1. Pleasure ALWAYS demands more pleasure. Pleasure is FROM God, not a god – when we worship pleasure and the pursuit of it, we end up in a cycle of pursuit that is just exhausting.

 

2. Being good for good’s sake is just as futile.  V12-16– He chased being the good guy, no longer pursuing the wrong things, chasing being good for good’s sake – with what result? Even the good finds the same fate as the fool – remember, this is all “under the sun,” under the banner of a life devoid of God – the pleasure of hedonism is reckless and foolish, but so is the pursuit of being known as a great humanitarian – both have the same fate, both are futile pursuits, with similar endings.

3. In the end, “under the sun” living is ultimately depressing. V17-23 – The result of striving, pursuing, clawing for meaning and pleasure? Anger, frustration, anxiety, depression, despair – It is never enough, and only leads to futility.  We think about what leads a person to have suicidal thoughts – being completely trapped, no way out. In the end, NOTHING under the sun satisfies.

 

Remember last week, we talked about John 1 – Jesus, or LOGOS, the thing that gives ultimate meaning to life was giving to us to open our eyes to what really matters – when we were toiling UNDER the sun, Jesus came from BEYOND the sun to reconcile us back to God – when we couldn’t reconcile ourselves, he took care of it through the cross.

 

Are you pursuing pleasure or Jesus? Pleasure is a momentary god, but joy of Jesus is eternal.