Pleasure & Wealth (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11;5:8-20)

River Valley Christian Church

“If you could write a letter to your 18-year-old self, what would you say?” Most 18-year-olds have heads full of hopes and dreams. They look forward to the future and everything it holds for them. Most can envision where they want to be and how they’re going to get there. The promises and the possibilities seem endless. At some point, however, the future becomes the present, and the possibilities start to dry up. Life has a funny way of subverting our expectations and changing our plans. Our own foolish mistakes can sabotage the future we had in mind for ourselves. For most of us, the future we envisioned at 18 isn’t the reality we currently live in. “If you could write a letter to your 18-year-old self, what would you say?” In a sense, the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes seeks an answer to that question. Filled with the wisdom and perspective that can only come with age, this often overlooked book reminds us of the things that are truly important in this life. In so doing, Ecclesiastes confronts the mistakes we’ve all made in the past. More importantly, it challenges us to change the way we’re living today in order to change our future. This life only finds its meaning in light of eternity. We only find our meaning in the God who made us. We may not be able to change our past, but the future is still out there. Ecclesiastes 12:6: “Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken…” Selected Quotes: "Chasing happiness doesn't end in happiness." "Wisdom looks past the gifts to focus on the Giver. Instead of chasing what we don’t have, wisdom motivates us to find contentment in what we have already been given." "We find freedom when we stop chasing after Eden and instead focus on chasing the God who gives us Eden."