“I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” Ecclesiastes 2:1
Hedonism is defined on the Internet as “the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.” In the book of Ecclesiastes, we read that “the Teacher,” gifted with wisdom when he became king in Jerusalem set about studying life to see what was meaningful. He studied the circles of life found in nature and history. He pondered who would remember him. He even pondered folly but found that meaningless too. He next turned to hedonism in chapter 2 where he allowed himself all pleasures that delighted his senses. He pleasured himself with wine and food, built projects that delight himself, had servants, herds, wealth, a harem and pleasures we only imagine or create in movies. He denied himself nothing that pleased him. I suppose as king he could do that.
It makes me think of the “if onlys” that often niggle away at our thinking. It is so easy to think that life would be much easier if only someone was not blocking our way or if someone would only give us or if only we had that one more dollar. John D. Rockefeller was asked how much money it would take to make a man happy. He replied, “Just one more dollar.” Let’s stop and think, what would it take to make you happier or more content with the life you are leading now? Would you want servants to do your housework or perhaps a bottomless trust fund to draw from so you would not need to work or maybe the loss of weight or a new car or new house or new spouse would be your choice. The Teacher was able to command that all his “if only” thoughts were satisfied.
His conclusion:
”Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. V. 11”
All his efforts felt like chasing after the wind. Wind we feel for a moment but then it moves past us. Wind is not permanent. So let’s go over our “if only” list again and ask ourselves which of our desires offers a true long term permanent improvement to our lives. Let’s try an acrostic with the word “content.” For each letter write an adjective to describe true contentment.
C is for _____,
O is for _____,
N is for _____,
T is for _____,
E is for _____,
N is for _____ and
T is for _____.
Lord, help me be content with the gifts from your hand.
On the Way to Wonder 