Three themes
In his brilliant book on Ecclesiastes, Charles Swindoll summarises three themes in Solomon’s writings:
‘Before we travel with Solomon through his journal account, allow me to state in three simple comments how directly his observations and experiences, though ancient, tie in with our journey today.
1. The sensual lure of something better tomorrow robs us of the joys offered today.
2. The personal temptation to escape is always stronger than the realisation of its consequences.
3. The final destination, if God is absent from the scene, will not satisfy.
The good life-the one that truly satisfies exists only when we stop wanting a better one. It is the condition of savouring what is rather than longing for what might be. The itch for things, the lust for more—so brilliantly injected by those who peddle them—is a virus draining our souls of happy contentment.
Have you noticed?
A man never earns enough. A woman is never beautiful enough.
Clothes are never fashionable enough. Cars are never nice enough.
Gadgets are never modern enough. Houses are never furnished enough. Food is never fancy enough. Relationships are never romantic enough. Life is never full enough.
Satisfaction comes when we step off the escalator of desire and say, "This is enough. What I have will do. What I make of it is up to me and my vital union with the living Lord." That, in essence, is the message Solomon announces in his journal. Honestly now – do we believe it?