All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Better is what we have than what we want! In the above passage we read Solomon’s wisdom in regard to the desires of life. Remember, whenever we read Ecclesiastes we have to read the last two verses of the book first, before the rest:
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon, the riches man on the earth, is attempting to find satisfaction. He is testing everything under the sun to see what will bring man joy. In the above passage he offers his conclusion in regard to the appetite he has for more. He simply wants us to know that what he has is better than what he desires. He is telling us that our appetite will never be satisfied. He is not telling us to NOT have an appetite. He is simply making us aware that what is before us, at some point, has be satisfy us. Notice that he gives the example of a poor man. He asks a rhetorical question about the poor man who knows how to conduct his business before others (lives within his means and deals with prudence). He asks, what does that poor man have that someone with an appetite does not have? The poor man has satisfaction and contentment. Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes we read these wondering and wandering of Solomon. He is not telling us to cease our dreams. He is telling us that we should see the value of what is in front of us and find satisfaction in that. That is a lesson most of mankind, in our society, have not learned. Solomon will eventually write, later in the book:
But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
This might be the foundation for the colloquial proverb: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!
We would do well to havre dreams. But we would do well to first value what we have in front of us to the fullest extent that we can first. In truth, however, we are not be satisfied with anything we see in front of us. We are supposed to live by faith and not by sight. Nothing on the is earth should draw our attention. That is how Solomon will end the book. True Biblical satisfaction is to fear God and keep His commandments. John Piper said it this way:
God is most satisfied with me when I am most satisfied in him.
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