Ecclesiastes 2:18
“Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.”
When you look at the life of Solomon, you would think that when he got old he would have looked back and saw a full life of blessings. Yet, when you read Ecclesiastes 2, you see a man whose life was empty. Here was a man who grew up in the household of David, the greatest king in Isreal’s history. He grew up in a house where he saw God’s blessings on his father’s life firsthand. In the early years of his reign, he personally experienced God’s blessings on his own life. You would think that this would lead to a full life.
Something happened that kept Solomon from living a full life. Something happened that led to him living an empty life. Something happened that caused him to get to the end of his life and say, “Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun…” Something happened that would cause this man to live under the greatest blessings of God to a point where he would say, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
What was it that brought Solomon to the point where his life was empty? The answer is clearly seen in Ecclesiastes 2. Thirty-four times you see the word “I.” Fourteen times you see the word “me.” The thing that made Solomon’s life so empty was that his life was all about “I” and “me.” Everything he built, he built for himself. Everything he obtained, he obtained for himself. Everything he conquered, he conquered for himself. Solomon became so focused on himself that he lost the focus of what truly builds a full life. Instead, he made his life empty because it was all about him. When he got old, everything seemed empty as he said, “…all is vanity.” Yes, all is vanity because he made it about himself, and when you make everything about yourself, you are emptying your life of anything of worth.
Marriage will be empty if you make it all about you. This is a reason many look at marriage as something bad, because their marriage is all about them. You get upset because your spouse is not meeting your needs. You are unhappy because you feel they make everything in the marriage about them. You don’t like it when you feel that your spouse must always think they are right. You get upset at your spouse because everything has to be done their way. You will never have a fulfilling marriage until you make your marriage about your spouse. Every marriage that is empty is a marriage where each spouse lives for themselves.
If you want your ministry to be empty, then make your ministry about you. When pastor’s make their ministry about them and what people think of them, then they are building a ministry that will be empty at the end. When church members make their ministry about themselves, then they are going to see the ministry as empty and unfulfilling.
You must be careful in every area of your life that you don’t fall into the trap of making life about you. When everything is about “me” and “I,” then you are building an empty life. When you place your life to the side and do everything for God and others, then you will find at the end of your life that life is truly fulfilling. Those who live full lives are those who made life about God and others. Learn to take the “I’s” and “me’s” out of your conversations and life, and you will find life is truly great.