Treasure That Disappoints
Let me tell you about 2 men who reached their ideals, got their treasures, got what they most wanted in life, and yet still felt empty and disappointed:
The first was King Solomon. He was a wise man. He was very clever, made very clever decisions, and got all that his heart could desire:
- Riches! It is said that he would be worth 2.2 TRILLION dollars today. Can you imagine
what you would do with all of that!!!
- Women! The guy had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
- Respect! People would come from all over the place to seek his advice and learn
from him. He was highly regarded – something most people desire in whatever
industry they’re in.
What else do you need in life? And yet, as on old man, Solomon wrote “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Notice: he got his treasure! But there was still something missing. He died a sad man, despite all his treasures.
Illusions of Fulfillment
Secondly, consider Freddie Mercury. Lead singer of one of the most successful bands ever. He had it all:
- Money! All the money that he knew what to do with and more.
- Sex! He didn’t have wives like King Solomon but had a lot of sexual partners.
- Respect! He was highly regarded in his industry – he worked hard and made a great
success of himself.
- Fame! Everybody knows Freddie! I’ve seen some people on YouTube say “if music is
religion, Freddie is God” that’s how highly people value him.
Yet at the height of it all, in the mid-80s, Freddie writes a song called There Must Be More to Life Than This. More to life, when you have everything???
Money, sex, fame, respect and success. These are all good gifts, but they’re terrible gods. They’re all good to aim for in appropriate ways – but they’re deceptive treasures!
Remember Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
True Joy Found
Because Jesus knew that when you value earthly treasures more highly than you should, you can even get them and you’ll still say “meaningless…” “there must be more to life than this…”
Earthly treasures are so fleeting. The pleasure they bring is momentary. Why do we spend so much of our time and energy seeking after such things? We’ve bought into the lie that such things will bring us true joy.
They didn’t for King Solomon and Freddie. They won’t for you or for me either.
Only when our relationship with God is our greatest treasure, will we finding lasting joy.
