"Restless": Escape

Questions for Community Groups
1. Have you ever used fun/amusement to escape from thinking about a real problems or issues that you were facing?
2. Do you feel you have a healthy balance of fun/amusement in your life?
3. What do you do for fun/amusement?
4. Have you ever fallen into the trap of using alcohol as an escape from problems?
5. What is your personal conviction about use of alcohol? How does this work for you?



Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
Escape: in this next passage we can see that Solomon falls into the trap that many people fall in. God creates things for us to use but not to abuse and use as an escape from dealing with the real issues of life and what our purpose in life is.

Vrs 1a “I said to my heart” Augustine quote “My heart was restless until it found rest in You”

A restless heart looks for satisfaction and answers in many different places and Solomon was no different he was looking for satisfaction and answers in the pleasures of life

Vrs 1b Mirth = a-muse(to think)-ment lets not think and enjoy pleasure

“Meaningless” I can’t find real answers is pleasure

Vrs 2 “what does it accomplish?”
Is fun and amusement really pointless or does God permit it so we can be well balanced people?
Studies on laughter show that laughter lowers blood pressure and help aid stress management.

During the war movie blood flow decreased by an average of 35%. And during the comedy it increased by an average of 22%. The conclusion? Laughter may be as healthy as exercise!

A joyful heart is good medicine Pro 17:22

Some think that Christians have no fun
“ I envisioned you sleeping on a bed of nails with an iron cross as the headboard”

There are Dangers in Amusement
-What we find funny can be offensive to God, like crass, vulgar and sexual innuendoes.
-Becomes a God. Costa guy “I put my faith in surfing
-Escape Never able to be serious

Bottom line is…
Proverbs 14:13 laughter and amusement won’t fix the problem it is just a temporary escape

Christians should be filled with joy and have fun
We need to understand what the Bible says about true joy.

Find joy in…
-Salvation GOSPEL
-Responsibility- family, service, work
-Fellowship

Vrs 3 “cheer my body with wine” my heart still guiding me with wisdom. Solomon did not indulge himself so excessively with wine that he lost his ability to think with genuine discernment.

Or possible he got drunk and realized that was pointless and did not answer any questions

Bible says
Psalm 104:15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man

Views on Alcohol…Prohibitionist…Abstentionist
Moderation- This view is I believe the most biblical because it takes into consideration that alcohol is a good gift of God and can be rightly used. And also realizes the dangers of alcohol.

Moderation or self-control in all of one's behavior, not abstinence, is the biblical norm

Trap is self control, you can’t be a moderationist if you lack self control in this area.

Dangers:
-You can’t have fun w/o a drink.
-You need a drink to get to sleep
-You focus too much on having a drink
-Drinking becomes an escape

Vrs 3b “Till I might see” Solomon sounds like a college kid “Have fun party and figure out what life is about”

Solomon is saying “it doesn’t work” and it shouldn’t

We will never find true satisfaction from the pleasures of this world

“If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world” C.S. Lewis

Rather then escape we need to look for purpose in life

Proverbs 3:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
When we put our hope in things of this world it makes our heart sick.

Our deepest desire is to have purpose

Vrs 3b “what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives”

Purpose in life is to...bring glory to Jesus

Here’s how we bring this altogether…all the things that we do in life whether it is having fun out with friends, spending time raising a glass and having a good meal, watching a funny movie, engaging in a fun sport or hobby.

1 Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.