King Solomon didn’t restrain himself from satisfying himself with bodily pleasure. The book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament says how he kept chasing after satisfying his lustful pleasure, along with details of the pleasures that he enjoyed. The scripture, ‘I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:10).’ means that he enjoyed whatever pleased his heart even though they were sins that brought curse unto his soul. He thought that making efforts to reach out bodily pleasure gave the supreme delight and the pleasure that he enjoyed in the end truly rewarded his effort. However, in the next verse, King Solomon confessed, 'Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun(Ecclesiastes 2:11).' The conclusion was that all the pleasure that he enjoyed and efforts he made during his lifetime were meaningless as if he tried to catch the wind with hands. Likewise, the pleasures that the world provides are pointless and useless under the sun. You should know that pleasure causes you to squander your money and lifetime. It is foolish that you waste your time of the flesh given by God. If you realize that all your wasted life seeking pleasures never gives you true benefit, you will get regretful even gnashing your teeth, since all the days lived for empty happiness had led you to destruction. You can’t restore the wasted money and precious time that you wasted with seeking worldly pleasure even by weeping or regretting. Likewise, chasing after pleasures is a dangerous choice that will make yourself become miserable. You can find out the true happiness only by loving God. The bodily pleasure puts your lifetime to waste but the days that you love God and prepare for your time of soul will build the spiritual wealth for your soul. May you live for the time of your soul and produce the eternal wealth that you will truly enjoy.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #853
