Chapter 18
The Joy-Killers
God has provided seven fountains of joy that can lift your spirits every day. But there are two joy-killers that can plug those fountains. Uncork those sources of happiness and watch what happens.
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Two Out of Three Ain’t Nothin’
A friend once posted Ecclesiastes 2:24 on his Facebook page. “Eat, drink, and enjoy life.” Someone commented, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” 
Humorous comment. But if you’re missing the enjoyment part, two out of three is zero. What good are the pleasures of life if you can’t enjoy them? It’s like eating dessert without tastebuds.
When you lose your joy, it can feel like it’s gone forever. Could it be this is now your lot in life—inability to enjoy God’s gifts for the rest of your days?
No. You will experience suffering the rest of your life, but for the child of God, joy is always within reach. 
Always Available
One of the exercises in the previous chapter was to underline the gifts we are told to enjoy in Ecclesiastes. When I did that exercise, I found seven. 
•	Eating
•	Drinking
•	Work
•	Wealth
•	Possessions
•	Spouse
•	Youth
Notice how ordinary these gifts are. All but one (spouse) are blessings every person has to some degree. They are also available every day. If you can learn to receive the enjoyment God offers through these gifts, you will have access to seven different streams of joy flowing into your heart every day.
Every morning of your life God wraps seven gifts for you to reduce your anxiety and increase your joy. He packages all that grace in seven boxes—food, drink, work, wealth, possessions, youth, and family. So why don’t we have more joy? There are 2 joy-killing mistakes we can make that seal those boxes tight.
Joy-Killer #1: Unrepentant Sin
Ecclesiastes has a dual theme—fear God and enjoy life. The fearing God part is essential, because if you seek pleasure in life without that as a guardrail, you’ll cut yourself off at the knees by seeking pleasure in ways the displease God. That always backfires because God doesn’t promise happiness to those who please him.
"To the man who pleases him, God gives … happiness” (Ecclesiastes 2:26).
If you are living in a way that displeases God, that will cut off your access to the ability to enjoy life. When the teacher gives young people the green light to pursue their desires to the fullest, he says, “Knock yourself out—just make sure you don’t do anything you’ll regret on judgment day.”
“Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
Fear God and enjoy life. Leave out the fearing God part, and you’ll end up right down in the pit with the teacher—hating life.
If you’ve lost your ability to enjoy the pleasures of life, the first step to recovery is to search your heart for any areas where you’re seeking happiness through sinful means. Is there any unrepentant sin that may be provoking God to withdraw the gift of enjoyment?
If so, the solution is simple. Repent and enjoy God’s forgiveness. If you find no unrepentant sin in your heart, then there must be some other cause. Please don’t assume it’s always related to sin. There are other joy killers.
Joy-Killer #2: Distraction
The one that killed the teacher’s joy was distraction. He got so distracted by the troubles of life and by the way he wished things were that he failed to enjoy the good in the way things actually are.
When you look at that list of seven blessings, you might say, “Those aren’t sources of joy—those are sources of anxiety!” Your job, your marriage, your age—they seem like sources of anxiety, not solutions to it. 
But isn’t it true that most of your complaints are not about what God has given, but about what he hasn’t given? The salary you’re receiving isn’t the problem. It’s that additional salary that you’re not receiving that bothers you. It’s the qualities your spouse is lacking. Your youth of earlier years. We miss the gifts God is giving right now because we’re distracted by the different gifts we have in mind.
Tissue Paper
My daughter was a year old, Christmas morning, tearing into a gift. It was an item of clothing in a bag with tissue paper. She was so eager, she alternated hands throwing the tissue paper behind her until she found herself staring perplexed into an empty bag. In her haste, she had thrown the actual gift along with the paper.
How often do we do the same thing with God’s gifts? In our haste to get the gift we have in mind, we miss the one he gave. When you have those moments of discontent in your life and your bag seems empty, look around and see if there is a gift lying in all the tissue paper that you have thrown aside. 
We miss most of God’s gifts because they are hidden in the mundane. Think of it. How many meals go by without contributing anything to your happiness and satisfaction in life? How many glasses of water? How much enjoyment do you derive each day from your daily work? What about your relative youth—is that slipping by unenjoyed? Are there family relationships you’re taking for granted? We leave joy on the table every day. Those gifts are so common, they easily get lost in all the tissue paper as we search frantically for more dramatic gifts that are easier to enjoy.
Enjoy Your Veggies 
Sometimes we have trouble enjoying God’s gifts because we are like a child who can’t appreciate anything but candy. Given a choice between a tender ribeye and a piece of gum, he’d take the gum. Small children don’t know how to enjoy the best things, which is why their happiness is shallow and lasts only a few seconds after the candy is gone. 
An adult who knows how to enjoy the full spectrum of foods gains far greater satisfaction from a good meal than a child who can only appreciate dessert. Some of God’s gifts are dessert—easy to enjoy. Entertainment and recreation fall into that category. It’s easy to enjoy a movie or an exciting game or a lavish vacation.
It’s good to enjoy those gifts from God. But we don’t want to make our enjoyment of life so narrow that we can only appreciate God’s dessert gifts. We should also learn to enjoy the meat and potatoes of our work or our current stage in life or family relationships. Some of God’s gifts take some maturing to learn to appreciate—like the decades it takes for a child to appreciate fine cuisine. It’s even possible to learn how to enjoy vegetables if you have the right attitude. 
Start Small
If you’re at a point in your life where you can’t enjoy big things, make much of what you can enjoy. A moment of peace and quiet, your car heater on a winter day, a chance to sit down when you’re tired, a piece of bacon, a funny joke, a soft pillow, the fizz in your soda.
Maybe you receive only the tiniest glimmer of enjoyment. That’s okay. Make much of it. This will train your soul to receive the gift of enjoyability from God’s hand. You may find the more you learn to receive it, the more there is to receive.
The Seven Blessings
1)	Work: Take This Job and Love It
“There is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 3:22). 
Notice it does not say “There’s nothing better than finding a job you enjoy.” In those days, you did what your father did. Whatever job God gave you, that’s your lot in life—enjoy it.
If there is a better job available, fine. But until that happens, there is much to be enjoyed in any job. Productivity, creativity, skill, and the ability to accomplish something are all aspects of bearing the image of God. Your work is a chance to be like God in creating order out of disorder. God did that when he created the world, and he still does that every day, and he does it through people like you doing their jobs.
You’re doing your part of the cultural mandate God gave man at the creation.
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘…fill the earth and subdue it’” (Genesis 1:28).
The satisfaction that can be drawn from earning an honest living and providing for loved ones is a simple joy that you will miss if you’re always anticipating the weekend or quitting time. 
That laundry, the dishes, the diapers—they don’t have to be a drudgery. They are a gift from God. The commute to work, the paperwork, the emails—there is something there to be enjoyed if you will see it. 
Not long ago, I found myself working a job that I’ve always thought of as the worst job there is—flagging for road work. As I stood on the road with my stop sign, I probably would have fallen into grumbling or self-pity, but I had been studying Ecclesiastes and was considering this principle of enjoying my work. 
So I began searching for what could be enjoyed. I was alone. I like being alone. I had no pressure to get any studying or reading done, so I was free to just think and pray. I like that. It was a very cold day, but the sun was out and I noticed how good it felt that it was shining on my face. I just took it in. The more I thought about those things and the fact that they were gestures of God’s grace, the more I enjoyed them. At one point a smile took over my face and I thought, “I love this God!”
Did you know there is a way to make your work a source of rest?
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
A yoke is for work, but Christ’s yoke is unique. It brings rest, rather than fatigue. The rest only comes, however, if you use your work as a means of drawing near to Christ. “Come to me … and I will give you rest.” If you’re not finding rest through your work, it’s because you are not coming nearer to Jesus through your work. But if you use your job to move closer to Christ through each task of the day, by quitting time your body may be tired, but your soul will be refreshed and at rest.
2)	Wealth: Blessings in the Bank
“When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them … this is a gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19).
Do you take pleasure in your wealth? Forget about the money you wish you had. That’s a distraction. Focus on what you do have. Every paycheck you receive, every item you purchase—all of it can be enjoyed. 
Even paying bills can be a source of happiness if you pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s money God graciously provided. And by paying the bill, you’re exchanging that money for something you value more. Sure, your electric bill is high. But you pay it because, high as it is, you value electricity in your house even more than that sum of money. Are you intentional about really enjoying that electricity, plumbing, cell service, and everything else you pay bills for? How about the paved roads, street lights, and police protection your taxes fund?
You have to be careful enjoying money because the love of money will fill your life with grief. Don’t love money. Love God. But part of loving God involves enjoying his kindness expressed through every dollar he provides.
3)	Possessions: God’s Material Blessings
“When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them … this is a gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19).
Between taking care of your stuff, protecting it, organizing it, and finding a place to store it, possessions can be a source of anxiety. Fall in love with them, and they will cripple you with anxiety. But if you love God, and you value your stuff because God gave it to you, it can all bring you daily joy.
Get the items you covet out of your mind. Just look at what God’s given you. How about the sox on your feet? Your phone. Your kitchen table. Think of the difference your eyeglasses make in your life. Look around your house. What if you made an intentional effort to enjoy each of the material possessions God has given you?
4)	Youth: The Good Old New Days
“However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all … Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 11:8-9).
Are you enjoying your youth? Hold on—before you say anything about how old you are, remember, you’re younger now than you will be. This is the youngest you’ll ever be the rest of your life. This one isn’t just for teenagers. It applies to your whole life.
“However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all” (Ecclesiastes 11:8).
Whatever youthfulness and health you still have, are you enjoying it? Or do you miss that joy by coveting the youth of your past? Will you miss out on the steak and potatoes of your 40s because you miss the candy of your 20s? And then miss the countless potential joys of your 60s because you finally understand the youthfulness of your 40s and wish you had it back? Enjoy whatever youth you have right now as a gift from God.
5 & 6) Eating and Drinking: Tastes of Joy
In the passages that call us to enjoy the seven blessings, it’s eating and drinking that are mentioned most frequently.
“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25).
“There is nothing better for people than … that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 NET).
“It is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction” (Ecclesiastes 5:18).
“Man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful” (Ecclesiastes 8:15 ESV).
“Eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart” (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10).
Daily food and drink are the easiest of the gifts to take for granted because we partake so often. We easily miss the simple pleasures of eating and drinking because we make the tastiest meals the standard, so anything less is a disappointment. We’re so distracted by the ultra-delicious that we can’t appreciate the simple pleasures of daily sustenance. A pile of gifts from God get tossed with the tissue paper every day. You fail to enjoy the baloney sandwich and glass of water because you’re thinking about something tastier. 
Enjoyment of food and drink in your life may sound small, but the teacher in Ecclesiastes doesn’t see it that way. He offers this kind of enjoyment as the solution to some of the biggest problems of life. In chapter eight, he tackles the problem of injustice and government corruption. He speaks of crime (verses 11-12), guilty people going free while innocent people are punished (verse 14). 
How often do you watch the news and tense up with anxiety? The brokenness of society is so pervasive, the problems so massive, the nightly news can fill you with fear, anger, and stress that seems to have no remedy. But after describing all that trouble, the teacher does give a remedy. 
“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad” (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
You can’t fix the government. You can’t solve the crime problem. You can’t fix the world. So let’s talk about something you can fix—dinner. Maybe you don’t have the power to reform the health care system or straighten out the tax code, but you do have the power to put just the right amount of butter and sour cream on your baked potato. By shifting your attention from the issues that are above your pay grade to the simple things God has put on your plate (literally), you remind your soul that it’s God’s place to handle global problems, not yours.
How often do you have a meal or snack without deriving any enjoyment from the fact that it gave you energy or took away your hunger pangs? Or the simple pleasure of what water does to your dry throat. It’s amazing. Instant relief every time!
How about the way sharing a meal together deepens relationships? How many times have you eaten with someone and failed to enjoy the way it makes you closer?
If you could receive joy from God from each meal, every snack, each swallow of a beverage, imagine how much joy you would have. Dozens of injections of happiness into your soul every week of your life. 
7) Life with Your Wife 
“Enjoy life with your wife” (Ecclesiastes 9:9).
Do you enjoy what there is to enjoy in your marriage? Or can you only see what’s missing? Do you miss the simple joys of being married because you’re so fixated on the qualities your spouse lacks?
The teacher didn’t say, “Enjoy the wife of your youth if you have a storybook marriage. Everyone else—you’re out of luck.” He knows every couple has marital problems, but he still says to every reader, “Enjoy your spouse.” 
Nothing is more distracting from joy than when your spouse hurts you. But as painful as your marriage might be, there are still elements to be enjoyed. Think of a single person who longs for a spouse. What does that person lack that you have? Companionship, imperfect as it may be. Someone who has shared so many experiences with you and who can relate to parts of your life no one else knows about. A partner who helps you with income, chores, children, or whatever it is your spouse does. A warm body in your bed. Each of these may fall well short of what you long for, but they aren’t nothing. 
If you could learn to enjoy your spouse, imagine how much happiness you could have. You’re married all day every day.
The same principle applies to if you’re single. Are you squandering the advantages of singleness by spending your energy pining away for a mate? Enjoy what God’s giving you right now.

Each of these seven gifts offer daily happiness. Don’t lose that through the joy-killer of distraction. 

Godliness Training Exercises

1)	Think of the aspects of your daily work that are the most burdensome. Give some thought to how you could use those very tasks as means of drawing near to Christ.

2)	Devote one day this week to giving special attention to seeking enjoyment from God through one of the seven blessings. 
•	Sunday—your possessions
•	Monday—your work
•	Tuesday—eating
•	Wednesday—your income
•	Thursday—drinking
•	Friday—marriage/family
•	Saturday—your youth. 

3)	If you have found these two chapters on Ecclesiastes helpful and you want to delve more deeply into these principles, I recommend listening through my sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes. These chapters are very brief summery of material covered in far greater depth in that series. It’s available on TreasuringGod.com.