Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 – Have an insatiable appetite for God instead

In the first six verses of Ecclesiastes 6, the preacher painted two dissatisfactory scenarios. In verses 1-2 he referred to a man who was rich and famous and had everything at his disposal yet could not find joy in all that he had. Then in verses 3-6 he argued that since with all that he had he could not enjoy life, then it was better to be dead. In verses 7-9 he wondered if one could truly be satisfied with life. He said, “All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 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? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

Solomon’s argument is this: since we have trouble enjoying life, and satisfaction seems so elusive regardless of the length of one’s life, then we should lower our expectation in life. But the issue with this proposition is that man is always craving for more. Verse 7 tells us that our appetite can never be satisfied once and for all. Even if we eat our food today, we will still crave for it tomorrow and the next day and so on. We need the food to supply the energy for strength to work each day. Whether rich or poor, wise or foolish, we all have longings that are unfulfilled. But if we can have a choice, to be rich and wise is to be preferred. Even then, rich or wise, everyone has unmet desires.

No matter what one has and how wise he is, everyone has disappointments. So, neither wisdom nor poverty makes a difference when it comes to disappointment. Concerning our desires in life, verse 9 tells us that rich or poor, the truth is that everyone will be reaching for more, but unable to attain a level where one is satisfied once and for all.   The truth and fact of the matter is this: only God can fully satisfy. It is in connecting with God fully in prayer, worship and divine service that our inner longings are met.  Therefore, we must go for the deeper and higher place in Christ. That is where our heart can be made rich and fully satisfied. We must pray that God by His Spirit will take us there and have our whole being totally captured by His love. Let us set our affection and mind on Christ and the things above. It is the only wise thing to do!