Christian Devotional – March 8, 2025

Wisdom Squandered, Day 3

I want it all. Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.

We live in such a materialistic and greedy society. It truly is amazing how much people want and, generally, even if they have a lot, they want more. We want more power. We want more money. We want more status. We want more of anything. Solomon went through the same thing.

Solomon had the ability and the power to get more, so he did. These 11 verses give a quick overview of the fact that Solomon pretty much did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, as long as it made him happy. But Solomon learned an important truth, that being happy does not equate with fulfilling purpose. Solomon still felt empty through all of the things that he was trying to gather and provide for himself.

Solomon learned that the momentary enjoyment was really all that was to be had for these. There was no lingering sense of purpose, no overarching fulfillment that came from any of the things he tried. He was very smart, and yet he felt lost when he looked back at his life.

Today, we see people searching for that sense of fulfillment and purpose and trying absolutely everything to get there. But like Solomon, they also have confused happiness with purpose. They think that if they would be happy, then of course, they would be fulfilling their purpose. That’s just not how it works. We need to be able to move past that transitory feeling of happiness and realize that fulfilling God’s purpose in our life provides so much more for us then simply doing whatever we want whenever we want. We become happy when we are fulfilling God’s purpose, not the other way around.

Learn from Solomon’s mistake and seek after God’s purpose instead of our personal happiness.

For the Video Devotional, check that out here: https://youtu.be/prEYIJgh-2I