As Christians we are not against commercial prosperity, scientific advance, artistic beauty or cultural excellence. Nor of course are we remotely against people enjoying themselves and helping to make themselves feel good. There are various human pursuits which are physically exhilarating. The maintenance of personal fitness, for example, can greatly enhance the quality of people’s lives.
What we are being taught by the word of God here in Ecclesiastes 2, however, is that all these activities must all be kept in their proper place. They must never be made the measure of a happy and fulfilled life.
Solomon tried to make them the yardstick of his fulfilment, but when they were elevated to that role, he found that they failed him miserably. If a man as wise as Solomon once was could be allured and led astray by the temporary enticements of this world, how much more must we be on our guard, seeking only the true wisdom which is from above, as Solomon did at the beginning of his reign.
Let us never allow the passing pleasures of this world to blind us form pursuing the priority of walking with Christ in all holiness of life. As the apostle John tells us,
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).