Delusion and Delight

“The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.” (Ecclesiastes 12:10)

Ecclesiastes tells us that humanity’s most popular pursuits—pleasure, possessions, and power—amount in the end to nothing more than a mist.

The Preacher, in other words, is out to destroy your dreams. 

How then can the Scriptures describe his message as “words of delight”?

Because as long as you fix your eyes on the finish line, your life is endured, not enjoyed. You push off joy in the present—saving the resting and relishing for that happy point in the distant future when your dreams will come true. 

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes would like to expedite your disappointment. He warns you in advance of the vanity ahead so that you won’t squander years of joy sprinting after a finish line of futility.

It turns out that the end of your delusion is the beginning of your delight. 

Once you embrace the vanity of the “end goal”—the realization of the status, stature, and stability you seek—you can slow down and savor the present moment for what it is: namely, the only possible place to enjoy the Giver and his gifts.

It is impossible to enjoy the future. Why then do we so often send our joy there? 

Because we are lulled into the delusion of the dream. 

Let the alarm break the delusion, kill your dream, and stir you up into a better pursuit.

Out of the ashes of your disappointed dreams, a more enduring dream will arise.

To breathe in and taste the bounty of Eden, day by day, hour by hour, hand in hand with the God who gave it all—this is the exclusive entryway into fullness of delight.