Back to Resources

I was reading NEW IDEA magazine as you do when you're in the waiting room at the dentist. In fact it might have even been WOMENS DAY. Or WHO. Can't remember which. Can't even remember WHO THE ARTICLE WAS ABOUT. Just another rock star. Who'd tried to kill himself. Attempted suicide.

Not a household name type rock star. But famous enough. Rich enough. A guy who'd got where he wanted to go. And in the interview they asked him, WHY. Why take an overdose, why try to kill yourself. When you've got it all. I don't remember the magazine. I don't remember WHO HE WAS. But the one thing I do remember is his reply. Because he said this. He said EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY HOW THEY SAY. He said you can get the money, you can get the fame, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU MEANING. And so he tried to end it all.

And you get the same thing, don’t you, over and over and over again. The things you THINK are going to make you happy, the things you THINK will satisfy… leave you just as hungry and just as thirsty as before. The good times that you think will leave you happy… leave you empty.

Go to Las Vegas. And you'll see it. A few years back Lou and I were there on our way to the Grand Canyon. Stayed at the CIRCUS CIRCUS casino. Couldn't just call it the CIRCUS, that wouldn't be enough fun. Circus CIRCUS. Live clowns and acrobats on the stage at 1am.

And downstairs, the gambling. Which is apparently meant to be GREAT FUN. Row after row, gambling tables packed with people. 1am. 2am. Row after row of slot machines, people side by side pressing the buttons.

Out on the street, huge tv screens made up of millions of tiny lightglobes. Advertising the five dollar banquets. The glamour. The fun. THIS is LIVING. Beer in one hand, coins in the slot with the other hand, the band playing in the background, the circus, the coloured lights. The good life.

Except if you have a close look at the faces of the lines of people at the lines of slot machines, you notice a funny thing. If they're having such a good time, how come none of them are smiling?

It's true. Row after row - nobody smiling. Except every now and then a bell would go off, and you'd hear a pile of coins spattering out and you'd hear laughing. And then back to work. Drop the coin. Press the button. And the smiles are gone again.

You don't have to go to Las Vegas to see it, do you? People trying as hard as they can to HAVE A GOOD TIME. And the bright lights and the loud music and the bells and the beer, it might make you THINK you're having fun. But when you stand back and look at it, nobody's happy at all. You chase the things you THINK bring fulfillment… and there's just a deep, black emptiness.

We started our series on Ecclesiastes last week; and we saw it's a book of experiments. Experiments by a King of Israel who calls himself THE TEACHER. Who puts his mind to figuring out what it is that makes life WORTH LIVING. He's asking the big questions. What's life all about? What can make you TRULY HAPPY. He's asking questions about THE MEANING OF LIFE.

Look again at what he says in verse 13 of chapter 1, cause that's where he sets it out. He says "I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven." In other words, I put my mind to having a good look at EVERYTHING. To find out what works. He looks at WISDOM. He looks at PLEASURE. He looks at SUCCESS. All the things people think are going to make a difference.

And the trouble is, the more he looks, the less he finds. Time after time, he comes up with exactly the same answer. Everything's MEANINGLESS. Nothing SATISFIES. It's all just a thin facade. With no substance. There's a phrase he uses over and over again. He says it's all just CHASING AFTER THE WIND.

Now here's our temptation. It's the temptation we're sold by the world at every point. These days it's like it's the SOLE AIM of government. It's what we're fed by the ads as well. And that is, WEALTH AND SUCCESS are the keys that open EVERY DOOR.

Our temptation is to say that WEALTH AND SUCCESS equals MEANING AND HAPPINESS.

But the trouble is, you might chase success. And you might get what you're chasing. But it's not going to help when you’re looking for MEANING. We don't like believing this stuff. Even as Christians. Because it's so deeply ingrained in us. And there are even preachers like KENNETH COPELAND who preach the PROSPERITY GOSPEL that tells you if you're faithful enough, GOD MAKES YOU RICH. And if you happen to be rich, you can pat yourself on the back for being so FAITHFUL. Well, let me tell you, THE TEACHER IS AN EXPERT. And he's tried the lot. And he’s been incredibly rich. But from what he says, he’s no better off than he was before. Because it doesn’t bring meaning.

And that's what he says all the way through chapter 2.

TEST NUMBER 2 - THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE.

Now remember, the teacher says he's looking at life from every direction to try to find meaning. He's trying out whatever he can.

The end of chapter 1, he tries WISDOM. Learning. And he says, the trouble is, the more you know, the more it hurts.

Those of us with kids at school need to be reminded of this. That it's NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD. Pick it up in verse 17. The teacher says he's experienced much of wisdom and knowledge. So he stops to think about it. He says "I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly; but I learned that THIS TOO is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom, comes much sorrow - verse 18 - "the more the knowledge, the more the grief."

The more you know, the more it hurts.

So chapter 2, he says let's try something else. Let's try THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE. If you want the technical term for it, it's pure, unadulterated hedonism. Read from the start of chapter 2. "I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." I'll live it up. I'll have some fun. I'll go to the club every night and I'll play the pokies. I'll go to the movies. I'll - well, whatever you can think of. If it feels good, I'll do it.

Viva Las Vegas. The teacher saw it three thousand years ago. He says to his heart, I'll test you with pleasure. Chapter 2 verse 1. But that also… proved to be MEANINGLESS.

Let's have fun. That'll work. It doesn't. Let's get drunk. That'll do it. Verse 3. I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly; dancing round the streets, putting on a party hat, cracking rude jokes, being one of the boys; and all the while, the teacher says, his mind is still looking on, weighing up what he's doing. Asking the question. ARE YOU HAPPY YET? Is this giving life MEANING? Because he WANTS TO SEE WHATS WORTHWHILE for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. And getting drunk and playing the fool doesn't work. Because there's always the hangover .

THE WEALTH TEST

Time to try something else. We're in chapter 2, verse 4. Let’s ACHIEVE.

Let’s BUILD. Let’s do the Great Australian Dream.

It’s no accident BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS is one of the top rating shows on Australian TV, is it? Because that’s what we want. A better house. A better garden. Some money in the bank. Then everything will be okay. Okay, it didn't work out too well for Noni and John, but it will work for ME.

And the teacher, he goes the whole hog. Not just a stereo cabinet and a new pergola. The Teacher is King of Israel - he's got the money to do whatever he likes. So he says "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.

If you head down the Pacific Highway to Sydney, a bit over half way you come to Taree. And as you drive through Taree, there's a nursery on the left as you come into town with a big sign out the front. And the sign says this. It says WHEN LIFE DOESN'T SATISFY AND FRIENDS LET YOU DOWN, THERE'S ALWAYS THE GARDEN. Well, the teacher has got the garden. Gardens by the acre. He's got trees. He's got palaces. And you know what? The sign at Taree's WRONG. When Life doesn't satisfy – THE GARDEN WON’T EITHER.

So he builds dams, and he buys slaves, and he owns more herds and flocks and cars and boats and stereo systems than anyone in Jerusalem before him. Wine, women and song. And what does he find? Chapter 2 verse 10. He says "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart NO PLEASURE. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labour. Sure it felt good. For a WHILE. Yet, he says, when I stood back and looked at it, when I surveyed all 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.

Ever had that feeling? Even when you've actually achieved something you've set out to do? That flat feeling of EMPTINESS? I remember the feeling straight after my final exam at Uni. All the adrenalin, all the expectation. When you’d think you’d be celebrating. Just felt empty. You’ve finished. You’ve made it. But nothing’s really changed.

You work all your life to get wealthy, to build houses, get the gold medal at the olympics. You achieve everything you ever wanted to achieve. And the teacher says it's all NOTHING. Chasing after the wind.

Do you believe that? Because it's true. And deep down we know. The big reason it's futile is the reason the teacher is about to spell out. In one of the big themes of the book.

And that is, if this is all there is, then it's over in a flash. And it's nothing. And unless there's somehow ETERNAL value in what you're doing, you know it's just going to slip through your fingers. Gone.

And in the end, death… is going to bring everything… down to Nothing. Whether it's wisdom or pleasure or wealth. Whatever it is. DEATH brings it down.

You know, it's funny isn't it, people talk about achieving "immortality" though their work. They want to make their mark. So they'll be remembered. Woody Allen says he'd rather achieve immortality the OTHER WAY. By JUST NOT DYING. He says he'd give everything up… all the fame, the movies, the money. If he could just say alive. For ever.

Because death brings everything you've achieved crashing down. What's the good of all the wisdom in the world... when you're dead. My mother always used to tidy the house before we went away on holidays. She did it in case we were all killed in a car accident. She didn't want people to find the house untidy when we were dead. What's it matter? And that bank balance you spent your life hoarding. Suddenly you're dead - and you can't spend any of it.

Which is what the teacher says in verse 15 and 16. The wise man ends up just as dead as the fool. Read what he says. "Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. And then what do I gain by being wise? I said in my heart, THIS TOO IS MEANINGLESS. For the wise man like the fool will not long be remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten; like the fool... the wise man too... must die."

And wealth's the same. Look at verse 18. He says "I hated all the things I toiled for under the sun, BECAUSE I MUST LEAVE THEM TO THE ONE WHO COMES AFTER ME."

Nelson Rockerfeller was one of the richest men who ever lived. When he died someone asked his executor the obvious question. "How much did he leave." To which the executor answered straight away. EVERYTHING. Absolutely everything. And you will too. Whether the one who comes after you deserves it or not.

UNDER THE SUN...

It's a pretty bleak picture. But it this point I just want to remind you of those three little key words we saw last week The three key words that help put Ecclesiastes in perspective. The three words UNDER THE SUN.

The teacher's looking at LIFE UNDER THE SUN. Which is his way of saying LIFE WITHOUT ETERNITY. Life that says WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. The sun in the sky, the earth below; and that's all there is to it. A self contained little bubble. With no room for God; no future.

And again, do you notice, he uses the same words over and over again. Verse 11 of chapter 2. he says, "nothing was gained UNDER THE SUN."

Verse 17. "So I hated life, because the work done UNDER THE SUN was grievous to me."

Verse 20. "So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labour UNDER THE SUN."

If UNDER THE SUN is all there is, then it just isn't worth it. If this is all there is, it's MEANINGLESS.

CONCLUSION

You know, it's not til you get to verse 24 that you get your first little glimmer of hope. The first little hint that maybe there's more to the story than just LIFE UNDER THE SUN. The first recognition that maybe there's something more. The first recognition of the HAND OF GOD at work. And the fact that if God's put us here, there's a hint of purpose. Which means there's the possibility of ENJOYMENT. It's the first little hint that there's the world of difference between the godly approach to life... and the ungodly.

It's a turning point. Read from verse 24 and you'll see it. "A man can do nothing better," says the teacher, "Than to EAT AND DRINK AND FIND SATISFACTION IN HIS WORK. This too, I see, IS FROM THE HAND OF GOD." And, he says, to the man who pleases him, God gives good gifts - like wisdom. And knowledge. And happiness. The sinner's doomed to just spend his life gathering treasure. That in the end is gone. But the godly are heading for something more.

A PARABLE FROM LUKE 12:15f

We're going to see the same idea picked up again in chapter 9. But for now, can I finish by reminding you that Jesus said something very similar to what the teacher is saying here. And it's in Luke chapter 12.

You might like to turn over and find it. Two brothers are fighting over an inheritance. They want Jesus to sort it out. And Jesus tells a parable. Luke 12 from verse 15. He says to them, "Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed -- a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. If you think you can measure LIFE by the number of your toys, by the size of your bank balance, YOU'RE WRONG.

And he told them this parable. I guess you know it. "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thinks to himself "What shall I do? I've got nowhere to store my crops."

And you know the story, don't you. He's going to tear down his barns, he's going to build some huge wheat silos; and the harvesters are going to come in and fill em up. And he's going to sit back, and he's going to sip on a long cool beer, and he's going to say to himself the words you can see in verse 19. He's going to say to himself, "Bruce mate, you’ve got plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink and be merry."

There's only one problem. God says to him, "You fool… this very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who's going to get all the stuff you've worked for? Who's going to get the big wheat cheque, who's going to get the new car; it's all for NOTHING."

"This is how it will be, says Jesus, for anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich towards God."

Friends, do you believe that? Because often as I look around Christians I know, and as I look at myself, I'm not sure we do. We're suckers for the line that says LIFE DOES consist of the abundance of our possessions. And the abundance of our GOOD TIMES. And the kingdom of God can go JUMP if it gets close to costing us too much.

Because we don't believe that satisfaction isn't going to be found here, do we. We live as if it is. And so we keep pouring our time and our effort into meaningless things. Trying to MAKE them have meaning. And if we really took Jesus seriously, if we took the message of Ecclesiastes on board, we'd be focussing on something else entirely. Being rich towards God. With a focus on his Kingdom.

We're going to see more of that in the next few weeks. But for now take it on board. If you're looking for MEANING - and you should be - IT'S NOT HERE. If you’re looking for THE SECRET OF TRUE HAPPINESS – you can try what you like. But the teacher's looked everywhere already. He's tried everything. And he hasn't found it in this world. So it must be somewhere else.