Satisfaction and Appetite

Eccles. 6:7-9

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. [1] 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Footnotes[1] 6:7 Hebrew filled

• What do most people work for?
  - In your opinion, are most people generally satisfied with what they have?
  
• What new thing have you seen lately that you think you want to have?
  - In general, how long would you be satisfied by acquiring it?
  
• What do you have that you would like to replace with a new and improved version?
  - Does this need to be replaced or do you just want to replace it? How can you tell?
  
• Is your appetite for things ever really satisfied?
  - How do your eyes cause your heart problems?
  - Even if you wisely decide to not acquire something, do you still "see and desire" it?
  
• Is the problem of dissatisfaction limited to the fool and the rich?
  - How does a person learn to be fully satisfied in Christ instead of striving after wind?

Harold's Musings:
Yet another timeless observation from Solomon. If you want to feel dissatisfied, subscribe to a magazine about something you are interested in. If you are interested in cars, a car enthusiast magazine will produce feelings of desire for a different car. You new camera is perfectly adequate, but a photography magazine will quickly point out its flaws and why you need an even newer camera. We often bring our dissatisfaction on ourselves by looking for ways to stimulate our appetites. It is just foolish, vain, chasing of the wind.

God doesn't always give enjoyment

Ecces. 6:1-2

6:1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.

• What is the evil under the sun that Solomon has seen?
  - Who does Solomon seem to attribute this "evil" to?
  - The Hebrew word means evil, misery, distress, or injury. How do the other translations help you grasp the passage?
  - Why is this misery so prevalent among men?
  - Why would God do this?
  
• What is a possible relationship between the man's soul and God's withholding joy?
  - What does the man's soul desire?
  - How is accepting your lot (Eccles. 5:19) different from having your soul's desires (v 2)?
  - How does this passage flesh out Eccles. 5:10?
  
• How frequently do you not enjoy life because your desires are misplaced?
  - Why would God not empower the full enjoyment of life to someone whose soul desires something other than God?
  - Is this a truth for today? Why or why not?

Harold's Musings:
Eccles. 5:10 - 6:10 describe our world in ways that are rather amazing. We see the same quest for our desires that results in discontent and disappointment. We are a nation of discontented people fueled by a media system that shows us what is wrong and advertises what could be better. No one is saying that God provides enjoyment in our lot in life. We are too often driven to advance ourselves rather than simply do the best job we can. We apparently love to watch reality TV shows where scheming, dishonesty, and selfishness are rewarded. And we wonder why we have so many unhappy, hurt people in the world. God told us thousands of years ago. It is vanity.

Nothing Better

Eccles. 2:22-26

22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. 24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment [1] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him [2] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Footnotes
[1] 2:24 Or and make his soul see good
[2] 2:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart from me

• What does it take to have true enjoyment in life?
  
• After Solomon evaluates labor under the sun and finds it futile and empty, what does he say that a man should do?
  
• Why would Solomon stress mere eating and drinking?
  - How many of us would be content with mere eating and drinking?
  
• Why should a man tell himself that his labor is good?
  - How often have you quested for the recognition of others?
  - How often have you labored so that others would tell you how well you did?
  - Is there anything wrong with receiving recognition?
  - What are the risks of seeking or questing for recognition?
  - How might Gal. 6:3-5 harmonize with v. 24?
• What is God's role in your enjoyment of life?
  - How much do you enjoy life?
  - Is your enjoyment based on the pleasures of life or God's part in your life?
  
• What does Solomon say is a result of being good in God's sight?
  - How does this reflect the promises of the God's covenant with Israel?
  - Should you expect this today? Why or why not?

Harold's Musings:
In this passage, we first find a pair of themes that will be repeated throughout the book: If God gives the ability to enjoy, then enjoy the simple things of life. It is not quite as straightforward here as it will be later, but it is there. Discontentment with our life is a tool that Satan uses to get us to strive after the wind. We buy something we have been wanting in the hope that it will make us happy and content. We get the Sunday ads or read a new online article and then we find the better, newer, greater thing is out. Our discontentment is back. According to Solomon, we should be content to eat, drink, and find enjoyment in our work under the sun. We should be content with the simple things and not fill our lives with empty stuff. God is the one who lets you enjoy life. Is this something we should be praying for each other?

Nothing new

Eccles. 1:9-11

9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, [1]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things [2] yet to be
among those who come after.

Footnotes
[1] 1:11 Or former people
[2] 1:11 Or later people

• How important is newness to you?
  
• What is the most common reason you want to replace something with its newer counterpart?
  
• How often do you want the newest version of whatever interests you?
  
• How does newness influence satisfaction?
  
• How important is novelty to you?
  
• How often do you seek out things you have not seen, tasted, felt or otherwise experienced?
  
• Why might being overly interested in novelty be risky spiritually?
  
• How many of today's cultural fads are truly new?
  
• How many of today's spiritual fads are truly new?
  
• What problems arise from focusing on newness?
  
• How often do people look at what happened to other fads before committing to the new one?
  
• How well do you learn from your past experiences?
  
• How well do you learn from the past experiences of others?
  
• How many new discoveries are more than just uncovering what God put there in the beginning?
  
• How many inventions are more than replicating something God put here in the beginning?
  
• When is man's God-given creativity a problem?
  
• Why does man want to move from copying or understanding God's work to being Creator?
  

Can't get no satisfaction

Eccles. 1:5-8

5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens [1] to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.

Footnotes
[1] 1:5 Or and returns panting

• How many times have you said, "If I could just do/finish [fill in blank]"?
• What are you implying about satisfaction by your statement?
• How many times has the task been truly finished?
• How are the internal demands for time and energy like the sun rising or the wind blowing?
• How are the external demands for time and energy like the sun rising or the wind blowing?
• How many times have you said, "If I could just get/have [fill in blank]"?
• What are you implying about satisfaction by your statement?
• How many times have you been truly satisfied with your want?
• How much are you like the ocean?
• What song have you liked so much you wanted to hear it almost all the time?
• How often do you want to hear it now?
• What recipe have you liked so much that you wanted to eat it at every meal?
• How long did it take before you didn't want it for every meal?
• How often do you feel weary, not tired but weary?
• How is being weary different from being tired?
• What is your most common cause of weariness?
• Why are the things under the sun, the things of this world so appealing?
• How much satisfaction do the things under the sun provide?
• Where are you trying to find satisfaction?