Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore, enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.
Riches and Pleasure
When wisdom fails, then we have to test out life using money for pleasure. Solomon has moved on from the human wisdom portion of the test. Now he is quizzing his wealth for the answers. Mirth is an old English word meaning amusement. Through his wealth, Solomon seeks amusement and pleasure. Think of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Fast cars and faster women.
This is not hard for us to imagine today. Fast money creates morally corrupt people. We see drug dealers making fast money and living fast, because they know they will die fast. Crooks on Wall Street look for ways to steal money so they can live in fancy houses, drive fast cars, and stay out of the reach of the legal system. Though Solomon did not obtain his wealth this way, the result of having wealth played out similarly.
Spoils of Life
Ecclesiastes 2:3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
What is the next step after seeking pleasure through buying things? Why, of course, alcohol. Monotony leads to depression, then depression to some form of intoxication or drug. Then, of course, folly is found. From a worldly point of view, this is a normal progression in life. Is it not food for the belly and drink for the soul? Or so it is without God! Vanity, vanity, all is vanity under the sun! Solomon gets it right in his report on this way of living.
The Warning
Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
If your friends were jumping into a fire, would you? Did your parents ask you to do that? Jesus is warning us in the same way. Follow the world’s way, and destruction is found at the end of the path. Step off of the broad path and turn to the narrow way. Jesus is found there.
Key Takeaways
- Solomon tests life through wealth, seeking pleasure but ultimately finds it to be vanity.
- Fast money often leads to moral corruption, as seen in both the wealthy and the desperate.
- The pursuit of pleasure, like drinking, can lead to folly and emptiness without a spiritual foundation.
- Jesus warns against following the broad path of destruction, urging a turn toward the narrow way.
- True contentment cannot be found in material wealth or indulgence; it requires a deeper relationship with God.
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