lie, we either need to continue the first lie with more lies or tell the truth. But just like hurtful words, we can’t take back the lie just as we can’t take back hurtful words.
This is where our conscience is so important.
When our conscience is grounded in the truth and wisdom of God, we are more likely to listen and heed its subtle warnings.
But what if our conscience warns us to not cross a certain line but we do so anyway? Eventually, the question comes up—How far is too far and beyond the reach of God’s grace?
The simple answer is that even where sin is abundant, God’s grace is greater and more abundant (Rom 5:20). Several current-day testimonies affirm this, as does Paul the apostle’s life (1 Cor 15:9-10).
One of the most powerful testimonies of this is Pastor John Newton’s life, the author of the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace. John Newton began as a captain of a slave-trading ship and was known as the Great Blasphemer.
He was raised in the Christian faith but led a life of disgraceful shame and vileness until his conversion. God restored him after he repented while in the midst of a terrible storm. He went on to be an influential pastor in England.
But there’s so much more to his life story and why he wrote Amazing Grace, you need to read it for yourself.
Newton’s life illustrates the dilemma of crossing a line with great consequences and experiencing the powerful restoration of God’s grace.
Once we cross the line of any experience, we can’t go back to how things were before but can go forward by God’s grace. When a person tries to rationalize or deny their experiences in life, it is a futile effort. We cannot escape the age-old law of sowing and reaping.
Choices have consequences. Good or healthy choices have beneficial consequences. But foolish or dangerous choices have bad or destructive consequences.
This is the reality Solomon expresses in the opening verses of Chapter 2. In a sense, he’s done it all and realized it wasn’t worth it.
The unspoken thought is this—surely there is more to this life than wealth and pleasure and excess, isn’t there?
Keep reading through Ecclesiastes to see how this question and others are answered by Solomon. Also, learn from Solomon’s example of what not to do.
If you find yourself crossing lines you shouldn’t, ask the Lord to restore you by His grace and to guide you by His Spirit to help you make better choices.
This is an excerpt from my newest book available on Amazon! Glimmers of Light in the Darkness of Life
The Scripture text for this devotional study can be found by clicking the blue button link– “Ecclesiastes Chap 2” (chapter number and text will change chapter to chapter).
I’ve used God’s Word Translation (GW) for ease of reading but the button link will take you to the text in a parallel version with the NKJV text.
Also, for further commentary, I recommend Enduring Word by Ptr David Guzik.
