Happiness Can Only Be Found In God, Life As Vanity: Lessons From The Book Of Ecclesiastes Chapter Two

Introduction:

The goal of every human on earth is to seek happiness in life. Many people have different views on what seems to be a happy life on earth. There are some who believe that a happy life is a wealthy and rich life. If one is wealthy, that is the definition of happiness. Others believe that a happy life should be free from suffering. Hence, the absence of suffering and pain is the requirement to be considered a happy person. And others also find happiness in pleasure. What seems to be a happy life is subjective to many people; one finds happiness in something opposite to another person. However, as Christians, our happiness can only be found in God. Just as the world strives to seek the basis of happiness, in chapter two of Ecclesiastes, the teacher embarked on a journey to answer the same question.

Here, the teacher presents to us his personal life testimony to advise the earth to seek for happiness in God alone. We are presented with the physical achievements of the teacher, "I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.  I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers and a harem as well—the delights of a man's heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this, my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 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" (verses 3-11). 

He tried to find meaning in the pursuit of pleasure and luxury; he indulged in material wealth, entertainment, and sexual pleasure. If wealth and luxury life could guarantee happiness, the teacher would have been the happiest man on earth for his physical accomplishments. The conclusion of all his toil was that none of these practices brings happiness to the life of human beings. You can abuse your body with the best drink and engage in all sorts of pleasure, but in the end, there will be no real happiness. If people engage in all types of luxury activities to please the physical body while neglecting their soul, what they experience is just a transient feeling. If happiness resides in wealth and luxury, why would the richest people divorce their partners? It is good to be rich and wealthy, but we should not put our hope and faith in our money. We have many rich Christians who have decided to support the ministry of God with their wealth rather than just to please the physical body, which will rot one day. I believe the teacher would have sought the same opportunity if he were alive today, which is unfortunately impossible.

So, while we have life, we should prioritize this sermon and act accordingly. Find a solitude place and reason on what the world has to offer. After we are born and grow into adults, we are faced with making life meaningful for ourselves. All our struggles are geared towards a better today and tomorrow. And, of course, death waits for us all at the end. If all our efforts are towards self-indulgence, then the teacher warns us that we are just chasing after the wind. Think of whether it is possible to catch the wind? Hence, true happiness comes when one thinks of things above and puts his or her whole life on God. Since the teacher could not achieve happiness in wealth, luxury life, and activities, he resided to exercise his mind in wisdom and knowledge (verses 12-26). Could wisdom grant him the happiness he sought in life? The Bible admonishes Christians to seek wisdom (James 1:5-8). Hence, there is nothing wrong when one seeks for wisdom. Nevertheless, our wisdom should be used for the purpose of building the ministry of God.

The teacher said that if we channel our wisdom to please our physical body, it is equally vanity. After all, the wisdom we have is granted by God, and we are to apply it to serve His purpose. If all our wisdom is directed towards our physical accomplishments on earth, we have no hope in the Lord at the end of the day. In fact, the teacher hated life because both the wise and the folly end up in the grave (verse 17). Though wisdom is good, there is no extraordinary life that distinguishes the wise from the fool, they all have the same fate. We are stewards of the wisdom we have and possess, and as such, we should apply it to serve God's purpose. We should remember that nothing significant can be gained from all our toils and struggles except to eat and drink, even that is from the hand of God (verses 24-25). This means that it is God who makes it possible our us to enjoy from our work. If the Lord decides to take our life today or tomorrow, we have no say. Let us think about the parable of the rich fool who thought his life was in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:13-21). He thought that he lived because he had many crops and foodstuffs, forgetting that the Lord makes it possible for us to enjoy our toils. Let us apply the sermon of the teacher to our lives and act accordingly. What do we learn from this chapter?

Application:

God has a role in humans' life:

The teacher does not entirely discount human effort in finding meaning in life (verses 21-22). Nevertheless, he asserts that the ability to enjoy life is a gift from God. It is only God who grants satisfaction in life. Therefore, our whole life is due to the mercy of God. If we can walk, sleep, bathe, eat, drink, exercise, talk, reason, and engage in all sorts of life activities, it is because God made it so. God has a role in our lives as humans, and we should acknowledge that. Our toils and struggles can only have meaning in God. If we are alive today, it is because God allowed that to happen. Since the Lord gifts us life in all our activities, we should continue to honor and appreciate His mercy.

Death is inevitable to human beings:

A key theme in the chapter is the inevitability of death, which renders human efforts useless. Death awaits everyone on earth at the end of the day. Since this world is not our home, we are all called to put our energy into building the work of God. We should remember that death is not the end of human beings, but judgment awaits us all. You can choose to believe or ignore it, but we should remember that we are not immune to this world. We should not live with immunity in mind but seek God and His kingdom. Whatever we experience outside of God is just a transient feeling; the real substance is in the Lord. It is in the Lord that we are guaranteed greater happiness and a happy life after death when we obey His commandments and live according to His will. Let us reason on our life after death; what will be our fate? What can we offer in exchange for our souls?