Musings on Ecclesiastes: Pleasures and Wealth

Hello All,

Have you ever asked yourself, ‘What makes earthly pleasures and wealth so enticing? Why do people sacrifice so much to gain a little wealth and a little pleasure?’

The author of Ecclesiastes, whom many believe to be King Solomon himself, was the king of Israel at its prime and golden age. He was extremely wealthy and had access to all the pleasures that the world could offer.

And yet he began his book with, ‘Vanity of vanities!’

Musings on Ecclesiastes: Pleasures and Wealth

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (18^th Dec 2013)

I find no meaning in the life I live

What fulfillment can earthly pleasures give?

I keep grasping at what I cannot hold

Like purchasing goods that cannot be sold

Earthly riches are fleeting and futile

The delight they bring lasts but a while

Working hard, you labour and perspire

To fortify your fragile empire

‘I’ll lay hedges and prudently secure

My future investments which will endure

I’ll have no want for the rest of my life

For wealth, I’ll brave the challenges and strife’

So you gather your wealth and property

‘Just a little more, and I’ll be happy’

You spend your earnings on earthly pleasures

‘I’ll enjoy what I can at my leisure’

And then calamity strikes suddenly!

All you’ve amassed are gone in a jiffy

You grit your teeth and say resolutely

‘I’ll start over and gain back my money’

So you gain back your wealth and say gaily

‘I have secured my wealth and dignity

In my old age, I’ll rest and enjoy now

The riches earned from the sweat of my brow’

And then death storms in, your last breath he claims!

He spares not the rich or poor; they’re the same

Your wealth then passes down to your children

Who knows if they’ll squander your possessions?

So you’ve insured yourself against all things

You have enjoyed all that this life can bring

But eternal life you could not insure

For you have rejected Christ, the Saviour

Turn now to Christ before it is too late

Do not trade him for wealth at any rate

Find rest in him instead of vain pleasures

Gain forgiveness and life in your Saviour

Points for Reflection:

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

(Ecclesiastes 5:10)

·         You say to yourself, ‘If only I could have a certain amount of money stashed safely in my bank account… That would be enough for me to enjoy for the rest of my life… I would not need to work and worry anymore…’

·         The fact is, even if you did manage to accumulate that targeted amount of mammon, it would never satisfy you. And so you continue setting a higher and higher target for yourself to achieve. But you find yourself becoming increasingly dissatisfied after having surpassed each level.

·         No, money is not the answer to true satisfaction in life. It is a slave master which drives you to procure it and then it leaves you unsatisfied, craving for more.

·         Money itself is not evil, it is our lust for it that is evil.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

(1 Timothy 6:10)

·         Do you love money? How far would you go to procure it? Are you seeking your satisfaction, self-worth and meaning of life in wealth? Are you tempted to forsake God for money?

               

I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.     

(Ecclesiastes 2:1)

·         There are many reasons why people love money.

·         One of the reasons is the earthly pleasure that money can buy.

·         It is a common practice for many of us to save up money for a highly anticipated vacation and have a splendid time. However, when the vacation comes to an end, we feel unsatisfied and say to ourselves, ‘This vacation was not long enough. I wish it was longer. I will look forward to the next vacation and save up enough money for it.’ And this cycle repeats itself over and over and over again. The thrill just wears off after a while.

·         If we are hoping to find our ultimate fulfillment in earthly pleasures, we will more often than not be disappointed.

·         Are you seeking your ultimate fulfillment in earthly pleasures? How do you feel when the thrill and excitement of that pleasure wears off? Why don’t you find your ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ instead?

There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.

(Ecclesiastes 5:13-14)

·         I have seen too many who have lost their life savings on a bad venture. In great hopes to amass more money, one can easily lose it all in a blink of an eye.

·         During economic depressions, stories of suicides of heavily indebted individuals flood the news. Those are tragic tales of people who gave up on life itself after losing all that they had invested their existence in.  

·         But there are those who pick themselves up again and regain their wealth. Now, there is nothing wrong with starting over after a bad venture but what makes it so wrong is doing it with no regard of God. The people who say (or rather sing) to themselves, ‘I did it my way’, make themselves puny gods who are uncannily enslaved to wealth.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

(1 Timothy 6:9)

·         Have you yourself, or other people you know, lost money in a bad venture? What were your thoughts and feelings during those difficult times? During those times, did you depend solely on your own ability and resources or did you look to God for help?

As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?

(Ecclesiastes 5:15-16)  

·         We do not come out from our mother’s womb with money tucked at our sides. We were, in actual fact, plain naked without a single stich of clothing on us.

·         We cannot take a single cent to the grave, even if we were to literally bury our money with us.

·         It is unwise to place so much value in perishable things. And yet so many of us do.

·         And it is extremely unwise of us to reject Jesus Christ and the eternal life that he offers to those who trust in him. Why do you work so hard for earthly and perishable wealth and neglect your ultimate rest in Christ which is of eternal value? Even if you are a Christian, be always on guard against the love of money which could easily lure you away from following God. Look to the cross for ultimate meaning and satisfaction in life. Be contented with what you have and find rest in Jesus Christ.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

(1 Timothy 6:6 ESV)   

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

(Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   

(John 4:13-14 ESV)