Warren Wiersbe Is Perhaps One

Warren Wiersbe is perhaps one of the most influential and well recognized theological writers of our time. His "Be" series has sold millions of copies around the world and he has taken his inspirational message everywhere he goes. In one of the first of his "Be" series, "Be Satisfied," Warren Wiersbe tackles a subject that few preachers are willing to preach about precisely because of its sobering message. "Be Satisfied" is a look into Ecclesiastes and the life and lessons of King Solomon.

The struggles of King Solomon to find the right answers to some of the most frustrating and mysterious aspects of our existence. "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven" (Ecc. 3:1), this is the lesson that King Solomon imparts to us as we journey throughout his life in Ecclesiastes to see how he confronts the darker questions of life and his relationship with God.

Wiersbe opens his book with the Chapter "Is Life Worth Living," which is the central question that is posed by the Book of Ecclesiastes. The disconcerting nature of this particular Book is that the author, King Solomon, answers in the negative. He considers the different ends and goals that people live for to be completely driven by vanity and frustration. Wiersbe takes this in stride and instead of attempting to go around King Solomon's statements, he directly addresses them for what they are.

Wiersbe argues that despite King Solomon, much like everyone else today, looks at life's hardships and sees the worst in what we must do. However, Wiersbe argues that despite these toils, there are so many heavenly fruits rewarded to us for living. The purpose of this chapter is to act as an overview of Ecclesiastes and also to address the central challenge of this book, which is to find the hidden meaning for why we should live within the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Within the second chapter, "Living in Circles," Wiersbe focuses on 1:4-11 of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Here Solomon addresses the central futility he observes within the cycles of life. The key futility that Wiersbe notes that we all feel within life is that nothing ever seems to change, everything from human existence, to our planet all seems to be consistent as if the earth "abides forever." At the same time, nothing seems to be satisfied as even with all of our constant labor, men are never truly satisfied.

Wiersbe notes that it is human nature never to be satisfied; it is one of the sins that we are born with and cannot take away. However, the knowledge that we have this never ending hunger for satisfaction should be exactly what leads us to God. After all, God fills us with eternal love and it is precisely because of this love that we can overcome the endless desire and search for satisfaction.

Although it is true, as Solomon notes in 1:12-18 that human wisdom is always futile because we never have the experience or the foresight to conclude right decisions. Solomon himself errs in this way, he was the king over all of Israel yet after his fervent search for wisdom "under heaven" he found that there is little one can do to make significant changes in the world.

For Wiersbe, this represents an important point that we must accept about life, that although there is so much to do and understand in the world at some point we must accept the finite nature of our lives and in the process understand our limitations. The key point within this chapter is to fully accept the limitations of mankind, and the consistency of the universe.

Since we are finite and the universe is infinite, once we can understand and fully accept the consequences of these actions we will be able to fully explore the possibilities of our limited circle of life. In his third chapter, "Disgusted with life," Wiersbe deals with the specifics of King Solomon's frustration with the finite nature of life and our oftentimes fruitless and vain attempts for happiness.

King Solomon, in his search for the meaning of life "under the sun" attempted to explore all of the mirth and pleasure of the world. He experimented with wine and folly, while attempting to guide himself through his own wisdom. He concludes that when looking upon his life, he can see nothing but vanity, and that in the end wisdom did not excel over folly. Wiersbe looks to this chapter as a method to learn from the wisdom of Solomon.

Wiersbe agrees with Solomon that much of what we value in the material world is vain and that the things we often pursue the hardest and the least important. Solomon ultimately concludes that one should eat and drink, and enjoy everything good that one produces with labor. Wiersbe agrees with this assertion, there are many aspects of life that are extremely hard to deal with, yet acceptance comes with realizing the good and the enjoyment one can derive from the honesty of labor.

The key to enjoying life therefore is to truly enjoy life itself as a gift from God. God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to the man who is good in His eyes and the sinner may be able to collect great wealth, but ultimately will not be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and their work becomes true vanity. In Chapter 4, "Time and Toil" Wiersbe focuses on the specifics of Solomon's observations about life from the time of his travels.

Solomon concludes that there is a "season" for every purpose under heaven, that although he has observed great injustice in the world he believes that there is a purpose for which God places all things. The purpose of this chapter is to reiterate Solomon's message that, one should rejoice, do good, to eat and drink and enjoy the good of their labor as this is the gift of God to man.

Chapter five deals with a sensitive topic "Life, Just isn't Fair." Throughout Solomon's journey he saw much that was not fair about the world, particularly the challenges that the oppressed faced and he concluded that for these people death was better than living, and still better for them never to be born. Wiersbe's key message in this chapter is for us to understand and be grateful for what is truly important in our lives.

While many may toil all day for wealth and be consumed by such drive, he will at the same time lose the comfort and companionship of sons, brothers, and wives, which in the end are the most important riches. Therefore one should never forsake the importance of friendship and the power of companionship. Vanity is a powerful vice that will confuse us about what is really important, but the advantages gained through vanity are temporary and never last while companionship and love will stay with us for life.

Chapter six is titled "Stop, Thief," this chapter deals with the need for patience with injustice and an observation of how to offer worship. Solomon explains that one must be careful within the house of God, because making false promises can awaken the anger of God. Therefore one should never make false promises and vows. At the same time one should not marvel at the oppression within the world because everyone answers to a higher power and as a result will receive their due.

The lesson in this chapter is that one should always take responsibility for one's own actions, and never make false promises. Because every individual has someone to answer to and false promises will lead one to untold trouble. Chapter seven is entitled "Is Life a Dead End Street?" In this chapter, Wiersbe looks at one of Solomon's key observations about wealth and riches.

In Chapter 5 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes a common situation, where a rich man has many riches and wealth but God does not let him have it and all of it is consumed by someone else. This powerful story is used to illustrate the futility of hungering for wealth, and it leads Solomon to conclude that it is much better to have the "sight of the yes," or to enjoy what one sees, than to constantly desire what is vain.

Wiersbe asserts from this lesson that many times what we desire the most are actually marginalized when we actually get it, and therefore it is better to accept and to enjoy in what we already have rather than consistently desire something that don't need. Chapter 8 is titled "How to be better off" and it deals specifically with Ecclesiastes shift from Solomon's narrative to sharing his counsel through proverbs and narrative.

The main lesson within this chapter is that there are many ways to lead a balanced life and this is the most important thing in our existence. In order to be "better off" Wiersbe explains we have to focus on how to avoid extremes in our life and to fight the compulsion that we can find the answer to every question in life.

Again the primary theme within this chapter is that the only way to achieve a better life is to stop consistently being frustrated by the vanity that one pursues and find acceptance and balance. In the chapter "What about the Wicked," this chapters deals with the principle paradox of how the wicked many times triumphs over the good. Solomon concludes that there are many circumstances in life that we have little to no control over, such as the government that we reside in.

Many times it may appear that evil wins far more than good and that the good will suffers at the hands of the wicked. However, one cannot discern God's purpose and therefore should accept these things as one of the conditions of life. Wiersbe uses this to illustrate the futility of attempting to find "extreme" answers. Many times we cannot understand the mysteries of God and should not attempt to do so. Chapter 10 is titled "Meeting your last.