By Ife J. Ibitayo
If you had all the money, success, and wisdom in the world, would you be happy? This is the questions posed by the story of Solomon, the son of the giant-slaying King David.
Money
Solomon was filthy rich, and that’s an understatement. “Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold…All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day” (1 Kings 10:14,21 NLT)!
Solomon is your friend who only keeps Benjamins in his wallet. If you wanted McDonald’s, he’d ask you if you wanted the whole menu or the whole franchise! As we consider that kind of ridiculous wealth, visions of yachts, supercars, and mansions can wash over us, and we might be convinced that this kind of life must be a happy one.
But Solomon certainly didn’t think so. He said, “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NLT)! Something about wealth makes it elusive. When it comes into our lap, we’ll do everything we can to cling tight to it. Yet it’ll still find a way to slip back out of our grasp. We strive after it to our detriment, hold on to it to our hurt, and agonize over its loss. Because of these truths, riches can make happiness harder to find, not easier.
Success
Now what about success? We all have innate desire to be someone, to matter. And the fulfillment of that longing is what NBA superstars and virtuoso pianists slave night and day to lay hold of. King Solomon can certainly be considered successful. He expanded his father’s empire, finished the LORD’s temple, and achieved international recognition. “King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him” (1 Kings 10:23-24 NLT). Yet this too did not satisfy Solomon.
He said, “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” (Ecclesiastes 1:11 NIV). He realized deep down that no matter how famous anyone becomes now, they will be forgotten later. Britney Spears, Donald Trump, and Michael Jordan will all be buried by the sands of time. All success is temporary and short-lived.
Wisdom
Lastly, what about wisdom? If earthly belongings or social standing don’t satisfy, what about mental acuity? Solomon definitely had this in spades. To call him a know-it-all would be a fair description because he literally knew everything. From physical nature (1 Kings 4:33) to spiritual truth (Proverbs), King Solomon had the answer to every question.
Yet he said about wisdom “I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind! For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache” (Ecclesiastes 1:17b-18 NET).
For the most knowledgeable people are those who realize how little they truly know, and they are the ones that wrestle with the irreconcilable incongruities of this world. Who’s right, Einstein or Newton? What is the solution to the mind-body problem? How do you reconcile God’s complete sovereignty with man’s free will? No wonder intelligent people are the most depressed among us. Finite minds faced with infinitely complex issues are guaranteed frustration.
Happiness?
With money, success, and wisdom, the problem is the same. We can only obtain finite amounts of them to fill an infinite void within ourselves. Only an infinite source can fill an infinite sink, and there’s only one that exists. That is why Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!”
(Psalm 34:8 CSB)