- I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. -
Everyone, we did it.
We made it through chapter one.
Hey seriously, pat yourself on the back. That’s a brutal chapter that sets the stage human life takes place on.
Like I’ve mentioned before, that’s what the book of Ecclesiastes is about. You really need to strap on the shoes of peace to make it through life and this book.
With that said, let’s see what chapter two has in store!
Remember how the last chapter ended? We just learned that wisdom and knowledge lead to vexation and sorrow. In the next verse, I think we see Solomon looking to “good things” in life to free himself from that pain.
Do you notice a word we’ve discussed before? That’s right. Solomon is saying this in his heart. That’s the same word used in 1:12, the whole inner man.
At the end of his unsuccessful journey, Solomon turns to that same voice and says, “You know what, it’s just to hard! Take it easy. It’s time for some pleasure!”
If there is no point to wisdom, if all ends in something meaningless, then why can’t I at least enjoy it?
That’s a very human question to ask, and I think it’s compelling too.
I read verse one as a warning. Like you, I have goals, purposes, and aspirations I want to accomplish in my life. Nothing is more disappointing to me when my efforts don’t seem correlated with my results.
If I’m not careful, that’s the point I’ll throw in the towel, walk away, and bemoan the wasted time.
In many ways, I am struggling against the fact that the reality I’m striving for isn’t manifesting. I’ve put in the hours, I’ve put in my sweat, isn’t my discipline supposed to be rewarded?
“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Luke 12:25
Anxiety and effort to me go hand in hand. Perhaps that’s my neurosis, but I don’t think so. When I’m worried about something, that’s when I work my hardest.
If I’m honest, it’s also when I’m the least productive.
I fight so hard to keep things within my control and find it all too much for me to grasp. Then, when I’m upset from my failings, I might take the chance to blame the world for not admiring my efforts.
It gives me all the justification in the world to kick my feet up, watch the world burn a little more, and say, “At least I tried.”
What’s that at the bottom of my heart?
Does it sound like Christ?
Where have you put effort forward, been rejected, and used it as an excuse not to care?
Note, pivoting is not what we are talking about. Hitting a wall, realizing it’s not working out, and moving to something new, that’s all good and sometimes it’s God speaking to you.
If you hit that wall, throw down your chair, and curse anyone who tries to climb over it, then you need to ask yourself a simple question.
What spirit possesses you?
It is funny that phrasing”that I will test you with pleasure”. I don’t know that any of us readily jump to thinking the pleasures in our lives as tests. But be watery of the things you make god, little g, in your life. Lest those spirits of possessing and even seeking joy can be its own vain pursuit in of itself.