Ecclesiastes 2
Devotional:
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. (Ecclesiastes 2:1)
We admire people who succeed in entertainment and sports. They amass wealth and social influence, and it seems that they “have it all,” yet we all too often hear about their lives unraveling. Ecclesiastes described how “the Teacher” pursued all forms of pleasure and concluded that in the end, pleasure without God is empty and chasing after the wind. This is because being in God’s presence is the foundational pleasure to properly enjoy all others. Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). When we seek first the Lord and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), we put things in their proper place and can properly enjoy life. Are you pursuing pleasure or pursuing God? When we strive for the first, we get neither, but when we strive for the latter, we actually get both!
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. (Ecclesiastes 2:1)
We admire people who succeed in entertainment and sports. They amass wealth and social influence, and it seems that they “have it all,” yet we all too often hear about their lives unraveling. Ecclesiastes described how “the Teacher” pursued all forms of pleasure and concluded that in the end, pleasure without God is empty and chasing after the wind. This is because being in God’s presence is the foundational pleasure to properly enjoy all others. Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). When we seek first the Lord and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), we put things in their proper place and can properly enjoy life. Are you pursuing pleasure or pursuing God? When we strive for the first, we get neither, but when we strive for the latter, we actually get both!
Pray it:
Father, direct and guide me to pursue you and your righteousness rather than the pleasures of this world that promise so much but ultimately are empty without you. Amen.
Father, direct and guide me to pursue you and your righteousness rather than the pleasures of this world that promise so much but ultimately are empty without you. Amen.
Share it:
Who is someone you can share a verse or thought from this passage with?
Who is someone you can share a verse or thought from this passage with?
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