Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
When God created Adam, He created Adam a spirit being, living in a body, and possessing a consciousness. But when Adam sinned, the spirit part of Adam died, and it left a great void in Adam. Since we are all descendants of Adam, we are all born with this same emptiness within us, and ever since Adam sinned we have been trying to fill that void with all kinds of things and experiences. There is no risk too great, or price too high, that people will not do, or pay, to try and satisfy that strong cry that is within their heart to fill that emptiness that is within them.
Have you ever noticed that it is impossible to satisfy the thirst for wealth, things, thrills, and excitement? Everything becomes less exciting the more you have of it, or the more you do it. That is the primary reason that amusement parks are continually changing and improving the games and rides. It is impossible to satisfy the desires of our fleshly nature.
It does not matter how much money, land, or anything else that a person has, he or she is never satisfied. It is amazing to me how quick a new car, pickup truck or plane, gets old or out of date and style. It is impossible to find any lasting satisfaction and fulfillment in anything that is of this world.
Solomon is a classic example of a person who sought to satisfy the thirst for fulfillment through pleasure and the things of this world. He thought that the real secret of life was to gain knowledge and worldly wisdom. So he applied himself to that goal. He wrote books on biology and zoology. People would come to hear him lecture because he was so brilliant. He wrote over a thousand proverbs, and over three hundred songs. But he said, “This, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief and this too is meaningless, for the wise man dies just like the fool” (Ecclesiastes 1:17-18; 2:15-16).
Solomon would throw huge parties, where everyone who came had all they wanted to eat and drink, and some of these parties would last for several days. But that still that did not satisfy that emptiness that was within him.
Then Solomon built great monuments to himself. He built a great palace with beautiful gardens; he built roads, cities and ships, but that did not satisfy the emptiness that was within him.
Solomon then turned to gaining wealth and possessions, and he amassed more wealth than anyone of his time. Solomon said, “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 labor. 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 2:10-11). The getting of wealth and all the other desires he wanted was a disappointment. He still had not filled the emptiness that was within.
And people today think that if only I could have this, or that, then I would be satisfied. And so they work and sacrifice until they have attained their desire. But they soon find out that their newly attained desire has not given them a lasting sense of fulfillment. And so they try something else, trying to fill that void that is within them.
You can own all the gold, all the land and experience all the pleasures and excitement of this world and still have that emptiness within. The worldly systems promise that this, or that, will bring fulfillment. The worldly systems have studied human nature and know how to push our buttons to get us to buy the products, services and pleasures they have for sale. They are always coming up with some new product to entice us.
Now, I am not against owning land, cars, planes, or anything else, but if you think that anything in this world is going to give you any real and lasting satisfaction and fulfillment, you are only fooling yourself. Sometimes all you are doing is adding more trouble and expense.
Solomon wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11). My paraphrase of these two verses is, “The more you get, the more it takes to take care of what you have and, this too, is like chasing the wind.”
At the end of his life Solomon said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
The only thing that can fill the emptiness within man is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which brings about a meaningful relationship with God. Nothing else will ever satisfy that emptiness within mankind.
Paul said, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Allowing the Holy Spirit to rule your life is the only way you can keep from being led into all kinds of problems by these worldly desires. Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36).