Lesson 6: The Book of Ecclesiastes: An age-old question!
How can we find the meaning of life? Where did Solomon search for the answer, and where did it lead him?
Introduction: What is the Meaning of Life?
If the meaning of life had anything to do with the media today, you'd think it would have something to do with:
SEX—Every movie seems to have it; it’s almost become a necessity. It’s no longer a question of IF there’ll be a sex scene in a movie, but rather how many and how graphic they will be. Even shows on television seem to glorify it (think “Sex in the City”).
DRUGS—Legalize, the advocate groups say! Marijuana is no big deal—it’s everywhere, right? Our attitude towards illegal drugs has become so lax that we have an extremely permissive attitude to some “low level” addictions—even though they may lead to more serious ones later. As a teacher, I often have seen students start with marijuana, and quickly “graduate” to stronger and stronger drugs.
LOTS OF NETWORKING AND PHONY “RELATIONSHIPS”—How’d she get that job? Oh, she slept with the boss. You want to be an actress? You’ll have to learn about the casting couch. I’ll give you what you want, but you have to give me what I want. It’s all about power. Some people abuse the power they have and use the people below them who have dreams of having power like that. Many relationships today are not based on values we admire the other person for, but rather what we think they can get us.
HOLLYWOOD, THE PLACE TO BE—There is always some place more attractive than where we are. When and if we get there, we may find it’s not as appealing as we thought it would be.
MONEY—While we need money to survive in this world, if it becomes our passion, our love in life, then that is unhealthy. Like a drug, earning money can be addictive; we always want to see if we can have more.
POPULARITY—It’s a hard lesson in life that the best way to act may not always be the most popular. In some areas of the world, Christians are thrown into jail…for being Christian!
FAME—Seeking out others to idolize you makes a god of yourself. Once you start believing that you’re worthy of that worship, pride begins to eat away at you.
JOBS—People who are at the end of their life NEVER say, “I wish I had spent more time with my job.”
Unfortunately, because of HOW MUCH the media reports on these areas, many people get the mistaken idea that the meaning of life is somehow tied up in these subjects. They fail to dig deeper and instead scrape the surface of their lives. Appearance becomes everything. What kind of a mask can you build for the world to hide the emptiness inside?
Again, we often see celebrities at the peak of their stardom suffer through divorce, illness, eating disorders, tragic accidents, or even suicide. They are unhappy about who they are, but they are BUSY and must maintain appearances for their fans. They have no time to examine a spiritual life; that takes time to read God's word, pray, find other followers at church--they might have to miss an important party or two. Sometimes, they know WHAT they need to do, but they are so caught up in their lives that they have no time to do it.
Such was the case with Solomon. He was a victim of his own success. In the end, he concludes that there is ONE key to the meaning of life and one only--yet he STILL chooses disaster for himself. When he fell away from his own wise teachings, when he didn't practice what he preached, he found his life empty and unsatisfying. He turned to many of the same areas listed above to find fulfillment...and found none. We'll examine this empty search of his in the next section, but first, answer this question for yourself:
What are you searching for in life?
