Posted on 11/13/2003 4:57:28 AM PST by stainlessbanner
Affluence and Despair
"Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit." Ecclesiastes 2:17
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, runs an experiment. Because he is richly endowed with wealth, power, and a keen intellect, he dedicates himself to the task of seeking purpose, meaning, and significance from them. This verse is the result of his experiment.
Affluence and success destroy hope and produce despair. When a person lacks that for which he hopes, he is driven by the motivation to obtain it. But what does a person do once his hope is fulfilled" Does the driving force of our ambition subside when success has been achieved" Do we ever have enough" These questions are clearly answered in our society: Never have we had so much and been so angry and ungrateful.
Most people that I know freely admit that they are materially better off than they ever dreamed they would be when beginning their careers. Yet if they do not hope in the eternal promises of God they will end as Solomon, hating life. By His grace, God has ordained that this life cannot satisfy. When we place our hope in it we enter the path of self-destruction.
You are never in greater danger than when all is well in your life. The satisfied life has no need of Jesus. You must experience the vanity and vexation of spirit Solomon experienced or you will drift from your God, no matter how intimate He seems to you or how secure you are in your relationship with Him.
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