FUTILITY OF PLEASURE AND POSSESSIONS

I have been considering the thinking of the 

wisest man that ever lived, king Solomon, in

his writings in the book of Ecclesiastes.

In chapter two he decides to test pleasure and 

possessions and their value in life.  With 

pleasure he ends up saying; "What does it 

accomplish?"

Then he turns to possessions.

Solomon built for himself houses, vineyards,

gardens, ponds and collected silver and gold.

Then he said;

"Thus I considered all my activities which

my hands had done and the labor which I

had exerted, and behold all was vanity and 

striving after wind and there was no profit

under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11 NASB)

We can see the proof of this same thing in 

our own day.  Over the years I have been

amazed at how many wealthy famous people

end up killing themselves.  Were was the 

happiness that was supposed to be there?

Hey guys, catch this one.

"I provided for myself male and female

singers and the pleasures of men - many

concubines." (2:11)

What were many concubines to Solomon?

"He had seven hundred wives, princesses, 

and three hundred concubines, and his

wives turned his heart away."

(1 Kings 11:4 NASB)

That is one thousand women for just one 

man.  A whole town of women for him to

take his pick of.  

But they turned his heart away from God

to his own hurt.

No wonder Solomon was able to say;  

"It is better to live in a desert land

Than with a contentious and vexing

woman." (Proverbs 21:19 NASB)

and;

"It is better to live in a corner of the roof

Than in a house shared with a contentious

woman." (Proverbs 25:24 NASB) 

I do not know about you,

but I think I can learn something from this.

A LIFE OF FUTILITY

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A LIFE OF FUTILITY

 Have you ever felt that life was futile?

You know, a deadening routine.  Get up in the 

morning.  Go to work and come home tired

and go to bed.  Get up the next morning and 

go to work.  Come home tired and go to bed.

Get up the next morning...... you know the 

routine.

Solomon the wisest man that ever lived on 

the face of the earth observed this futility. 

This man accomplish or acquired everything

most of us could ever want or dream of.

Look at what he had to say about all the 

goods and accomplishments of his life.

 

"I said to myself, 'Come on, let's try pleasure,

Let's look for the 'good things' in life.'  But I

found that this too, was meaningless.  So I said,

Laughter is silly.  What good does it do to seek

pleasure?' After much thought, I decided to

cheer myself with wine.  And while still seeking

wisdom.  I clutched at foolishness.  In this way

I tried to experience the only happiness most

people find during their brief life in this world.

I also tried to find meaning by building

huge homes for myself and by planting beauty-

ful vineyards.  I made gardens and parks, fill-

ing them with all kinds of fruit trees.  I built

reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my

many flourishing groves.  I bought slaves, both

men and women, and others were born into my

household.  I also owned large herds and flocks,

more than any of the kings who had lived in

Jerusalem before me.  I collected great sums

of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings.

and provinces.  I hired wonderful singers, both

men and women, and had many beautiful con-

cubines.  I had everything a man could desire!

So I became greater than all who had lived

in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never

failed me.  Anything I wanted, I would take,

I denied myself no pleasure.  I even found

great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all

my labors.  But as I looked at everything I

had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all

so meaningless - like chasing the wind.  There

was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."

(Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 NLT)

   

So, what is the use?

He ends his writing with this advice.

"That's the whole story.  Here now is my final

conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands,

for this is everyone's duty, God will judge us

for everything we do, including every secret

thing, whether good or bad."  

(Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT)

Then Jesus Christ said it another way.

"Beware! Guard against every form of greed.

Life is not measured by how much you own.

(Luke 12:15 NLT) 

Also;

"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole

world but lose your own soul?  Is anything

worth more than your soul?"  

(Matthew 16:26 NLT)

Then, God through the Apostle Pauls said;

"After all, we brought nothing with us

when we came into the world, and we

can't take anything with us when we

leave it." 

(1 Timothy 6:7 NLT)

Of course, you can waste your life anyway

you want.  You can chase after fame, fortune

and pleasure if you want.  But, you will loose

it all.

But, as for myself I choose to chase after or

serve Jesus Christ the vary creator of the universe

so that when I depart this life I can live  with him

forever.

IS YOUR FIRE BURNING LOW?

This is my "burn barrel".

You have one too don't you?

They keep your house from filling up with trash.

If we did not have a "burn barrel" we would have 

had to get out of the house years ago.

I am tempted to ask you, what do you do with your 

trash.  But perhaps I best not ask.

But, in the top image it is obvious the fire is not burning

well at all.  It has smothered from all the ashes and is

 about to go out.  However, after stirring up the mess of 

stuff in it, the burnable material is brought to the top and

as you can see below, burns well again.

Sometimes my spiritual life gets like the smothered fire above.
Then it's time to stir up the fire in me.  For my self that generally
means getting closer to God and refocusing on the important
things of life.

Jesus Christ tells us of three things that will smother our fire,
or keep us from being productive in life from God's view point.

a.  The cares of life it's self, if given undo concern.
b. The delight in riches, or wealth.
c. Pleasures.

Which of these is smothering out your fire?

JOY, JOY, JOY

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JOY.  

Joy, true joy.

There is so little of it today.

Oh there is a lot of momentary pleasure.

But it generally is gone in the morning.

But mostly we have; fear, concerns, anxieties, pain

and jealousy.   And no wonder with the mess that the

world is in today.  My friend, it is only going to get

worse.

But for true lasting joy, are we looking in the right place?

For a joy that is deep down in us and lasting.  Not dependent

on someone else.  Not on something that is temporary out of 

a bottle or a pill or a smoke.  Nor something we try to hype

up and lasts only as long as we can keep fooling ourselves.

True joy is found only from the one who gives us life anyway.

That is God Himself.  His word "The Holy Bible" has a lot to

say about joy.  The subject is brought up about two hundred

times in the Scriptures.

When Jesus Christ was talking with his disciples about abiding

in him - that is; to dwell with, reside with, live with or stay in

relationship with Christ - and obeying his commands he said,

"These things I have spoken to you so that 

My joy may be in you, and that your joy

may be made full." 

(John 15:11 NASB)  

If you want true, deep, lasting joy -

get acquainted with Jesus Christ 

the source of joy and life it's self.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory."
(Psalms 149:4 RSV)

****************

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)

TODAY'S PROMISE

"For the LORD takes pleasure in his people:
he will beautify the meek with salvation."
(Psalms 149:4 AKJV)

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNB)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)