From a practical standpoint, the self-focused lifestyle simply doesn’t work. It won’t make you happy. In fact, it will make you miserable. But you probably know that. Thousands of years ago, Solomon also found this to be true. He pursued every possible earthly avenue to find happiness: scientific studies, musical achievements, literary accomplishments, and education. He poured himself into his work, amassing a huge fortune, which he spent on great social projects, public works, and real-estate developments….

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

— Solomon in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

And then he added, “So I hated life” (verse 17). So much for the self-focused life! The price of getting what you want is getting what you want. — Patrick Morley, A Man’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines, pp. 155-156.

Yeah — we all need to hear that.