“All man’s labor is for his mouth, yet the soul is not satisfied” (Ecclesiastes 6:7).
The most important thing for most people is the satisfaction of their worldly desires. Even though they acknowledge that there are spiritual realities besides the concerns of this world, most people spend most of their time satisfying the latter rather than the former. Basically, as the author of Ecclesiastes said, “Man’s labor is for his mouth.” And perhaps we don’t put it so strongly, but when Paul described some people as saying that their “god is their belly” (Philippians 3:19), he could easily have been commenting on our own culture.
And yet, despite all our efforts, we are left clearly unsatisfied. No matter what we are able to enjoy, the question still arises: Is that all there is? So clearly, what should be our approach?
First, we must acknowledge the fleeting nature of all temporary pleasures and possessions. Yes, it is right to enjoy whatever God has created in this world, but we should not expect more from this enjoyment than He was willing to give. We can keep these things with us as long as we are ready to give them up at any moment.
Second, we need to spend less time seeking these things and more time seeking God. We may say with our words that God is our top priority, but if our schedule books reveal that most days we spend very little time on that goal, who are we fooling? Where our heart is, our “to do” list will be too.
Ultimately, we cannot “get” anything more than what we “want” from our existence. And so we have to be careful what we wish for. Ultimately, all our choices boil down to two choices: (1) we can live for no higher fulfillment than our earthly desires, and even after achieving them, find ourselves still empty inside, or (2) we can hunger and thirst for righteousness and find ourselves “filled” where it matters most (Matthew 5:6). Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become for him a well of water springing up into eternal life” (John 4:13,14). It’s worth asking whether we really believe in him or not.
“Nothing can satisfy the soul except God” (Philip James Bailey).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
