Qoheleth (or the Teacher), wrote about his search for happiness in the book of Ecclesiastes. In his quest for happiness Qoheleth went down the road of material acquisition as a means of attaining happiness. He made his way along this road much farther than I, or anyone I know has been able to, so far in fact that in the end there was nothing that he denied himself. Not a single material thing that was available to Qoheleth in those days was withheld from him......And yet all was vanity.
An example of a modern day Qoheleth can be found in the story of Aaron Johnson. Aaron Johnson became extremely wealthy running several business ventures in New York City. His big money makers where selling drugs and running prostitutes. In his book, The End of Youngblood Johnson, Aaron tells about having way more money than he could ever spend. He eventually felt God calling to to leave all the wealth he had acquired behind and start a fresh life. In one day Johnson walked away from everything and started over without all the material goods that so many people envy.
Mr. Rabeder's life also seems to be similar to Qoheleth. Rabeder just recently sold off his expensive possessions and gave the proceeds to charity. He says that “For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness. I come from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years,” In the end He did give up his wealth with the realization that material goods and all the luxuries that money buys isn't what life is all about.
I wonder whether one needs to go down the road that Qoheleth, Johnson, and Rabeder went down; or if the warnings of dissatisfied people coming back are enough to convince oneself of the futility of seeking happiness by that avenue?
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