May 2, 2013 Everything but Nothing

Read Ecclesiastes 1 – 2 Everything but Nothing Eccl 2:11 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 is such a sad book. Here’s a guy—Solomon—with everything any man could want. But in reality he has nothing. He is never satisfied. He always wants more of something. As he pursues more “more” he, unfortunately discovers more hopelessness and more despair because he becomes more empty. Many people say the Bible is irrelevant in our world today. Here’s one example of its reality for our lives right now: Many negative aspects of what’s happened in our country’s economy to cause cycles of recession and depression are the result of people always seeking more. People in position of controlling money continually contrive ways to gather great wealth at the expense of the nation. I’m certainly not opposed to capitalism, and I believe people who take appropriate business risks, work hard, have great ideas and are equipped to bring those ideas into reality are deserving of reward for their efforts. But too often, greed motivates people to break rules, and greed in our nation’s history and the history of the world has too often crippled a country and sent hundreds of thousands to the unemployment line. The Bible doesn’t condemn good and honest work. But it condemns pursuit of temporary worldly wealth as a means to eternal happiness. The temporary never satisfies the eternal. Solomon learned that long ago. Now he has told you. You may not be pursuing great wealth, but are you trying to find meaning in “more” sports, “more” busyness, “more” of things that are really less? Will you trust that what God has taught Solomon is the truth of folly, and will you listen to him? It’s True! Only when you pursue more God will you have true wealth.