Week #3: Always More, Never Enough
Blog Series Intention Recap
The Teacher in Ecclesiastes offers ancient wisdom that helps us see our lives with sober clarity. His words challenge our illusions of control and permanence as we begin a new year, pointing us to God’s eternal provision and purpose.
This post is the main page of the series “Nothing New.” Click here to see the rest of the posts.
Let’s jump into Week #3:
Always More, Never Enough: Chasing What Already Exists. We exhaust ourselves chasing novelty, but only Christ offers what truly satisfies. Stop striving to create meaning through new achievements or experiences; instead, rest in the eternal provision of Christ, who meets your deepest needs every day.
Why it Matters:
The Teacher reveals the endless cycle of human desire and effort.
Nothing we chase is truly new; it is all repackaged repetition.
Our pursuits exhaust us because they cannot satisfy eternally.
In Christ, we are invited to a full life that values what matters and lets the rest go.
Go Deeper:
We live in an age of endless novelty. New trends, new devices, new ideas flood our screens daily. Yet Ecclesiastes 1:8–11 confronts us with a humbling truth: “There is nothing new under the sun.” The Teacher’s sobering words expose the limits of human invention and the repetitive nature of life. Though we long for fresh meaning in our pursuits, our toil merely recycles what has been.
This message is not meant to dismiss progress or beauty, but to reframe how we engage with our world. When we see the futility of endless striving, we are invited to cling not to what’s new—but to what’s eternal. Jesus’s invitation to daily bread (Matthew 6:11) is an invitation to rest in God’s provision and prioritize what endures.
The Weariness of Endless Pursuit
Ecclesiastes 1:8 states:
“All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” (ESV)
The Teacher captures the exhaustion of unending consumption. There is always more to see, more to hear, more to desire—but never enough to satisfy. From the dawn of time, humanity has pursued novelty as a means of escape: from boredom, from mortality, from the ordinary.
We tell ourselves that the next milestone—a new job, relationship, achievement—will bring contentment. But the goalposts shift. The result is weariness. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. What we crave cannot bear the weight of our expectations.
This truth echoes in modern life. We consume entertainment at unprecedented rates. We fill calendars, chase productivity, and scroll endlessly. But the fatigue grows. The Teacher’s diagnosis is ancient, yet timeless: our labor is wearisome because it fails to fill us.
Nothing New—Just Forgotten
In Ecclesiastes 1:9–10, the Teacher continues:
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’?
It has been already in the ages before us.” (ESV)
Here the Preacher dismantles the myth of originality. While our technologies and methods evolve, the fundamental human story remains unchanged. We build, we long, we strive, we die. The modern world celebrates innovation, but Ecclesiastes reminds us: we are not the first to wrestle with love, ambition, injustice, or mortality.
Even the Lord’s Prayer affirms this constancy: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Bread is ancient, foundational. The prayer does not invoke gourmet novelty, but simple, sustaining provision. Jesus’s instruction points us away from the chase of new things and toward enduring dependence.
Our obsession with originality often masks insecurity. If we can make something “new,” we imagine we can matter more. Yet God is not impressed with reinventions of the wheel. He invites us to rest in His unchanging nature rather than our fleeting inventions.
Forgotten by All: The Inescapable Cycle
Ecclesiastes 1:11 concludes this reflection:
“There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.” (ESV)
This verse delivers one of the Teacher’s hardest truths. Not only is nothing new, but nothing is remembered. Human history is short-sighted. We forget the wisdom of previous generations and assume that we are living through something utterly unique. Yet even our crises, revolutions, and trends are echoes.
This erasure of memory fosters arrogance. We believe our generation is enlightened beyond all who came before. But Scripture offers a consistent warning: pride precedes downfall (Proverbs 16:18). The wise do not ignore history—they humble themselves before it.
Jesus’s model of prayer grounds us in remembrance. Each petition recalls the history of God’s faithfulness—daily bread like manna, forgiveness like atonement, deliverance from evil like Exodus. The gospel does not require reinvention; it demands recollection. The Church is not called to create a new message, but to remember and proclaim the old one: Christ crucified and risen.
From Chasing to Embracing: Life in Christ
The Teacher’s bleak tone may unsettle us, but his words prepare the heart for a deeper truth: If everything is vain without God, then everything finds value in God. The answer to futility is not to stop working or longing—it is to redirect both toward Christ.
Jesus offers a life that is abundant (John 10:10), not because it is filled with novelty, but because it is rooted in eternal significance. When our identity is found in Him, we are free to embrace what matters and let go of what doesn't.
Paul captures this beautifully in Philippians 3:8:
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (ESV)
Our labor can glorify God. Our desires can be sanctified. But they must be anchored in something greater than ourselves. Christ offers rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28), purpose to the forgotten, and eternity to the temporal.
How does this help me understand, “Nothing New?”
Living Fully in a Cyclical World
The third message of this series brings us face to face with human limits. We cannot escape the cycles of time, consumption, and repetition. But we can choose how we live within them. Ecclesiastes challenges us to stop chasing what already exists and instead embrace the God who never changes.
Jesus teaches us to live daily—not anxiously grasping for what’s next, but gratefully receiving what is given. In Him, nothing ever runs out—not grace, not mercy, not joy. When we live in Christ, we live in abundance, not because the world has changed, but because we have.
