“Chasing Pleasure”

Ecclesiastes 2

Series: “The Chase”

Pastor Robbie Rutherford

New Day Christian Church, North Port, FL

July 6, 2025

INTRO

Today we are continuing in our series, “The Chase”, through the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes.

We will be in Ecclesiastes 2, where King Solomon conducts an experiment to see if the pleasures of the world can provide lasting meaning and purpose for life.

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SCRIPTURE

I. The Pursuit of pleasures

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

He ’s reflecting on his pursuits, listing the pleasures he indulged in, and starts by saying he chased a party lifestyle. He tried living for a good time in an extravagant way.

You probably know people that live for the next good time. Solomon said I tried that … it was fun for a moment, but the parties always end, the people always went home, and the empty feeling crept back.

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The party life was meaningless. So, he turns his attention to the pleasure of achievement.

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

He poured himself into work and built the temple, he built a palace for himself, entire cities, he planted gardens and parks.

Each of his projects probably brought satisfaction, but ultimately, the feeling of accomplishment faded.

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Solomon chased a good time, he chased accomplishment, neither of these pleasures satisfied him, so he chased wealth.

7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart.

He had everything our worldly culture glorifies: financial freedom, power, sex and he did whatever he wanted when he wanted.

He summarizes his pursuit of pleasure, and he says 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.

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II. Chasing Pleasure is Meaningless

11 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.

Solomon calls the pleasures the world provides; everything under the sun, meaningless.

He calls it chasing after the wind.

Pleasure is like that. It feels good but as soon as you think you have a grip on it, it fades.

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Solomon goes on explaining the worst part… whether you are wise or a fool, everyone under the sun dies, and all pleasures we chase are useless then.

16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!

What’s the good of building a life centered around pleasure if it doesn’t satisfy your soul!

It’s all meaningless, chasing after the wind.

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17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind….20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun… 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

The cycle of chasing pleasure grieved him.

Chasing pleasure is a never-ending cycle. If you gain the pleasure you chase, you soon become bored, if you don’t gain it, you are filled with disappointment!

Pleasure is a part of life; we can’t ignore it so how do we handle this gnawing in us? How do we break the cycle?

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III. Chase God Not Pleasure

24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

After a long rant about everything being meaningless, Solomon offers some clarity. He shares that it is possible to live a meaningful life, but we have to change how we see pleasure.

Lasting pleasure can be found in the joys of life when we recognize that these pleasures come from God and live to please him.

So how do we change our perspective

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APPLICATION

A) See the world’s pleasures as a gift from God… not a substitute for God.

Solomon tried every form of pleasure but still called it meaningless. This isn’t because pleasure is bad, it’s because pleasure on its own can’t give what your soul craves.

James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…”

Pleasure was never meant to be your god, it was meant to point you to God, but when we put pleasure in the place God belongs, we end up empty, addicted, and bitter.

So, praise God for the great gifts he has given you. Pursue him and his ways and you will find joy and meaning.

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B) Work with an eternal perspective, not for a temporary payoff

Solomon achieved it all... The highest position in Israel, built palaces and had wealth beyond what we can imagine, but he still found it meaningless.

Because he was only focused on this life. He was working under the sun. He worked without an eternal perspective.

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Solomon worked for a legacy he couldn’t take with him. Don’t make that mistake

Work with an eternal perspective because it’s not about the pleasure found in success it’s about remaining faithful to the one who gives us success.

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C) Find contentment in Christ, not your circumstances

Solomon was the wisest man of his day, had all the power but as he pondered all he had done, he remained restless. He hated life, because all the outside pleasures couldn’t fix the emptiness inside.

The pleasures of the world are like the wind, they are always changing. But there is a source of contentment that never changes.

The apostle Paul from a prison cell said Philippians 4:12b-13 “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Jesus, the one greater than Solomon, said:

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Stop letting circumstances determine your contentment. Look to Jesus and you’ll find a contentment that doesn’t fade and can’t be taken away.

Chasing pleasure might seem harmless today, but there will be a day when you look back and realize it was all meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

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CONCLUSION

You can have every pleasure of the world, but if Christ isn’t at the center of it, it’s just wind.

Make today the day you stop chasing the pleasures and empty promises of the world, and surrender to the one that gives purpose, peace and joy.

Because when everything else is taken away, you’ll realize … Jesus is enough.

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