PPic: Oberon Golf Course - Links Pro Am 2006

PGA Chaplain Bible Studies

Study No 5: 21/04/2009

Ecclesiastes Ch 2:8-11

“Ï amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasures of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well- the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labour. 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.”(Ecclesiastes Chapter 2: verses 8 to 11) NIV.

What Makes a Man Tick?

It’s a long time ago that the book of Ecclesiastes was written, but the two delights of the heart of man have not changed at all. To have money and wealth and admiring women is still as powerful as ever.

So when a man loses his money or he is unable to have a woman who is devoted to him his whole world can begin to crumble.

In the book of Genesis it records that man was originally created, but he was alone with his garden and environment, and something was missing! God created a companion for man and what a great job God did in creating a woman. To have a woman by your side is a gift that God gives in life. A gift to be respected and cared for, not abused.  In my experience there is no greater relationship in life than sharing life with a woman, someone you can share and commit your life to. Even though they understand and feel life differently, they give great balance to the male’s limited perspective.

Likewise for a man to be successful in business and to be prosperous goes to the heart of what being a man is all about. To be unemployed as a man or to lose his assets really hurts. There is recognition in this reading of the pleasures that women and wealth give in life.

Yet our author and King is frustrated that all the money and women in the world has still left him somewhat unsettled and frustrated. Not everything has been addressed.
Our author suggests that to have all these things does not completely satisfy or give answers to all of life’s challenges. You can have a happy marriage or relationship and be successful in your work, yet still be unsettled. The great German Golfer Bernhard Langer was the number one golfer in the world in the 80’s and was happily married with 4 children, yet he said that there was still something missing in his life.

He found an answer in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we discerned in our study last week, the difference Jesus makes is in the length of the relationship and the security this provides. With our money and marriage as good as it can be; they have a used by date attached to them, but not with Jesus. With God life never ends. It’s this relationship we really need.

Prayer - Thank you for the great gift of women in life and for the ability to prosper and gain wealth! Yet help us not to build our lives on this but on your love for us. Amen.
   

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