LIFE…MORE THAN THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE

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 – Ecclesiastes 2:11, NIV

“Whether we know it or not, all of us are engaged in a quest for something that will meet the need of our heart. We all are looking for the secret to finding delight anytime, anywhere, and under any circumstances. What we are looking for, in other words, is the secret of contentment. That is the great blessing of life.

That too is what King Solomon was looking for, and in Ecclesiastes he describes his search. We learn from him that there is nothing in and of itself that can make us content. No thing, no possession, no relationship will continually yield up the fruit of contentment and delight.

(There are) various ways by which men through the ages have sought to find contentment and delight in life. The first way, and the one most popular today, is what philosophers call hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure. We all instinctively feel that if we can just have fun we will find happiness. That is what the Searcher examines first…FUN and GAMES.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What can I do that will make me happy all my life?” That was Solomon’s question.

…Solomon, with all his riches, gave himself completely over to the PURSUIT of PLEASURE. He must have spent weeks and months, even years, in this experience. The first thing he said to himself was, “Enjoy yourself,” so he went in for mirth, laughter, and pleasure.”

[Meditation] – Alas, life is more than fun and games; LIFE is MORE THAN the PURSUIT of temporal PLEASURES!

Are pleasures evil? Not necessarily so; but temporal pleasures are not worth PURSUING! And true pleasures reside in God’s Presence:
- If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in PLEASURES (Job 36:11).
- Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are PLEASURES for evermore (Psa. 16:11).
- They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy PLEASURES (Psa. 36:8).