How To Love Life

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Ecclesiastes, Part 3

Do you know anyone who hates life? Why do people hate the only life they will ever have? How can we avoid hating life and instead love life? Read 1 Peter 3:10-12.

Who does Solomon consult with in Ecclesiastes 2:1? His own heart! How does consulting with your own heart compare with seeking God and His will?

Solomon talks to himself and experiments with whatever his mind and heart desire. He experiences life "in the fast lane." He pushes all restraint aside and grabs for the gusto. He walks through life like a cafeteria line, picking and choosing any pleasure he wants. What does he find? In pursuing life to the "max" he finds maximum emptiness! He says "I am great" but he ends up concluding, "I hated life" (Ecclesiastes 2:17). People who hate life are always self-centered, proud, and living for themselves. Perhaps the key word of this chapter is a word with one letter: "I." The word "I" is the first word of this chapter and it appears 21 times in all! This is his search, doing it his way. Solomon further concludes, in v. 20, literally that he had no heart to labor anymore. He had lost hope in life. Life was without purpose, for he was living for himself. We only have one life, and it will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. Do we have enough time to hate life? I think not. How can we keep from this sentiment? How can we learn to keep life from being disgusting?

The first principle we must follow in order to avoid hating life is this:

DO NOT BUILD YOUR LIFE ON THE WORLD THAT PASSES AWAY. This is what the first eleven verses tell us.

1. Solomon Pursues Pleasure v.1-3.

In Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, how does Solomon pursue pleasure? How does a pursuit of pleasure lead one to hate life?

A pursuit of pleasure is accompanied by a forgetting of God. Solomon does not consult the Lord, but his own heart. Our own heart is a dangerous counselor! He says to himself, v.1. ENJOY PLEASURE! For Solomon, money was no object. He sought for pleasure in fun and games, entertainment with laughter and humor. All you have to do today is turn on the TV and you can hear all the laughter and humor you want. Sick and perverted jokes, mostly all related to sex and sin. He sought for the pleasure of fine wine. One thing is for sure, true pleasure is never found in drinking alcohol. Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

A. Pleasure seeking is selfishness

B. Pleasure seeking destroys relationships

C. Pleasure seeking leads to bondage, not freedom.

The intensity of the pleasure must increase or the enjoyment will decrease. The more people drink, the less they get out of it, they must drink more to get the same satisfaction.

D. Pleasure seeking appeals to only part of the person.

Man is spiritual as well as physical.

2. He Accumulated Possessions, v.4-8

Read Ecclesiastes 2:4-8.

What possessions does Solomon gather to himself?
Houses, gardens, orchards, trees, and fruits. He had slaves, pleasures of men, sensual excitements, and personal songs and singers. Silver and gold was all his.

What possessions can we accumulate for ourselves and still hate life?

3. He Achieved Success: Ecclesiastes 2:9,10.

Solomon was a worldly success. He was great. He was the envy of everyone. He prospered more than anyone before him, the good life was his! Now all he had to do was sit back and enjoy it, right? No!

When a person lives to pursue pleasure, accumulate possessions, and achieve personal success, what will be the result? Read verse eleven to find out:

In verse eleven, what four phrases can you find that are central to Ecclesiastes?

Vanity, vexation of spirit, profit, and under the sun.

He catches THE WIND!: v.11. In spite of all the things he possessed, he did not find satisfaction. Rather he concludes, Vanity! It all flashed suddenly on the scene, but it vanished quickly and left nothing behind! Vexation of Spirit, he was chasing purpose, and all he caught was the wind! No profit! He had nothing left over worth any value after the time and money he invested.

The thing we must learn from Solomon is that physical pleasures will not give us a love for life! To love life, we must learn to love God, the highest duty of man! To love God and live for Him bring true purpose to life and true satisfaction to the soul.