Many people today spend their lives in a desperate search for happiness, for pleasure, for fun. Many people in our society are simply bored. They mope around, fantasizing about some secret joy that lies out there somewhere.
“I’m looking for adventure, excitement, and beautiful women,” said the young man to his father as he was leaving home. “And don’t try to stop me!”
“Who wants to stop you?” said his father. “I’m going with you!”
The ironic thing about seeking such pleasure, however, is how little joy it really brings. In fact those who seek it hardest are often among the unhappiest of people.
If you want an example of this, turn to the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes. In these chapters Solomon, a man celebrated for his wisdom, tells of his search to find happiness. The first words we encounter when we open his book are these: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” You may remember that a couple of weeks ago we quoted theologian Paul Tillich who said that the great fear of our time is meaninglessness.
Solomon was the wisest man of his time and yet he could not make sense of his life. He was not a happy man though he sought diligently for happiness.
First he thought the road to happiness would be found in intellectual pursuits. And who could argue with that? There is a certain nobility in seeking knowledge. We salute people who are the brightest in their field. But that doesn’t mean they are happy, that they are content. Certainly Solomon was not. He writes: “I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me . . . but I learned that this . . . is [only] a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” That’s interesting, don’t you think? “The more knowledge, the more grief.”
When knowledge and wisdom did not bring him any happiness, Solomon followed an entirely different path--sensual pleasure. He said to himself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” he says cynically, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”
Then he tried the path of alcohol. “I tried cheering myself with wine . . .” he writes. But this also produced frustration, as he notes in the Proverbs 1, verse 20: “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”
How can that be? All the young people in the beer commercials look so happy! But alcohol didn’t do it for King Solomon. Then he turned to more constructive activities. He says: “I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.” Still Solomon did not find the satisfaction for which his heart hungered.
From that Solomon turned to the accumulation of wealth: “I bought male and female slaves . . . I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces . . .” Still he did not find what he was seeking.
Then he tried sex: “I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well--the delights of a man’s heart.” A thousand wives and concubines still left him unfulfilled.
Solomon lived life larger than anyone who came before him: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” His pleasure‑seeking experiments were all eventually summed up in these plaintive words: “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them: I kept my heart from no pleasure . . . My heart took delight in all my labor . . . 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.”
He even reached the point where he wrote later in this same chapter: “So I hated life . . . All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun . . . .” (17-18). (1)
What a sad, miserable man. He had everything that life in his time could offer. And he counted it all vanity. Solomon had everything the human heart could desire except one. I’ll let you guess what that was. As I read his litany of despair, I couldn’t help but see many people today who are chasing happiness in a similar fashion--knowledge, alcohol, sensual pleasure, work, accumulation of wealth, sex. “Who wants to stop you?” said the father of the young man leaving home. “I’m going with you!”
St. Paul saw the same emptiness in many of the people in his time, even among early Christian believers. And so he wrote: “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There are two keys that St. Paul gives to us that lead to lasting happiness. First of all, be smart with your life. “Be very careful, then, how you live,” he writes, “not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery . . .”
I am not concerned that many of you will be led to debauchery. But alcohol abuse is still a problem in our society, especially on college campuses. And on our highways. And it is the primary factor in many tragic cases of domestic abuse. But nowadays, it is not only alcohol that is destructive to many lives, but also opioids and many other forms of addiction. “Be very careful . . . how you live . . .” says St. Paul.
That’s simply good advice. And it could be applied to substances that we put into our bodies or a host of other unwise situations in which we might place ourselves. In other words, don’t be stupid! There are many people today involved in risky behaviors that are dangerous to their health, dangerous to their marriages, dangerous to their reputation in the community. Some are dangerous to their immortal soul.
In 1991 Mario Van Peebles directed a motion picture titled New Jack City which contains a scene in which a character accepts some illegal drugs. When this scene was shown at a theater in New York City, an African-American man stood up and yelled at the screen, “Just say no, man!”
Mr. Van Peebles who was present in the theater at the time says this is one of the best things he has witnessed in his life. (2)
It may be that this man who yelled at the movie screen had been down the road of illegal drugs himself and wanted to warn everybody else what a dumb move it was. “Be very careful, then, how you live . . .”
It is said that John Morley once traveled from England to Canada to address the graduating class of a university. He began his speech by saying, “I have traveled 4,000 miles to tell you that there is a difference between right and wrong.”
Of course there is. And every sensible person knows it’s true. If it is in any way hurtful to you or someone else, it is wrong. If it keeps you from fulfilling your potential as a follower of Jesus Christ, keep your distance. If it causes you to feel ashamed as you look in the mirror, stay away. Don’t do anything dumb. Of course, all of us know there is something within our very nature that makes us prone to doing that which is wrong.
Radio pastor and best-selling author Chuck Swindoll tells about a scam that took place in New York City years ago when some con men decided to make some extra cash by feeding on our corrupt nature. They got a pile of cardboard boxes, some newspapers, some stickers that read “Factory Sealed,” a roll of bubble plastic, and a stack of stolen shopping bags from Macy’s. They stuffed each box with bricks and newspapers until it weighed a couple of pounds, then wrapped everything in bubble wrap and affixed the stickers. As the evening rush‑hour traffic backed up at the Holland Tunnel, the con artists started wandering the curb, carrying the bogus boxes inside the Macy’s shopping bags. When they spotted a potential buyer stranded in traffic, they walked up to the car window and started fast‑talking a cash deal.
“Hey, man, I got a Sony Handicam here . . . just got if off a FedEx truck.” He lifts the box out of the bag, saying, “Macy’s sells ’em for $999.” Then, jerking his head around nervously he says, “I’ll take 90 bucks, cash.”
The cars start to edge forward and the other drivers start yelling. The thief delivers his final pitch: “Okay, man, I’ll let you have it for $45. Take it or leave it.”
And the driver takes it, knowing its hot merchandise.
When asked about how it feels to rip people off, selling them empty boxes, one of the men justified his actions by saying, “Hey, man, I’m not beating an honest man. No one buys something hot unless they’ve got larceny in their heart.”
“I must admit,” writes Swindoll, “the guy’s got a point! The fella who grabbed the box and sped off into the night was just as guilty as the thief on the street, and, along with that, his money gave ‘hearty approval’ to the one who ripped him off. Happens all the time. The details change, but it is still depravity on display. Furthermore, no one is immune. In fact, the possibilities of appealing to our old nature are endless.” (3)
We don’t use the word sin very much anymore, and yet our basic nature hasn’t changed since the time of Adam. Suffice it to say, “Don’t do anything stupid.” If something smells wrong, it usually is. “Be very careful, then, how you live,” writes St. Paul, “not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery . . .”
Then he writes, “Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Can you imagine a more wholesome approach to life than the one Paul pictures for us here? I love watching musicians who love what they are doing. I love watching our children when they sing a song of faith here at church. Paul is describing people who are joyfully singing from their hearts. Why? It is because they are filled with a sense of gratitude for all the blessings of God.
Some of you at Christmas time will go to Netflix and pull up the classic heartwarming movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, White Christmas. In that delightful motion picture Bing Crosby introduced another Irving Berlin song besides White Christmas that has touched many people over the years. It goes something like this: “When I am troubled and cannot sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep, and I fall asleep counting my blessings.” (4)
That is still the best formula I know of for a good night’s sleep. It sounds trite, I know. But the happiest people I know are people who are filled with gratitude. It doesn’t mean they are materially blessed, or their health is exceptional or that their children are straight A students and captains of the football team. It simply means that they have learned to count the blessings they do have and have learned to say, “Thank you.”
In 2008, a young Australian mother of three named Hailey Bartholomew was feeling really down. She had an envious life--including beautiful kids and a loving husband. But yet, she felt disappointed with her life. She finally decided to do something about her condition. She consulted with a nun who counseled her to make time every passing day to look around her and find something that makes her grateful for the gift of life. Hailey started a project she christened “365grateful” in earnest, taking pictures of the things which made her feel grateful every day.
It didn’t take long for her outlook on life to be transformed. For example, before she initiated this practice, she had convinced herself that her husband was not very romantic. But this view changed the day she took photographs of him serving dinner. For the first time since they got married, Hailey noticed that her husband served her the largest piece of pie. It was his gentle way of showing his affection for her.
And then there were her kids. The joy and happiness she saw on their faces while they played made her grateful for her job as a mother. Before, she thought of mothering as boring, but now, as she took photos of her children holding out their hands to her as they playfully explored their world, she discovered how much joy and wonder there was in her world. Through the art of gratitude Hailey found herself lifted out of her rut and celebrating life. (5)
G. K. Chesterton once wrote: “The test of all happiness is gratitude.” And he’s right. Now let’s go back to Solomon who experienced every earthly pleasure, yet something was missing from his life. He was a miserable man. Have you guessed what it was that was missing from his life? He had never learned to say, “Thank you.” Even though he had a mountain of what other people would count as blessings, he didn’t have what he really needed most--a grateful heart. I hope you’re not making the same mistake.
St. Paul writes, “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1. Adapted from a sermon by Rev. C. Paul Walker.
2. Jessica Parker, Great African Americans in Film, p. 57. Cited in David Bruce, The Funniest People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes (Lulu Press. Kindle Edition).
3. Charles Swindoll, Day By Day (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000), p. 185.
4. Publisher: Irving Berlin Ltd.
6. Details derived from 365grateful.com and a TED talk by Hailey Bartholomew. Adapted from https://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/.