The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions
2 I said [a]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So [b]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. 2 I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I explored with my [c]mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my [d]mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men [e]to do under heaven the few [f]years of their lives. 4 I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; 5 I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; 6 I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and I had [g]homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. 8 Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.
9 Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. 10 All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. 11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had [h]exerted, and behold all was [i]vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
Here Solomon expands on his earlier comments, though instead of work or wisdom, or gaining knowledge, he indulges in all kinds of pleasure. He doesn’t hold back either, he built houses, planted vineyards, made his own gardens, and parks, and even had his own personal choir! Yet at the end of it all, he admits it was all vanity. He didn’t really accomplish anything that would last.
But why does it matter? Why was Solomon looking for meaning and value in the things that he did? Why do we? Look around at the animals, and consider for a moment why they work and toil. The squirrel stores up nuts, not for his progeny or future generations, and yet mankind seems obsessed with leaving a legacy or an inheritance.
The lion hides his kill for later, not so that some other lion might benefit if he is hungry and down on his luck. Yet we toil, and save, and share our earnings with others. Not accidentally, but we actually give away our possessions willingly to help others. Why do we do such crazy things? Much like yesterday, it all comes back to God, and the way that He created us.
We were not created to be self-centered like the animals, to think only of our own needs. We were made to seek fulfillment and purpose, and we were uniquely created to find those things in helping others. Of course, there’s more to it than that. But isn’t it amazing how wild that is, how contrary to everything else on this planet?
Solomon has done the “hard work” for us already, he found out that a self-serving lifestyle was meaningless, vanity and without profit. Instead, embrace the fact that God created you to serve others, and do it with gusto. Be His hands and feet and voice in a world that is lost in the dark, hurting and afraid. Like John (the Baptist), be a voice crying out in the wilderness, to show others the Way they should go.