AP

By James Jeffery

What would you do if you had the wealth and power of a king?

King Charles has a net worth of around $1 billion AUD and lives in Buckingham Palace. However, his wealth is shadowed by King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, who has a net worth somewhere between $50-100 billion AUD.

Solomon’s Life of Hedonism

In the Bible, we encounter someone even more wealthy: King Solomon. At the height of his reign, Solomon owned 25 tonnes of gold, parks, pools, gardens, and had multiple residences. Solomon had access to all the food and wine a human could ever desire.

On top of this, Solomon had 700 wives, 300 concubines, and hundreds of male and female slaves to meet his every need. He owned singers and entertainers, and possessed every beast and animal imaginable. Modern estimates suggest his wealth was upwards of $3 trillion AUD — an absurd amount of money.

Imagine for a moment that you were in Solomon’s position. Do you believe that this money and power would satisfy your deepest longings? Solomon believed that it would, and yet it did the exact opposite.

Earthly Pleasures and Heavenly Treasures

Why don’t the pleasures of this world satisfy our hearts? It’s because pleasure is momentary. Like vapour, it’s here for a moment, and then it disappears. We experience the excitement for a period, and then the thrill wears off. Ultimately pleasure is fleeting. This is not to say that pleasure is all wrong.

The pleasures of this life in and of themselves are gifts from God. God invented pleasure and is no stranger to joy. In fact, God created all things in this world for us to enjoy (1 Timothy 4:4).

However, the problem with us is that we try and find ultimate satisfaction and pleasure in these created things. Like Solomon, we think that wealth and power will fulfil the deepest cravings and longings of our heart. We are always left disappointed and looking for more.

God designed pleasure this way to point us to a greater pleasure: knowing and enjoying Jesus Christ.

C.S. Lewis — the author of the Chronicles of Narnia — once wrote:

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Mere Christianity

Unlike worldly pleasures, the delight of knowing Jesus Christ never ends.

Final Thoughts

God instilled in humans both the ability to experience pleasure, and the longing for eternal joy. In Jesus Christ, we find these things fulfilled.

In Jesus, we find forgiveness, and the solution to all the longings of our heart. Only by knowing Him can we properly appreciate all God’s good gifts in their proper place.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for meeting our deepest needs in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Forgive us for chasing after the pleasures of this world and reveal to us the greater pleasure of knowing and enjoying You.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen.