Solomon: “I’ve had it all, I’ve seen it all, and it’s not worth it”- Solomon asked God for the right thing, he got it, but it gave him insight into the pain, hurt and futility of life –

So, what do we do with this? What is the truth about God and about ourselves we can pull out of this? Here are a few things I want to highlight for you to think about -

1. Chasing status and wealth will lead to a life of futility. We have the best and the brightest sitting in the room today – and we all have an inbred need to matter – unfortunately, the world rewards working longer hours, accumulating more stuff, but at what cost? Have a good friend who has been very successful by world’s standards as business owner– recently confessed to me that he’s exhausted and wakes us with high anxiety every Monday morning because he disengaged from work over weekend – high stress to maintain his “kingdom” in the name of providing for wife and kids – no one ever says on death bed, “I wish I had spent less time with my family. I wish I had invested less in relationships. I wish I had worked longer hours.” The pursuit of more stuff is an addiction that leaves you craving more – it will literally never satisfy.
2. The world is longing for peace. Solomon said it well – what is crooked cannot be made straight – the world is in a downward spiral – and it is crying out for peace, crying out for hope, crying out for love – We live in the most anxiety-ridden culture on the planet – and the enemy has us believing that money, sex and power will ultimately fill the emptiness and bring peace – but the peace doesn’t come b/c there will never be enough money, sex and power to bring peace. It’s not the antidote – in fact, it only exacerbates the problem.
3. Jesus is the antidote for futility. The OT was longing for a savior – Israel put hope in a king – They ALWAYS fell short – even David, greatest king, super flawed – Solomon for all of his vast wisdom was missing key piece – he was longing for something more, something to save him from futility - – Why is this book for us? Because it tells our story – we are STILL longing for meaning, and looking in all wrong places – enter JESUS – while Solomon had ear of kings, JESUS is KING of kings – He is the ONLY one that makes life make sense –John 1:1-5 – just as in Ecclesiastes, Jesus is introduced in subtle way– Jesus is WORD, or LOGOS, Greek word for the ultimate meaning in life – in him is both LIFE (MEANING) and LIGHT (UNDERSTANDING) – Whatever you are looking for, Jesus brings meaning and understanding to it – He makes life make sense – brings an end to anxiety Matthew 11:28-30.