Read Ecclesiastes 2:1–11
When I surveyed all that my hands had done … everything was
meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 2:11
Today’s world is pleasure mad. Millions of people will pay almost
any amount of money to buy experiences to temporarily escape the
burdens of life. While there is nothing wrong with innocent fun,
those who build their lives only on seeking pleasure are bound to be
disappointed.
Why? For one thing, pleasure seeking usually becomes a selfish
endeavor, and selfishness destroys true joy. People who live for pleasure often exploit others to get what they want, and they end up with
broken relationships as well as empty hearts. People are more important than things and thrills. We are to be channels, not reservoirs; the
greatest joy comes when we share God’s pleasure with others.
If people live for pleasure alone, enjoyment will decrease unless
the intensity of the pleasure increases. Then they reach a point of
diminishing returns when there is little or no enjoyment at all, only
bondage. When pleasure alone is the center of life, the result will ultimately be disappointment and emptiness.
Something to Ponder
How can you enjoy life to the fullest, without having your pleasurable
experiences diminish in effectiveness?