The Cure for the Common Crisis

Ecclesiastes chapter 4. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verses 1 to 8. It's all about the cure for the common crisis. We think of a crisis it's defined as a time of intense difficulty, a time of trouble, a time of danger. And throughout our lives we come across all kinds of crises. There is a humanitarian crisis, there is health crisis, there are political crises, there are family crises, there is even what some would call climate crises. There's also war crises. All those are crises that happen all throughout our lives but Solomon addresses personal crises.

Ones that we deal with throughout our lives. Ones that we come in contact with on a regular basis. And so unfortunately Solomon doesn't necessarily offer the solutions for us. And so as we read through the text you're going to see Solomon's perception or Solomon's observation and then we will give you the the scriptural solution to the crises that he points out that he is so keenly observed from his palace or from his life. Now this is the preacher speaking and he is of course written this journal about his life.

And this is how he perceives life under the sun. How he sees people handling their own personal crises. He chooses three of them. He gives them to us and in doing so you can't help but think that there are crises that he himself at one time faced. But yet he offers no solution because he views things from under the sun and not above the sun. And yet the Bible will give us a solution because the Bible always speaks to how you handle a crisis. So we're going to read the first eight verses for you.

Remember now these crises are what he views as of from 3,000 years ago. And they haven't changed. They're the same today. So I'll read through the text with you and point them out for you. Verse number one.

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which are being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them. And on the side of the oppressors, their oppressors, was power. But they had no one to comfort them either. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed. Who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is a result of rivalry or jealousy between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity in striving after the wind. The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor in striving after the wind. Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. There was a certain man without a dependent having neither a son nor brother. Yet there was no end to his labor. Indeed his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked and for whom am I laboring in depriving myself of pleasure.

This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. Now you read that you think well I don't see any crises there in those eight verses. Oh but they're there. Notice he says in verse 1, I looked.

Verse 4, I have seen. Verse 7, that I looked. This is his observation. And whenever you interpret scripture observation is the is the key aspect to interpretation. Unless you're able to observe the text and and ask certain questions it makes interpretation that much harder. So that the preacher sees something. He observes something. He perceives something. He perceives basically three things. And notice that there are many oppressors and many who are oppressed.

But then there's only two who rival one another or envious of one another. And then there's only one who is alone. And so you could look at the text by saying there are many oppressors but those oppressors come down to a rivalry between one another and the end product is isolation.

They're alone. That's one way to look at the text. But to understand that there is man's oppression, there is man's ambition, and then thirdly there is man's isolation.

Man's ambition or excuse me man's oppression leads to no comfort. Man's ambition leads to no contentment. And man's isolation leads to no companionship. And those three arenas become the crises that man faces on a regular basis. And the question comes what is the solution to all that? How do you handle the fact that man lacks the comfort, that he lacks the contentment, that he lacks companionship? What's the answer to all that? Well the scripture tells us. But let's look at man's oppression and his lack of comfort.

Notice what it says. It says, I looked at all the acts of oppression which were being done on the Son. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed. Now those who are oppressed are cruelly treated, unjustly treated. They are the ones who are overwhelmed and overburdened by their oppressors. And notice that those who are oppressed have lives filled with tears.

And he says, and they found no comfort. But notice he says, and on the side of the oppressors was power, influence, prestige, authority.

Because that's what oppressors have. But notice what he says. They also had no one to comfort them. Isn't that interesting? That those who are being oppressed have no one to comfort them. And those who are doing the oppressing, the oppressors, they also have no comfort. Well how can that be? Aren't they doing what they want to do? Aren't they doing what they'd like to do as an oppressor? Exercising their authority, exercising their power, exercising their dominion in oppressing others. But Solomon observes this.

Now remember Solomon is a classic, a classic illustration of someone who who's been there, who's seen it, he knows it all. He's not just talking off the cuff. He's someone who has experienced what he sees. He's not looking from a distance. He's looking up close as the king of Israel. And he sees these things happening all the time. And maybe he is one of the oppressors as king of Israel. Whenever you have a place of power, whether you're a doctor and you wear the white coat, who argues with the doctor with his assessment of your disease?

He's the one who writes the prescription. No one else does because he's the one who wears the white coat. That doesn't mean that doctors are oppressors, but they have a place of authority. Or like lawyers, right? They can speak legalese and they can read legalese. We can't. They can talk to the judge. You can't. They can talk to the jury. You can't. They're in places of authority and power. But think about it in terms of parents. They also are in places of power. And they can be oppressors of their children or even husbands who rule their their homes with an iron fist.

They can be the oppressor. And his children, his wife, become those who are oppressed. And they're filled with tears and there's no one to comfort them. And yet the oppressor, he too, has no one to comfort him. Why? Because one of the the main crises that we face is that there is no rest, there is no comfort, there is no peace, there is no serenity for anybody under the sun. You must have a relationship with the living God. Turn with me in your Bible to the book of Lamentations.

Lamentations chapter 1. In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Lamentations, the book of Jeremiah, are one of the same. Because Jeremiah is the lamenting prophet, right? He's the weeping prophet. And he is weeping over the condition of of the nation and what has happened to them. Listen to what he says in verse number 1. How lonely sits the city that was full of people. She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations. She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer.

She weeps bitterly in the night and her tears are on her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her. Israel was the one being oppressed. Israel lives in a state of oppression. They were oppressed when they were under Egyptian rule for over 400 years. They would be oppressed by the Babylonians. The northern kingdom was oppressed by the Assyrians. When Jesus came, they were being oppressed by Rome. Even today, Israel fights from being under acts of oppression against her. Cruel treatment. Unjust treatment.

And Jeremiah, who is lamenting Israel's condition, is saying that there's no one to comfort her. And then you turn over to verse number 9. It says, her uncleanness was in her skirts. She did not consider her future, her destiny, her future king. Therefore, she has fallen astonishedly. She has no comforter. Verse 16, for these things I weep, my eyes run down with water because far from me is a comforter. Water restores my soul. My children are desolate because the enemy has prevailed. Sion stretches out her hands.

There is no one to comfort her. Verse 21, they have heard that I groan. There is no one to comfort me. A lack of comfort is a situation that that many people face because the ones you hope would comfort you don't. And you find yourself in a very lonely position, a very isolated situation, crying for someone to comfort you. Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 69, verse 20.

Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick and I look for sympathy, but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none. The Bible says in the book of Proverbs, the 14th chapter to 31st verse, he who oppresses the poor taunts his maker.

If you're an oppressor, you taunt the king, the maker of man. Over in chapter 22 of Proverbs, verse number 16, he who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich will come to poverty. Chapter 28, verse number 16, Solomon writes these words, a leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding. You see, the reason the oppressor has no comfort is because he lacks understanding. Because the oppressor has no comfort simply because he taunts his maker. So while he looks like he's in the position of authority and power and has all this prestige and influence surrounding him, in all reality, he has no comfort because comfort only comes from the true comforter of Israel, the Lord God himself.

So I find it interesting that as you read through the Scriptures, it says these words in verse number 2, Solomon says, so I congratulate the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that has done unto the son. He says, here's my conclusion. It would be better for you to be dead than to have no comfort. In fact, better yet, it would be better that you were never born and never lived life under the sun than to lack comfort.

What kind of answer is that? But that's Solomon's solution. He says, I look around and I see those who are being oppressed and they're filled with tears and they have no comforter. I see those who oppress them and they have all the power, but they don't have any comfort either. So it's best that you just be dead and don't live at all or that you never be born at all so that you don't have to face life of no comfort under the sun. That's no answer. You think that the wisest man on the planet would have a better answer than that, but that's all he's got.

He's got nothing else. So what's the solution? Stay with me. I'll give it to you. So man's oppression leads to no comfort. Man's ambition leads to no contentment. Look at verse number 4.

I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is a result of envy or jealousy or rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity in striving after the wind. He points out a problem. He says, look, man is into competition. Man is always looking to be the top one, the top dog. And there's this rivalry, there's this jealousy between man. As I observe Israel, as I observe the world, this is what I see, man against man. It's a dog-eat-dog world. It's survival of the fittest. And the problem is, the reason it's that way is because man really, truly lacks a contented spirit.

His ambition has driven him to have rivalry after rivalry after rivalry. You see it at work, right? You're working hard. You're trying to get the promotion, but you don't get it. Your friend gets it instead, and you become envious, become jealous. You've worked hard, and your competition is strong, and you deserve the promotion, but you don't get it. Your friend does. Or on your athletic team, you've worked hard. You strove to be the best you can be, and you want to start at your position, but you're not.

Someone else is starting in your place, you've been benched. And there's this competition, this rivalry, this ambition between man, and you become envious. You become jealous. You own a business, and you want your business to succeed. And you work seven days a week, every day, to get it to succeed. And you have a small business, but your friend down the road, he has the same kind of business, but his seems to be going off the charts. In fact, he's buying up more facilities to expand his business.

And your competition is ruining you, and you become envious because of your ambition as an overachiever. Or you're a mother, and you watch your Instagram account, or you're on Facebook, and you see other mothers having more children, and you want more, and you become envious of them, and they become your rival. They become your competition because, in reality, you lack the contentment you need with the family God's given you. Or you see other marriages, and you see the love between husband and wife, and you say, boy, I wish I had that.

And they become your competition. They become your rival. You become jealous of their relationship because that's what you want, and you don't have it because of your ambition and your drive to be better than you can possibly be. It happens all the time. Man is driven to be successful. He's driven to be popular, to be recognized, to be seen. And Solomon says, I perceive this, I see this. It's man against man. It's dog-eat-dog world. There's a rivalry that exists, and that's because man truly lacks any contentment.

I remember back in 1998, after our church had just gotten started, they surprised me one day and bought me some new office furniture. It was from Ikea. And so I went up to my office. We were in San Dimas at the time, and we had an upstairs and a downstairs, and my office is upstairs. And so they were all excited about giving me this new desk from Ikea, right? And so I was grateful because I didn't have much of a desk to begin with anyway. Our church had just gotten started. But in 1999, we moved to this facility here at Christ Community on 20th Avenue.

And so I moved the Ikea desk with me. And when we got here, I bought the same couch, a chair. And for 25 years, I had the same Ikea desk. And the handles are broken off of it, so when I open it up, I got to reach underneath to pull out the drawer because the handles are broken, and it's all chipped on the side, you know. But it's great for me, right? And I recall a number of years ago when I had lunch with a friend, he invited me to his church, and we were going to go out to lunch together, and he had just redone his entire office.

He said, I want to show you my office. I said, okay. Takes me in there, man, I'll tell you, it was brand spanking new, state-of-the-art everything, from furniture to bookshelves to whatever you can imagine. It was beautiful, and it was all glassed in, you know. And it was like, wow, this is great, man. And after lunch, I came back and sat down at my little Ikea desk and went back to studying again, you know. Then in a few years, I had another friend that offered me an opportunity to go to lunch with him, and I saw his office, man, it was gorgeous, man.

He had leather studded chairs in his office. I'm like, wow, man, this is amazing. He had this big old wooden desk that was glossed over, and it was just amazing. He had this full refrigerator in his office. He had a bathroom in his office. He had everything. I came back and went upstairs and sat at my little Ikea desk and went back to work again. But, you know, I was never envious of those guys because, you know, I've gotten used to my Ikea desk. I've gotten used to the chips on the side. I figured out new ways to open my drawers because my handles are broken, and it's okay.

I'm content with that. I don't have to have a big old nice plush office. I haven't changed anything in my office in 25 years except my Christmas trees because they're always lit and so they burn out. And when they burn out, I got to get new ones. That's the only thing I change in my office are my Christmas trees. Other than that, everything's the same. I have 10 Christmas trees in my office, and sometimes they burn out, but I got to change them. That's it. That's the only thing I change. My bookshelves, been there since 1999.

Same white bookshelves the whole time. I'm not looking to upgrade my office. I'm not looking to get a better office, a nicer office, and when people come to see me, they're like, ooh, wow, this is nice. That's just not the way I am. I'm very content with what I have. But you see, most people, they are not content. Their friends get new cars, they want new cars. Their friends buy a home, they want a home. Their friends get promotions, they want promotions. They get a raise, they want a raise. They're just never satisfied with where they're at.

They lack contentment. And Solomon says, you know what? I look out and I see in the kingdom this rivalry, this jealousy, this envy, this attitude. Solomon would write earlier in Proverbs 14, these words, verse number 30, he says, envy is rottenness to the bone. And it is. It's a killer on the inside. The envious person is never satisfied. Now, I'm all for discipline. I'm all for diligence. I'm all for determination. I'm all for devotion. I'm all for hard work. Solomon's not talking about that. He's talking about man's selfish ambition to climb the ladder of success because he's not content with where he is.

So there's a response. And Solomon says this, in verse number 5, the fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. There are those who sit back and say, well, you know what? I can't compete anyway, so I'm just going to go to my job, do my job, and que sera, sera, whatever is going to be is going to be. And you know what? If I get paid, I get paid. If I don't, I don't. But whatever. Who cares? Solomon says, the fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. Or in other words, starves himself to death.

Well, that's not the answer. In fact, the Bible speaks a lot about that in the book of Proverbs. If you go back to Proverbs chapter 3, or excuse me, Proverbs chapter 6, it says, go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which having no chief, officer, or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provisions in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest?

Same phrase he uses in Ecclesiastes. Your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man. Solomon has a lot to say about lazy people who don't work. In fact, the Bible says, if you don't work, you don't eat.

Very simple as that. Later, he would say in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 24, he would say these words. Verse 30, I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles. Its surface was covered with nettles. The stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it, I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. Same phrase again. And your poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man.

Solomon says the fool is the one who says, you know what? It's not worth striving, or working, or competing any longer. I'm just going to sit back and do nothing. And then he says this, and one hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after the wind. It's better to have one hand full and at rest than to have two hands filled with labor because all that is is vanity and emptiness. And Solomon speaks about this as well in the book of Proverbs. If you go back to Proverbs 15, Proverbs 15, verse number 16, he says this, better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it.

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox served with hatred. He says over in chapter 16, verse number 8, he says, better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice. He likes to use that word better. He used it many times in the book of Proverbs. It's one of the key words in the book of Ecclesiastes. And then over in chapter 17, verse number 1, better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife or with conflict. He makes it very clear that all of your ambition and all of your drive to be successful and to be the top dog and to get better is nothing but vanity.

It means nothing. It would be better for you, as he says in Proverbs 17, better to eat dry bread, stale bread in the quietness of your home than to have a huge Thanksgiving feast with your family living in strife because of your ambition and your desire to succeed and to be greater and better than what you can really possibly ever be. It's not really worth it, he says. So he does give some wisdom there. But notice, notice verse 7, that I looked again at vanity under the sun, and there was a certain man without a dependent, that a companion, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor.

If you look at it as a progression and you see that there are many oppressors, but those oppressors are men of great authority and power, and they rival one another, and they fight against one another, and they argue against one another because they want to be the best they can possibly be.

But then you come down to verse number 7, and now this oppressor is all alone. He's by himself. It's always lonely at the top. Everybody strives to get to the top, but once you get there, there's nobody there. That's why there's no comfort that's there. There's no contentment. There's no companionship. You're all alone. Solomon says, I looked again at vanity under the sun, there was a certain man without a dependent, without a companion, without a friend, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor.

There's loneliness. There's restlessness. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches. He never asked, and for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure? Meaninglessness. This too is vanity. Vanity is a grievous, grievous task, a miserable task. Why? Because when you're all alone and you have no one to talk to, no one to bounce things off of, you have no companionship, you're miserable. So Solomon presents the crises, but he gives no solution. He gives no answer. He's recording this journal of his.

He's writing everything down. He is the preacher, right? Koheleth in the Hebrew. He's the one who gathers people together to talk to them about the things he's observed, the things he's seen under the sun. And he brings us to this point where there are certain crises that I see that that man has no comfort in his life, no matter whether he is the oppressor or the one being oppressed. He has no contentment. Why? Because he's always ambitious, seeking that which is greater and bigger and better, and he rivals other people, and he's filled with envy and jealousy.

And then there's just no companionship. He's isolated. And Solomon says, these are the crises that I see as I look, observe, watch, and see. What's the solution? The solution is not that hard, because the solution is Christ. Our Lord is the solution. Remember, Solomon is not going to give you a solution under the sun, because there is no solution under the sun. When you live below the sun and don't see beyond the sun, there is no hope. There is no help. But if you live beyond the sun, then you begin to understand that there really truly is someone to help you.

There is hope. And so when there is no comfort, the only hope is Christ. When there is no contentment, the only hope is Christ. And when there is no companionship, again, the only hope is Christ. He is the only one who can bring comfort. Israel was being oppressed. They cried because there was no one to comfort them. So when you go to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 49, it says, Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth. Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains. For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.

Israel's only hope was the Comforter. That's why Isaiah 40 begins this way. Isaiah chapter 40, Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Verse 10, Behold, the Lord God will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd, He will tend His flock. In His arm, He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom.

He will gently lead the nursing ewes. That's what He will do because He's the Shepherd of Israel. He is the Comforter. And so when you come to Luke's gospel, in Luke chapter 2, you have one individual in the Christmas story who is looking for the consolation, the comfort of Israel. It's Simeon. And Simeon is an old man. He's lived a long time. He's a devout man. He's a righteous man. He's been looking for the consolation of Israel. It says that there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, Luke 2, 25.

This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It says, and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. He came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child, Jesus, to carry out for him the custom of the law, they took him into His arms and blessed God and said, Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bondservant to depart in peace according to Your Word.

For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples in light of revelation to the Gentiles in the glory of Your people Israel. Simeon was looking for that Comforter. And the Lord had given him a promise, You will not die until the Comforter of the Messiah arrives. And when the Messiah came, he knew, took the baby in His arms and blessed the child. And now he was ready to die. He could now go home to be with the Lord simply because that which he had longed for his entire life had arrived, the Comforter, the Consoler of Israel.

Isn't it true that in that familiar psalm in Psalm 23 where it says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil? Why? For Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. The psalmist is comforted, number one, by the dwelling presence of God in his life.

Number two, by the defense of God in his life because he carries with him a rod. And he's comforted by the discipline of the Shepherd, the Comforter in life because of the staff that comforts him. When Christ came and presented the kingdom to the people of God, the nation of Israel, He wanted them to understand that what He was offering them was true joy, true blessing. So He said in Matthew 5, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And then He says, Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

Comfort only comes to those who mourn over their sin. Comfort only comes to those who recognize that they are sinners. Comfort only comes to those who recognize that they are poverty stricken. They have nothing by which to obtain eternal glory. There's nothing that they can do to be saved. They have nothing. They have nothing to offer the king because they are dead in their trespasses and sin. So they mourn over their sin and Christ says, These ones are the only ones who will be comforted.

Those who mourn over their sin. In other words, Solomon might not give you a solution but the Scriptures give you a solution. When you lack comfort, there is one who does comfort His people. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 tells us that our God is the God of mercies who comforts us amidst all of our tribulations and afflictions. You see, only the Lord can truly comfort the soul. Nobody else can. Whether you're the oppressed or the oppressor, you lack comfort. You lack rest. You lack peace. You lack that which you so desperately need and the only one who can bring comfort to you is the Messiah Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ.

So if you lack comfort, you got to go to the comforter, the one who provides comfort for you, the Messiah, the Christ. If you lack contentment, the answer is still the same. It's Christ. Contentment is a unique word. I love what it says in Hebrews chapter 13. It says this in verse number 5, Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have. For He Himself has said, I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you. The issue to contentment is Christ.

Christ is the Lord. Be satisfied with what you have. But we're not, are we? Remember the old saying, Jesus is all you need, but Jesus is never all you need until Jesus is all you got. Jesus is really all you need. We don't believe that though. We need a better this or a better that, a newer this or a newer that. See, a bigger raise, a bigger job, a better job. We need something else. And that's where the ambition kind of overrides everything in our lives where we are driven up the ladder of success to somehow succeed in life.

Only to realize that it's all vanity. It's all empty. There's nothing there at the end. And what are you doing it all for anyway? Who are you doing it all for anyway? It's all driven by a lack of contentment. We're not satisfied with what God's given us. Why do men have affairs on their wives? Because they're not content with the gift that God has given them. Not content with their wife. Why do individuals seek more opportunities? Because they're not satisfied with the opportunity God gave them. Not satisfied with the salary that they have.

So the writer of Hebrews says, be satisfied with what you have. Why? Because the Lord Christ has said, I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you. Christ is enough. Contentment is a word that means self-sufficient. Interesting. How can we be self-sufficient and be content? That's how the Greeks used it. But Paul would use it in the sense that you are independent of that which is around you by being dependent upon the God who is within you. So Paul uses the sense of, not that you're self-sufficient, but that you're God-sufficient.

You're content because you are sufficient in what God has done and what God is doing. This is very hard for a lot of people. Look what it says over in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse number 7. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. This is the course to contentment. This is how you choose contentment. Remember, Paul says, I have learned to be content in whatever state I'm in. Contentment is not a gift. It's something that you learn. Paul says, I learned contentment, Philippians chapter 4, verses 11 and 12.

That no matter what state I'm in, whether I'm in the state of prison or the state of success, wherever I am, I've learned to be sufficient in what Christ has given to me. I've learned to be satisfied with what God has done. But it begins by realizing that we came into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing. That's what it says in verse number 7. Verse number 8, it says, if we have food and covering with these, we shall be content. In other words, if you want to be content, not only do you realize that you came to this world with nothing and you leave with nothing, but you rejoice in God's daily provision.

With food and rain, be content. Rejoice with God's daily provision. Then number 3, refuse to love God. Rejoice in the love of money and possessions. Verse 9, for those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. You've got to refuse the love of money. Refuse the love of possessions. Then you have to recognize the things of the world never satisfy. Verse 10, for the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The world's not going to satisfy you. It puts everything out there as if it dangles success out there. It dangles contentment out there, but the world can't give it to you. It can't. So he says, but flee from these things. What things? The love of money, the love of possessions, the love for the world. Turn around and go the opposite way. Run from those things. Flee. And then it says in verse 12, fight the good fight of faith and take hold of eternal life to which you were called and you made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

In other words, get a grip on eternity. That's where you should store up all your treasures anyway. But so many of us lack contentment. It drives us to envy. It drives us to jealousy. It drives us to wanting more and more and more and more because we're never, ever satisfied. And Solomon was wise enough to see this. Think about this. Here's the man who had everything. Think about it. Solomon had it all. And that's why I think that Solomon is really talking about himself. He sees himself in the mirror.

He says, as a king, I'm a rival to other kings. And I'm in search for being the best king possible. But once you get it all, there's nothing there. And Solomon was realizing that he lacked contentment with what God gave him. He wasn't content with his wife, so what did he do? Married 700 wives. The man lacked contentment. He wasn't satisfied with his 700 wives. He got 300 concubines. He had a thousand women in his life. And he still wasn't satisfied. Why? Because the unsatisfied soul is never satisfied until it's made whole in Christ.

That's it. And lastly, not least, when there's no companionship, there's only the Christ. He is the only friend that sticks closer than a brother, Proverbs 18. Jesus Christ was the friend of sinners. Jesus told His disciples, I no longer call you slaves, but I call you friends. Friends. Christ is the one who truly is your only friend. He's your master. He's your Lord. He's your Savior. He's your King. In all reality, we're just all, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear.

You know, so many of us don't go to Christ for comfort. We don't go to Christ when we're discontented. We don't go to Christ when we lack companionship. We think that a friend on Instagram is a friend. That's not your friend. You don't even know who they are. But we think that that's our friend. Or someone on Facebook or some kind of social media venue. We think those are our friends. They could care less about you. They don't know who you are. Christ is your only friend. Christ is your Savior, your King.

He's the only one who can forgive you. He's the only one who accepts you just as you are. And He's the only one who can change you into what He wants you to be. He's the only one who can do that. Nobody else can. Christ is the only answer to man's crises. Christ is the only answer to man's crises. And I beg you, if you've never come to Christ, you need to come to Christ. Peter tells us that those who come to Christ are never disappointed. Never. Those who believe in Him are never disappointed. It's quoted from Isaiah 28, verse 16, which says, those who believe in God are never in a hurry.

What's that mean? You're never in a hurry to go. You're never in a hurry to run away. I always think about this when church is over on Sunday. How quickly we leave. How so much in a hurry we are to get out of church and to do whatever it is you're going to do. Right? Christ says, those who believe in Me are never in a hurry.

Hurry to what? To depart from Me, to leave Me. Because He's another enough. He is sufficient. He's your Savior, your Master, your King. You know, as Christians we should be living the life of Christ. Our lives should be so intertwined with Him because He lives within us that all we want to do is be with Him. And part of being with Him is being with God's people because God's people are His children. And there you find the kind of companionship with those brothers and sisters in Christ. As Peter says, those of like precious faith.