”All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure, for I took pleasure in all my struggles. This was my reward for all my struggles.” (v. 10)

In a lot of ways, we are not very much like the Teacher of Ecclesiastes.

Here, in the beginning of the book, he recounts his relentless pursuit of things: pleasures, riches, security, the stuff of earth. He takes it on as a sort of experiment, hoping to discover whether any of it satisfies. So he scientifically indulges in all of it.

That…doesn’t sound like us.

But the part where he seeks pleasure in the midst of his pains? Where he tries to cover his struggles with more stuff? Where he aims to solve heartache with having?

Yeah, that’s us.

We make some of our worst decisions when we are hurting. And by “worst,” I mean “most fleeting, least enduring, self-serving” decisions. We try to treat our wound with “treat yo self.” Our materialism becomes medicinal.

And it still comes to nothing.

Let the Scriptures lead you, then, to a pursuit of those things that endure. Aim for heavenly treasure, even when you are hurting. Learn from this example (and every example), and don’t fall into the treat-yo-self trap.

— Tyler