God Himself gives us real enjoyment

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honour, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.” (NKJV) Why in some cases does God give a person wealth and possession, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, according to v.2…”Yet God does not give power to eat of it…”

Why would God allow this? Is this a contradiction of his ideas? Let me suggest that Solomon here continues to focus on those who were powerful, rich and famous members of society. He draws our attention to an issue which he did not mention before: That is—the plight of those who have practically everything life can offer, yet they were prevented from enjoying it.

This seems difficult to understand. Why? Is God just playing games with His chosen people? Is He the God who watches out for people who are enjoying themselves for short moments and later on He moves in to deny them of pleasures? Is this a cat- and mouse game with God?

Some people who are not believers may not understand this, to some extent. But the true believers, hopefully are aware of the eternal goodness and purposes. Rom. 8:28 comes to mind, “and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

We believe in the sovereign God. When God denies enjoyment to you, it is because He wants your mind to refocus into a deeper relationship with Him. The things themselves do not give real pleasure. God Himself gives us real enjoyment. For example, beautiful food is laid on the table, but if you don’t have the appetite, it won’t taste delicious. Appetite is a gift from God.

To some people, this thought may sound manipulative. No! Because divine love never manipulates. God is love, and that is His nature. God is good and that is who He is. That will never change, whether you are good or bad. Some people would say, “God is good to me today.” How about yesterday, was He that bad? “Not too bad” is the reply.

May be your idea of the goodness of God is according to your mood during the day? Are you a moody person? Some of God’s actions may seem to appear strange to us, because we cannot see the whole picture. God can see the bigger picture.

This is the main emphasis Solomon is trying to convey to us: “if people were able to find contentment in money, then they would become spiritually stagnant, short-sighted spiritually and as a result, no progress spiritually. They will not look beyond the sun, because money is just everything for them ‘under the sun’. In other words money has become their idol.

Those who make money their god will never find contentment. Any god that takes the place of the one true God in your heart produces chaos and anarchy in your soul. Try it for a few months if you like, and you will see that there is no contentment apart from God. And when you try it, I hope you will not stop breathing, because then it may be too late. Why not open your heart Christ today? Salvation is a gift of God’s grace. It’s FREE! But not cheap.