Dear Diary, “Why does pleasure never seem to last?” That question is at the heart of America’s relentless pursuit of pleasure. Americans are constantly moving from one thing to another in hope of finding something that will provide pleasure that doesn’t fade away. As I was preparing this message I decided to Google this phrase, “America’s pursuit of pleasure” and I received a mind numbing 2,740,000 pages. Since the average Google page displays ten results this translates to 27,400,000 results for this simple phrase. Needless to say I decided not to look at every page. However, the sheer number of results tells me that this is a lifelong pursuit for most Americans. Whether its food, money, stuff, sex, drugs or alcohol the average American believes that they deserve to enjoy life. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with enjoying ourselves; in fact God has designed life to be enjoyed. The problem begins when pleasure becomes the driving force in our lives. At that point the pursuit of pleasure dethrones God and takes His place on the throne of our life. God has designed us with an empty spot in our lives that can only be truly filled by Him. Things of the world can fill the spot for a while but eventually the emptiness returns and we begin searching for something else to fill that spot. Until God fills that spot in our life we will be on a never ending search. Today, we are going to take a peak in the diary of perhaps the greatest and wisest king to ever live, His name is Solomon. Solomon’s diary is contained in the Bible in a book known as Ecclesiastes. We will find out that Solomon despite his wealth, power and great wisdom struggled with many of the same things that we do. Let’s hear Solomon’s experience with the pursuit of pleasure.
I. Who exactly was this guy named Solomon?
A. Solomon’s background and family tree.
1. Solomon was the second son of David and Bathsheba.
2. Solomon was the third king of Israel and reigned from 970-930 BC.
3. Solomon was raised in a very dysfunctional family where competition and deceit were the norm.
4. Solomon was the fourth in line of David’s sons to be king behind Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah.
B. Solomon was handpicked by God to sit on the throne very early on.
1. God personally gave him the name Jedidiah which means beloved of the Lord.
2. Early on in his reign Solomon offered 1,000 burnt offerings at Gibeon after which the Lord appeared to Solomon and offered to give him anything he wished.
3. Solomon showed his great humility by asking the Lord for wisdom to govern the people of Israel properly.
4. Since Solomon’s request was unselfish, the Lord granted Him a long life, riches and fame as a bonus.
5. Solomon wrote 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs; most of the Book of Proverbs is attributed to him, as well as Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Psalms 72 and 127.
6. There would never be another king that could compare to Solomon as the Lord would say that He would be the greatest king to ever reign over a nation on the earth.
C. Understanding some background about the book of Ecclesiastes.
1. As Solomon reached the twilight years of his life he penned the book of Ecclesiastes.
2. Perhaps the best way to view this book is as Solomon’s diary as it details the lessons that he learned throughout his life.
3. Ecclesiastes does not preach the Gospel as there is no mention of repentance or forgiveness, but it does encourage its reader to live life with a God-centered worldview.
4. God is mentioned in the book forty times, and the book clearly shows that God determines the future and controls the events of history.
5. Solomon’s conclusion is that a life that is not centered on God is the Hebrew word hebel which means empty or fleeting.
II. Solomon pursued pleasure down every avenue imaginable.
A. Solomon’s wealth afforded him the opportunity to pursue pleasure through all possible means.
1. Solomon did not pursue the pleasures of life haphazardly but did it with very deliberate planning.
2. Solomon considered his pursuit of pleasure to be a great experiment as he sought to discover the best way for a person to spend the days of their life.
3. Solomon pursued pleasure through building projects, gardening, the acquisition of wealth, partying and sexual exploits.
4. Solomon enjoyed the best that the world had to offer in hopes that he could find the one thing that could provide him lasting satisfaction.
5. Solomon would agree with the great philosopher Mick Jagger when he says, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”
B. Solomon’s great experiment left him feeling empty and hopeless.
1. Solomon set his sights on all things that the people of the world claimed would provide pleasure only to discover that the pleasure was short lived and the quest to fill the emptiness would start all over again.
2. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, this pursuit would end up being his undoing.
3. Solomon literally partied like a rock star, attending concerts and throwing wild parties but it was to no avail.
4. Solomon acquired all that he set his heart on only to discover that they left his heart feeling as empty as before.
C. Solomon’s great wisdom may have directed his pursuits but it failed to help him find lasting pleasure and satisfaction.
1. Solomon’s wisdom afforded him the opportunity to carefully investigate all that life had to offer and effectively deal with the people who crossed his path.
2. The great tension that Solomon discovered was although his pursuits produced pleasure that pleasure was short lived.
3. The wisdom that God gave Solomon was not used to produce prudence or self-restraint.
4. Solomon’s conclusion is that pleasure only lasts as long as the pursuit does or until the novelty wears off.
5. Pursuing pleasuring is meaningless (hebel). It is a chasing after the winds. Chasing something that you will never catch.
III. Lessons for us from Solomon’s experience with the pursuit of pleasure.
A. The pursuit of pleasure is never ending.
1. Why did Googling “America’s pursuit of pleasure” produce 27,400,000 results? Americans are moving from one pursuit to another because the results are not lasting.
2. When that good feeling wears off what do we usually try to do? Find something else that will produce that same good feeling.
3. Wealth can provide us with lots of stuff but it will never produce lasting happiness. We will still be empty shells looking for the one thing that can fill our void.
4. Pursuing pleasure only adds to the frustration that comes from living in this fallen world.
B. The pursuit of pleasure will eventually take us where we don’t want to be.
1. The pursuit of pleasure through food has serious health risks associated with it. The most recent data shows that 63% of American adults are overweight.
2. People at an increasingly alarming rate are seeking pleasure through alcohol and drugs.
a. 22 million Americans suffer from some form of drug addiction. That translates to 9% of the population.
b. 30% of Americans abuse alcohol.
c. 33% of traffic fatalities are related to alcohol or drugs.
3. People continue to seek pleasure and fulfillment through sex.
a. 20% of Americans suffer from a sexually transmitted disease.
b. 49% of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned and 50% of them result in abortion.
4. The pursuit of pleasure through possessions leaves us only wanting more and totally unsatisfied.
a. In 2011 Americans racked up more than 48 billion dollars in credit card debt.
b. In 2011 on average, 5,483 Americans filed for bankruptcy each day.
5. The pursuit of pleasure eventually leads us to places where we don’t want to be and causes us to face consequences that are quite unpleasant.
6. With Americans discovering that the pursuit of pleasure is a dead end and often has unpleasant consequences is it any wonder that emotional disorders are on the rise.
a. 15% of all Americans have struggled with a major bout of depression in their lives.
b. 18% of all Americans struggle with some form of anxiety disorder.
c. 11% of all Americans take antidepressants.
C. When we are consumed by the pursuit of pleasure God will soon be squeezed out of our lives.
1. God has designed us with a void in our lives that only He can fill and when we try to fill that void with other things God is squeezed out.
2. Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15—NIV 2011)
3. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24—NIV 2011)
4. Earthly values will always let us down. If want to truly live an enjoyable and fulfilling life God has to be at the center of our lives.
Closing:
Back in the 70’s the classic rock band Kansas recorded a song that echoes the outlook of this chapter, “All we are is dust in the wind.” The music is beautiful but the lyrics are depressing: “All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see...nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky; it slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy.” We could call “Dust in the Wind” a hymn for people who believe in nothing, who’ve concluded that life has no purpose. Ecclesiastes points out that life apart from God is meaningless.
