Solomon’s experiment
In his search for lasting contentment and joy, Solomon threw himself into a ‘life experiment’. He had the means and the opportunity to actually try and test what he thought might be sources of true life satisfaction, and in his journal, he repairs the results. One writer says that he was like “The Wanderer” in the song based on Ecclesiastes that U2 wrote, featuring Johnny Cash on lead vocals: “I went out there / In search of experience / To taste and to touch and to feel as much / As a man can before he repents.1.
First, he found that alcohol was not the answer. (Ecclesiastes 2:3)
Drinking alcohol is a hotly disputed issue in some circles. Generally, in the British church, drinking in moderation is a non-issue. While there are some who try to argue that total abstinence is a biblical stance, none of the arguments used have ever convinced me – including the notion that Jesus didn’t really turn water into wine (it was grape juice!) or the suggestion that, when Paul encouraged the use of wine ‘for the stomach’s sake’, (1 Timothy 5:23), he meant that we should rub it on the outside!
Certainly some of us shouldn’t drink, because we have personalities that tend to addiction. But this is a matter of conscience and choice rather than one that has anything to do with prohibition. But perhaps a word of warning is pertinent. We should take care if we sip.
Solomon didn’t go on a binge. Scholars agree that his experiment with alcohol was far more sophisticated. He savoured different vintages, enjoyed the bouquets and experienced the variety of textures and tastes of fine wine. ‘His mind guided him wisely’ even as he did this. This was no drunken spree. But despite having a wine room stacked with the best money could buy, Solomon found no lasting sustenance in the bottle.
Let’s enjoy the freedom to take a drink, if that’s our choice. But, to state the obvious, never drink and drive and know that drunkenness is condemned because it will lead us into all kinds of perils. And though a glass of wine may be enjoyable, it should never be used to bury our pain. There’s no deep solution waiting for us at the bottom of the bottle.
Then Solomon threw himself into various projects in his search for satisfaction (Ecclesiastes 2:4-7).
He built one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Houses need gardens, so he spared no expense in landscaping and horticulture. This was not just work, but creative work. Surely being able to see something of lasting beauty would bring him the satisfaction he so craved. He got busy.
If some people drown their sorrows with a bottle, then others of us avoid the deeper issues of life simply by the speed at which we dash through it. And now, there’s no shortage of labour-saving devices that can help us in our hurry. My new mobile phone shows me the nearest Mexican restaurant at the touch of a button (and will direct me to it) and allows me to play pinball or land a simulated jet if I get bored for a second or two. The new expenses tracker I downloaded yesterday helps me to track the costs of each of the projects that I’m currently involved with.
But I was sobered by the words of the cartoonist Ralph Barton, who lamented, ‘I am fed up with devices to fill up twenty fours hours a day.’2.
Filling our lives with frantic activity is no life at all. If we can’t face the possibility of stillness or silence, we should ask what we’re trying to avoid. Let’s take some time to be still and do nothing but rest, think and pray today, lest we be busy – but hollow with it.
Next on Solomon’s list was sex. (Ecclesiastes 2:8-11)
It used to be that pornography was available only to those who made the trip to the seedy bookshop, often located in a run down part of the town. Now with a few taps on the computer keyboard, an awful electronic cargo can be downloaded in the privacy of our own homes. It’s nothing new. Even back in prohibitionist 1950’s America, a Harvard professor of sociology commented, ‘Our civilisation has become so preoccupied with sex that it now oozes from all pores of American life.’3. I wonder what he’d make of things today…
Solomon had no less than a thousand women on call! If ultimate fulfilment is possible through erotic experimentation (and so many act like it is, seeing orgasm as the closest thing to a transcendental experience), then this chap would have found it. But instead, his hormones led to his downfall and judgment – rather like his father (2 Samuel 11:1-26).
1. U2, “The Wanderer,” as sung with Johnny Cash on Zooropa (Island Records, 1993)
2. Quoted by Denis Alexander in Beyond Science , Lion, 1972, p. 123
3. Pitirim Sorokin, The American Sex Revolution, (Boston: Porter Sargent, 1956) p. 17-19