Solomon lived life in a way that no one has ever done. He looked at life from every angle, viewed it from every standpoint, scrutinized it completely. He sought diligently for ways to answer the questions of life. He came to see the futility of life without a relationship to God. He concluded that man, when he is separated from God, fails miserably. He attains little that has any value, becomes more and more restless, and deteriorates into little more than an animal.

Solomon, first of all, possessed great wisdom. Even when he was involved in the strangest of pursuits, he said, “my wisdom remained with me.” In other words, he was able to stand off and see himself while he was immersed in some experiment in order to see what life has to offer. His wisdom was always might nigh as he tried everything—pleasure, wine, agriculture, architecture, botany, and a host of other things—and he kept coming to the same conclusion: “Vanity. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity and striving after the wind.” In frustration, he concluded that, apart of a few things, life has little to offer.

His conclusion is one of the wisest sayings ever to fall from the lips of any man. “Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good or bad.”

There is great joy in doing what Solomon has concluded. To fear God is to bring oneself into a right relationship with Him, to recognize Him for Who and What He is, to glorify Him as Creator and Sustainer, as Savior and Sovereign. To keep His commandments is to accord to Him the service and obedience due one of His stature and holiness. It’s what man is actually all about. It’s why he was created. He alone, of all God’s creatures, is fitted for such service. He alone glorifies God of his own free will and because he has deliberately determined to do so. ‘Tis a noble privilege indeed!

We please God when we are dedicated to Him (Rom. 12:1-2). God is our first order of business. Men may be carried away with various projects, consumed with various plans, but at the end of matters when they come to face the ultimate enemy, death, it is God they seek. It pleases God when we deliberately determine to present ourselves before Him as living sacrifices, as those who are totally committed to pleasing Him and honoring His word. To do otherwise is to waste our time, squander our energies, demean our purpose for living.

It pleases God when we care for our brethren (Rom. 15:1-3). The action of being devoted to others makes us like the One we adore, “for even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” It is lamentable indeed how brethren treat one another sometimes. They slander one another, attack one another’s motives, seek to destroy one another’s influence—and all in the name of religion. How can it be? “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” We cannot do despite to our spiritual kin and still glorify our Father in heaven; it’s not possible.

It pleases God when we have faith in His provisions (1 Cor. 10:12-13). We cannot do it ourselves, folks. We can’t overcome our enemy alone. He knows that. And He has provided. Why do we not avail ourselves of His provisions? And why do we not seek them actively so that we can use them to confront our problems and solve our difficulties? It’s sad how few people actually look for His ways when there is trouble. “Therefore, let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” We need to be careful about confidently affirming that “I can handle it myself.” But neither must we despair, for He is there. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the say of escape, that yo may be able to bear it.” How are we able to bear it? Because He is faithful to provide. And please be advised: there is no other way. God is faithful. You can count on Him. Do you believe it?

It pleases God when we walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8). Solomon’s quest for the quality life is found not in dark places and shadowy corners, but in the light of the gospel. We are to “walk as children of light.” Verse 11 of this same context says, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” There is no true and lasting happiness for those who pursue what darkness has to offer, no real joy in running after the mundane. Only when we dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of light, only when we look with a bright hope to the joys of that Eternal Light, “the light that lighteth all men” (Jn. 1:9), can we find true joy and genuine peace. All else is futile, doomed to failure.

How about your life? Where are you headed. What is your true purpose? Is it to please yourself or to please Him? It’s your choice you know, but know this—if you make the wrong choice, it is your eternal destiny you have frittered away!

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