Ecclesiastes 11:7–12:1

Many people make the mistake of indefinitely putting off the enjoyment of life, almost as if the pleasure of living is something to be done once people are up in years. They spend their energy and time building toward some distant day when they can sit back, relax, smile on life, and finally enjoy it. But nowhere does Scripture urge us to embrace such a philosophy and certainly not in this ancient book of realism and wisdom named Ecclesiastes. In this section especially, Solomon repeatedly exhorts us to rejoice now, not later—during childhood and adolescence as well as adulthood and our twilight years. This disconnects true happiness, by the way, from material possessions, emotional maturity, and financial security. In Ecclesiastes 12:1, we find the secret to true joy in life. Joy is inseparably linked to living in daily relationship with God and trusting in the plan of our wise Creator.

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