Articles
What Really Satisfies
The desire to enjoy the good things of life isn’t wrong in and of itself, for God “gives us
richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). Other passages of Scripture welcome us to take
pleasure in the eating of food (Ecclesiastes 2:24), having good friends (Mark 5:19; Acts 10:24),
and enjoying healthy marriage relationships (Proverbs 5:18). But thinking that we can find
“lasting” pleasure in people and things is ultimately an empty pursuit, as Solomon discovered.
“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any
pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. Then
I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And
indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Eccl. 2:10
-11).
It’s no wonder then that Solomon warned, “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man”
(Pr. 21:17). Solomon knew that all the things of this world are temporary and quickly fade away.
Man has always sought something. We often turn to physical pleasure to fill a void in our
lives. People often confuse pleasure with happiness and these are simply not the same thing.
What people are really looking for in life is satisfied only in a fulfilling and growing
spiritual relationship with our Lord. We can only experience that close relationship “in Christ.”
Without God, our lives become meaningless. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, then we will truly be
satisfied (Hebrews 12:2 NASB)! ~ Brad Tolbert
