Looking For God In All The Wrong Places

If you ever think the Bible is from ancient days and really doesn’t apply to modern society, read Ecclesiastes. Solomon was a king. He had thousands of women at his beck and call. He had gold and rubies, silver and rubies. There wasn’t a cubic zirconium to be found in his house. He had vineyards and horses, a different house for every day of the week, and a garage full of gleaming chariots. It’s like watching MTV, or Hollywood insider or just watching your neighbor..

So how does Solomon start his magnum opus?

“‘Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,” he wrote.

Talk about a bad mental outlook. With all that he had, the man just wanted to stay in bed. He simply didn’t want to face the rat race, wondering if life was worth the battle. He didn’t want to look the world in the eye is because he didn’t think anything he did mattered.

“Vanity of Vanities“, he says in the olde English.

He heard some of the same voices that speak to all of us. He looked for purpose in the world systems, in learning and in accomplishment. He looked for meaning in his vast empire. He looked for purpose in relationships and pleasure. What he was really looking for was a replacement for God.

It was Pascal who said this, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, make known through Jesus.”

Oh how we spend our existence, trying to fill the ache, the empty void. But nothing fits quite right.
Like Solomon, we’re looking for God in all the wrong places. The radio shrill screams says, “We can’t no satisfaction.”

I’m wondering, if I’m chasing the wind? Am I pursuing all the wrong things, and finding frustruation? What about you. What do you chase after, only to find it terribly unsatisfying in the end? I would love to hear your thoughts here.

“I did not restrain myself from getting whatever I wanted; I did not deny myself anything that would bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy; this was my reward for all my effort. Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind!”

(First of Five posts. Tune in for the four more posts over the next few weeks about the ways we are trying to replace God)