Wisdom Of The Teacher For College Students, Ch. 6.Sample

The Teacher turns again to a common proverb in verse 7. Man works and works to feed his appetite, yet his appetite is never satisfied. Doesn’t that seem like an apt description of many in our day?

One of my favorite movies is the now old “Tombstone”. In it one of the questions Wyatt Earp asks Doc Holliday is what makes a man like Johnny Ringo the way he is. Doc replies that he can’t kill enough, or drink enough, or take enough to fill the void inside of him. Well that’s my paraphrase anyway!

It’s not just outwardly evil men like his character that exemplify that statement. If you are trying to work enough to satisfy your appetites, you too will find that they are never satisfied. Whatever passions we pursue outside of God only lead us to places we never thought we would go and cost us things we never imagined giving up in that pursuit.

The answer to both questions in verse 8 is negative. The Teacher has already informed us that all men share the same final destiny!

We would be wise to delight in the things we see right before us rather than chasing the illusive desires that we cannot attain. Are you starting to recognize the pattern in the Teacher’s words?