“And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure” – King Solomon“Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt,” was the sound of my phone alarm, and it went off at 3:00 a.m., which meant it was time to get up and deliver the donuts. (Photo by Alexandre St-Louis on Unsplash)
This was my morning routine for a few days during the week. My delivery route was entirely convenience stores. Place after place I saw people drive in hungry; their trucks and cars for fuel and their bodies for donuts, coffee or some tasty breakfast pizza.
All of us were born with a natural hunger. We see it in tiny babies, when they cry and want fed. It is instinctive. But we also have an innate appetite that extends beyond food. We hunger for purpose, good health, financial independence, success, knowledge, pleasure, happiness, love and much more.
The great and wise King Solomon once wrote about his own appetites, “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil…” (Ecclesiastes 2:10)
When all of us were created by God He put something within us which no other part of His creation has. It is written, “…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7) What was in this “breath of life”? A soul, which is the part of us we cannot see. It is what makes us a living, spiritual and an emotional being, which is where our basic human appetites are found.
And these appetites are corrupted by the curse of sin, which is clear and evident in the life of every person. How so? Selfishness. The instinctive desire of every man and woman is to pursue self-centered ambitions. They are blinded to its emptiness, foolishness and its pathway toward self-destruction.
One young woman’s longing for love leads her to move in with her boyfriend where she becomes pregnant, and is pressured into getting an abortion. A man’s hunger for success leads him to throw himself into building his career, causing his wife and children to leave him. A poor couple’s desire to get out of poverty leads them to gambling, where they loose nearly half their life savings.
Solomon adds to his earlier words, “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (Eccl. 2:11) What is the future like for the soul that lives to simply please themselves? Solomon summed it up stating, “…God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Eccl. 11:14)
How can someone change? How can they turn away from living for their own self-ambitions and its resulting consequences? Solomon gave us the answer “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Eccl. 11:13) And what is one of those commands? Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…” (John 11:25)
When a person fully commitments themselves to Christ by faith, a change takes place. They receive a new nature and their soul comes alive. And as part of this, there is a shift in their appetites. Now they desire to do all for the glory and honor of God. They desire to be a genuine help to others. They desire to do nothing to satisfy their own longings, but only that of God and others. And what is the fruit of that kind of life? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-control. Today, turn from living for self, and choose to live fully for Christ.
A prayer for you - Lord God, I pray that every person would find fulfillment for all they desire in you. May they turn from seeking things outside of you, and discover how you are sufficient for all their longings, wants and needs. In you is found everything. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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