Satisfaction # 2
We have all been searching for satisfaction for a long time in our lives. Solomon talks about his search for satisfaction throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. He tries to find satisfaction in life through everything under the sun. He had all the resources any of us would ever dream of having access to. He could afford anything, he was a king and had no request denied. He used everything and everyone around him to scratch the itch that stayed just out of his reach. He dove into his search for satisfaction with all that he could. Luckily for us when he got older and realized what he had done with his life he wrote a little advice for us to follow.
Solomon was considered one of the wisest men to ever live. Royalty traveled from their own countries to just have conversations with him and to learn. Solomon tried to fill the void in his life by filling the void in his knowledge. I think he wanted to learn enough to make sense of all these things that kept him searching for satisfaction. In Ecclesiastes 1:18 Solomon writes, “With much knowledge comes much disappointment; the person who gains more knowledge also gains more sorrow.” I wish I had seen this verse when I was younger. Solomon realizes that the more you know, life teaches you that there might be a lot of stuff you do not want to know. We are all reminded from time to time that knowledge leads to great sorrow and more responsibilities that can weigh us down as we consider what we know.
Many times we have thought if I could just get one degree or learn one more thing then I will be satisfied that I know enough. Then we go to trivia night at a local brewery and realize we just don’t know quite enough yet. But, the more we learn the more we realize that knowledge is boundless. There will always be something new to learn. You can either see that as something good, a new challenge to face each day, or as an endless pursuit to only fall further behind every day. Solomon saw it as a sorrow, maybe we can see it in a different way.
Solomon also built a kingdom and all that entails. One day he wrote these words in chapter 2. “Then I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.” At the end of his life he saw all of his hard work as nothing. I wonder if it was because he weighed it against all that it cost him. Did it cost him time, maybe friendships or family? Or maybe because like we have all seen happen even in our own lives, that what one person builds another person can come along later and tear it down. We can build buildings and kingdoms that one day can be forgotten or destroyed. So if we think working will bring us satisfaction we need to remember the hours we spend building our little kingdoms can be destroyed or gone in a moment.
Solomon then jumps into the idea that we will be satisfied if we just indulge every desire we have. The thought that if we could just fulfill every hidden fantasy and desire is something that we are told many times will bring us happiness. And then we hear the words of a man who actually did it. He had everything money, sex, food and anything his heart could imagine. Then he pens these words in Ecclesiastes 2:10. “Everything I wanted I took – I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task – my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!” The verses before this one Solomon talks about all the pleasure he chased and freely enjoyed. Wine, women and song were all his. In verse 11 he simply says, “But then I looked at what I had done, and I thought about all the hard work. Suddenly I realized it was useless, like chasing the wind. There is nothing to gain from anything we do here on earth.” He reminds us that pleasure only lasts as long as the pursuit of it. When we satisfy one desire another one pops up and calls for us to chase it. We really are playing a game of Whack a Mole when it comes to finding satisfaction through pleasures.
Solomon was rich. Not like a little bit more than us rich, but a lot more than anyone else rich. He had money to burn and I’m not real sure but he might have even burned through quite a bit of it. But, he was the king so money was only a problem for the people he took it from. In Ecclesiastes 5 Solomon writes, “Whoever loves money will never have enough money; whoever loves wealth will not be satisfied with it. This is also useless.” One of the richest men in American history echoed Solomon when he was asked how much money is enough. “Just a little bit more” was John Rockefeller’s answer. It is amazing that no matter how much money any one has, we all would echo the thought that just a little bit more would make things better. Money is good to have, but when money has you then you are in serious trouble. So we should quite searching for the elusive dollar that will finally be enough. It does not exist.
Believe it or not, Solomon also tried to find satisfaction through religion. We may not have the resources Solomon did, but many of us have tried to find satisfaction through some form of religion. Solomon tried every religion of his time and yet could not find peace or satisfaction in them. He writes, “When you tell God you’ll do something, do it – now. God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it. Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.” Solomon warns us if we do not take God seriously then are religious practices will not bring any satisfaction at all. He was loved by God and yet kept searching for some meaning in other religions and beliefs. In the end I believe he figured out God was not the problem but that he was.
In all his life Solomon searched for satisfaction everywhere. He did the experiment for us so next week we will see what we can learn from his search that will save us some heartache. Maybe we will be able to hear some advice from a man who pursued satisfaction and could only find it when found it in the little things of life.