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Everything Is Never Enough: Ecclesiastes' Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness
How can you be happy? Who can show you the path to happiness? Pastor Bobby Jamieson shatters our illusions of what will make us happy and blazes a surprisingly simple trail to resilient joy.
Does it feel like you should be happy, and want to be happy, and try to be happy, but somehow you just can’t be happy? One way to be unhappy is not getting what you most want. Another way is to get all you could possibly want…only to discover that everything is not enough.
The writer of Ecclesiastes did it all. He had money, education, possessions, sex, and power—everything the modern world promises will bring joy—and yet he was never satisfied. And from his discontent, we benefit and find a surprisingly simple trail to lasting joy.
In this thoughtful exploration of Ecclesiastes, which speaks to all of us who feel restless and unfulfilled, Pastor Bobby Jamieson:
• teaches us how placing life on an eternal horizon empowers us to experience joy no matter our circumstances
• puts Ecclesiastes into dialogue with profoundly insightful critics of modernity to show that life in the modern West is a conveyor belt toward burnout
• helps us dismantle our false hopes one by one, clearing ground for true satisfaction
Poetic yet straightforward, philosophical yet accessible, Everything Is Never Enough frees us to stop grasping at broken promises and start receiving life as a gift of God’s grace.
Does it feel like you should be happy, and want to be happy, and try to be happy, but somehow you just can’t be happy? One way to be unhappy is not getting what you most want. Another way is to get all you could possibly want…only to discover that everything is not enough.
The writer of Ecclesiastes did it all. He had money, education, possessions, sex, and power—everything the modern world promises will bring joy—and yet he was never satisfied. And from his discontent, we benefit and find a surprisingly simple trail to lasting joy.
In this thoughtful exploration of Ecclesiastes, which speaks to all of us who feel restless and unfulfilled, Pastor Bobby Jamieson:
• teaches us how placing life on an eternal horizon empowers us to experience joy no matter our circumstances
• puts Ecclesiastes into dialogue with profoundly insightful critics of modernity to show that life in the modern West is a conveyor belt toward burnout
• helps us dismantle our false hopes one by one, clearing ground for true satisfaction
Poetic yet straightforward, philosophical yet accessible, Everything Is Never Enough frees us to stop grasping at broken promises and start receiving life as a gift of God’s grace.
288 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2025
153 people are currently reading
3481 people want to read
About the author
Bobby Jamieson
31 books45 followersBobby Jamieson is a Ph.D. student in New Testament and affiliated lecturer in New Testament Greek at the University of Cambridge. He and his wife are members of Eden Baptist Church, and they live in Cambridge with their three children. Bobby previously served as assistant editor for 9Marks.
See also R.B. Jamieson
See also R.B. Jamieson
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
February 11, 2025
Spectacular.
Full review coming out in Christianity Today.
Full review coming out in Christianity Today.
June 22, 2025
This is one of those rare books that both communicates profound matters and expresses them in a melodious manner. A delight to read and be reminded of Love's gift of life.
"But if you believe that life is good because life is a gift, and life is a gift because God gives it, and life is full of good things because the creator is constantly flinging gifts at you faster than you can catch them, then any meaning you discover is catching up with the meaning that God has already built in. Any goodness you enjoy is scratching the surface of the goodness that life is. Any happiness you experience is a glimpse of the one who is happiness himself." (181)
"But if you believe that life is good because life is a gift, and life is a gift because God gives it, and life is full of good things because the creator is constantly flinging gifts at you faster than you can catch them, then any meaning you discover is catching up with the meaning that God has already built in. Any goodness you enjoy is scratching the surface of the goodness that life is. Any happiness you experience is a glimpse of the one who is happiness himself." (181)
May 12, 2025
This is a wonderful book full of beautiful sentences.
June 21, 2025
Truly excellent. Careful with the text. Pungently put.
July 6, 2025
Bobby Jamieson’s best book (so far!) and one of my favorite reads of the year. He captured the “resonance” of Ecclesiastes for the modern age and did so with beautiful, melodious prose.
June 15, 2025
Stunning, masterful, poignant, the height of excellence. I’m so thankful to have sat under the sermons that led to this book, and the book has brought Ecclesiastes to new and sparkling life yet again. If you read one book in the remainder of this year, make it this one.
”This universe is one impossibly large bell, struck by the hand that made it. The joy you feel in your best moments is a share of the joy of your maker.”
”This universe is one impossibly large bell, struck by the hand that made it. The joy you feel in your best moments is a share of the joy of your maker.”
July 16, 2025
I hope this book gains wide readership. I'd love to see this become a modern classic among Christian living books.
Ecclesiastes never interested me or resonated with me until a couple of months ago. Now that it does resonate with me, I don't know what took so long given the existentialist bent to my personality. Along that same line of thinking, after reading this book I think Ecclesiastes could be a really fruitful resource for cultural engagement and evangelism, especially in the contemporary western world.
Ecclesiastes never interested me or resonated with me until a couple of months ago. Now that it does resonate with me, I don't know what took so long given the existentialist bent to my personality. Along that same line of thinking, after reading this book I think Ecclesiastes could be a really fruitful resource for cultural engagement and evangelism, especially in the contemporary western world.
August 1, 2025
Best book of 2025 for me. Just got done listening to it on audiobook, and I am already eager to read a physical copy to take it in again.
November 17, 2025
10/10 no notes
July 19, 2025
I wish I could show you my kindly gifted paper back copy of this work. Coffee stains, appalachian river water, black ink, and dried soap riddles the pages of my poor paperback. And yet as ugly as my copy of this book is, the state of it is something of a letter to how much this book affected me. This book is war-torn from the intellectual battles it has gone through with my heart and mind in recent months.
I am writing this review from the front porch of the cabin that Cierra and I honeymooned in (5 years ago). We are visiting this property in NC after 5 years of marriage. I have had a few days to sit with this great book and finally report its completion and in many ways practice its concepts. For the first time in a long time I feel that I have been able to “be present to the present’s presents” (pg. 138).
I love the subtitle of this book: “Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness”. Something that I think about a lot is how when I was young never thought I would need a book on happiness. I thought that sorrow was not something I would face like others did. Oh how arrogant and wrong I was.
James Baldwin said, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read”. I have always loved the Bible because so often it has met me in the dark closets of my heart. I have had pains, joys, meditations, and feelings that I did not know what to do with and so often the scripture has talked right back to secret whispers of my heart. This is especially the reason why I love the book of Ecclesiastes. When I read the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes I feel like I am sitting down with a man who has a similar personality to myself and views the world and all of it’s philosophical implications the way I naturally do. I
In other words, Ecclesiastes has always felt like “my” book. What started with the sermon series from my pastor during COVID has evolved into a deep love that has resulted in me reading books on Ecclesiastes, attending a conference on the piece of wisdom literature, and even going back to sit under it’s glory on a weekly basis.
This sensation of being given language and feeling understood by the author of Ecclesiastes was perfectly captured by Bobby Jamieson. So often as I was reading Bobby’s comments, philosophical meditations, modern applications, and illusions of the conceptual mansion of Ecclesiastes I was moved to further understanding of God, myself, and the broken world we live in.
I can count on my hand the few moments of my life where I can indescribably “feel” the sanctifying hand of God has he has prayerfully molded me into the image of his Son. Though the Lord is always sanctifying I think Christians are afforded seasons of peculiar awareness, and my time with this book is one of those times.
Everything is Never Enough is the volume I have needed for a long time. And I am very grateful to Bobby Jamieson’s labor in this piece. I do not say this lightly but this has moved to being one of my all time favorite books. This one affected me in a way I haven’t been before.
Lately I have chosen to read works like these that tend to merge the wonders of life and depth of theology. I have just enjoyed them more. And I find myself living more observant of beauty and tragedy, then in turn theologically meditating on the depths of this crazy world.
No one is as happy as they want to be or will be after death (if in Christ). Fellow believer, go read the book, it is totally worth it. 5/5.
I am writing this review from the front porch of the cabin that Cierra and I honeymooned in (5 years ago). We are visiting this property in NC after 5 years of marriage. I have had a few days to sit with this great book and finally report its completion and in many ways practice its concepts. For the first time in a long time I feel that I have been able to “be present to the present’s presents” (pg. 138).
I love the subtitle of this book: “Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness”. Something that I think about a lot is how when I was young never thought I would need a book on happiness. I thought that sorrow was not something I would face like others did. Oh how arrogant and wrong I was.
James Baldwin said, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read”. I have always loved the Bible because so often it has met me in the dark closets of my heart. I have had pains, joys, meditations, and feelings that I did not know what to do with and so often the scripture has talked right back to secret whispers of my heart. This is especially the reason why I love the book of Ecclesiastes. When I read the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes I feel like I am sitting down with a man who has a similar personality to myself and views the world and all of it’s philosophical implications the way I naturally do. I
In other words, Ecclesiastes has always felt like “my” book. What started with the sermon series from my pastor during COVID has evolved into a deep love that has resulted in me reading books on Ecclesiastes, attending a conference on the piece of wisdom literature, and even going back to sit under it’s glory on a weekly basis.
This sensation of being given language and feeling understood by the author of Ecclesiastes was perfectly captured by Bobby Jamieson. So often as I was reading Bobby’s comments, philosophical meditations, modern applications, and illusions of the conceptual mansion of Ecclesiastes I was moved to further understanding of God, myself, and the broken world we live in.
I can count on my hand the few moments of my life where I can indescribably “feel” the sanctifying hand of God has he has prayerfully molded me into the image of his Son. Though the Lord is always sanctifying I think Christians are afforded seasons of peculiar awareness, and my time with this book is one of those times.
Everything is Never Enough is the volume I have needed for a long time. And I am very grateful to Bobby Jamieson’s labor in this piece. I do not say this lightly but this has moved to being one of my all time favorite books. This one affected me in a way I haven’t been before.
Lately I have chosen to read works like these that tend to merge the wonders of life and depth of theology. I have just enjoyed them more. And I find myself living more observant of beauty and tragedy, then in turn theologically meditating on the depths of this crazy world.
No one is as happy as they want to be or will be after death (if in Christ). Fellow believer, go read the book, it is totally worth it. 5/5.
June 13, 2025
Let's give it up for Bobby Jamieson👏🏼
Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Reading it is like looking into a mirror that reflects the complexities of my own life experiences. So when this book popped up on my Goodreads, I was hype!
It's all vanity so what the even heck? We strive to have it all—master every detail, predict every turn, guard against every unknown. But no matter how deeply we long or how hard we try, the final outcome remains beyond our reach.
Qohelet reminds us to see the blessings God pours into our lives as just that, gifts! Not trophies we’ve earned, not entitlements we cling to, and not the source of our deepest hopes and dreams. When we hold them with open hands, we’re free to delight in them without mistaking them for our everything. For the restless hollow aches within us and the part that feels exiled in this world can find home, joyfully, in God.
"Jesus' incarnation is the rescue mission none of us thought possible. Jesus death is the death of sin. Jesus resurrection is the death of death. Together, Jesus death and resurrection are the death of absurdity and alienation. Jesus suffering God’s judgment on the cross is death of guilt and condemnation for every deed, for every secret thing, for every evil. All this is promised to all who believe and only those who believe. Everything is never enough, but Jesus is. Jesus is enough to satisfy God's judgment on your behalf. And Jesus is enough to satisfy your soul forever. Jesus alone is God’s answer to your life's absurdity."
Life is absurd, so what will we choose?
Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Reading it is like looking into a mirror that reflects the complexities of my own life experiences. So when this book popped up on my Goodreads, I was hype!
It's all vanity so what the even heck? We strive to have it all—master every detail, predict every turn, guard against every unknown. But no matter how deeply we long or how hard we try, the final outcome remains beyond our reach.
Qohelet reminds us to see the blessings God pours into our lives as just that, gifts! Not trophies we’ve earned, not entitlements we cling to, and not the source of our deepest hopes and dreams. When we hold them with open hands, we’re free to delight in them without mistaking them for our everything. For the restless hollow aches within us and the part that feels exiled in this world can find home, joyfully, in God.
"Jesus' incarnation is the rescue mission none of us thought possible. Jesus death is the death of sin. Jesus resurrection is the death of death. Together, Jesus death and resurrection are the death of absurdity and alienation. Jesus suffering God’s judgment on the cross is death of guilt and condemnation for every deed, for every secret thing, for every evil. All this is promised to all who believe and only those who believe. Everything is never enough, but Jesus is. Jesus is enough to satisfy God's judgment on your behalf. And Jesus is enough to satisfy your soul forever. Jesus alone is God’s answer to your life's absurdity."
Life is absurd, so what will we choose?
June 27, 2025
A blend of careful biblical commentary, thorough sociological research, and great writing. Ecclesiastes is becoming one of my favorite books in the Bible and this book helped it get into my bones a little more.
May 30, 2025
Jamieson has written a masterpiece here. This is a great book to give to someone who's not a Christian or to someone who wants a deep study of Ecclesiastes. Jamieson's ability to speak to both audiences is impressive.
Favorite quotes:
"We want to know so that we can control" (8).
"Happiness is not striving for gain from life but receiving life itself as a gift" (26).
"Money is only as good as what it can get you" (60).
"To fear God is to fulfill your humanity" (191).
Favorite quotes:
"We want to know so that we can control" (8).
"Happiness is not striving for gain from life but receiving life itself as a gift" (26).
"Money is only as good as what it can get you" (60).
"To fear God is to fulfill your humanity" (191).
May 27, 2025
This is one of the best books I have read in a while. Jamieson’s reflection on Ecclesiastes is both helpful and beautiful.
October 16, 2025
Read it sporadically and slowly. Moving. Soul-stirring. A refreshing (and somewhat new) take on Ecclesiastes, while at the same time saying everything I already thought to be true. Everything really is never enough; well, except one “thing”: a relationship with Christ, and Jamieson does a great job of arguing that thesis.
The first section is bleak; it’s meant to be.
The second section is hopeful; when contrasted with the bleakness of section one, it must be. When gifts are treated like gifts and not idols, it brings joy.
The third section, even if a bit rushed and “tacked on,” is the most important one. The conclusion of Ecclesiastes is, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for, one day, he will judge.” How do we get that righteousness to prep us for judgment day? Christ.
A great book to read with a seeking friend (though they might need to be academically inclined a bit).
Tolle lege, tolle lege.
P.S. Absolutely hated the way the endnotes were done—never seen that before and hope to never see it again.
The first section is bleak; it’s meant to be.
The second section is hopeful; when contrasted with the bleakness of section one, it must be. When gifts are treated like gifts and not idols, it brings joy.
The third section, even if a bit rushed and “tacked on,” is the most important one. The conclusion of Ecclesiastes is, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for, one day, he will judge.” How do we get that righteousness to prep us for judgment day? Christ.
A great book to read with a seeking friend (though they might need to be academically inclined a bit).
Tolle lege, tolle lege.
P.S. Absolutely hated the way the endnotes were done—never seen that before and hope to never see it again.
November 7, 2025
This was a fantastic book!
A few good things:
1.) The illustrations in the book are really good and really plentiful. He writes beautifully and I think reading the book is an exercise in thinking more illustratively.
2.) His theological reflection on different aspects of life are really convicting and helpful, I found myself thinking often of how my own life could be a better example of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes.
3.) His conclusion bringing in Charles Taylor and the imminent frame to make sense of the tensions between Qohelet and the editor was brilliant. If he came up with that, great job. Regardless, I’m surprised no one had thought to do that sooner.
I think everyone would enjoy this! The book was playful and beautiful at the same time!
A few good things:
1.) The illustrations in the book are really good and really plentiful. He writes beautifully and I think reading the book is an exercise in thinking more illustratively.
2.) His theological reflection on different aspects of life are really convicting and helpful, I found myself thinking often of how my own life could be a better example of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes.
3.) His conclusion bringing in Charles Taylor and the imminent frame to make sense of the tensions between Qohelet and the editor was brilliant. If he came up with that, great job. Regardless, I’m surprised no one had thought to do that sooner.
I think everyone would enjoy this! The book was playful and beautiful at the same time!
November 30, 2025
Very accessible, does a great job at breaking down Ecclesiastes, and sticks to the theme throughout. Challenged me to reflect afresh on my assumptions of what leads to happiness.
Main takeaway: Happiness comes not from getting more out of life, but from receiving life itself as a gift.
Main takeaway: Happiness comes not from getting more out of life, but from receiving life itself as a gift.
July 12, 2025
Ecclesiastes is a question; Jesus is the answer
August 8, 2025
"But if you believe that life is good because life is a gift, and life is a gift because God gives it, and life is full of good things because the creator is constantly flinging gifts at you faster than you can catch them, then any meaning you discover is catching up with the meaning that God has already built in. Any goodness you enjoy is scratching the surface of the goodness that life is. Any happiness you experience is a glimpse of the one who is happiness himself."
Absolutely excellent! Will be mulling this one over hopefully for months and years to come. Ecclesiastes never gets old and Jameson's exposition is careful and poignant.
Absolutely excellent! Will be mulling this one over hopefully for months and years to come. Ecclesiastes never gets old and Jameson's exposition is careful and poignant.
September 20, 2025
The first half of this book was 3 stars. The author’s writing style is not my favorite- more lyrical, prolix, and poetic. In some regards it seemed written for unbelievers or people looking into Christianity, and so at times I felt it wasn’t applicable to me. He references and quotes a lot of other authors and philosophers. It made it hard to follow at times and it wasn’t a book I was loving to read. However, by the second portion of the book I really started to enjoy his arguments about level II. Particularly enjoyed his chapters on food, toil, and marriage. I would reference back to this book if I were leading a study on Ecclesiastes and ended up enjoying it overall.
July 22, 2025
Great book. Jamieson’s reflections on Ecclesiastes were terrific; he captured the heart of the book well. Plus, he is a really enjoyable author to read. I highly recommend this book; make sure to read it slowly and let its ideas steep.
October 1, 2025
This book was overview and exploration of Ecclesiastes and I found that it was very impactful.
The truths communicated in this book have stuck with me in a way that regularly changes my perspective throughout the day for the better. That is the main reason for the 5 ⭐️ rating.
Everything Is Never Enough did a good job surveying the main themes of Ecclesiastes and synthesizing them into a clear picture. I highly recommend this book for the big picture understanding of Ecclesiastes this book conveys.
The truths communicated in this book have stuck with me in a way that regularly changes my perspective throughout the day for the better. That is the main reason for the 5 ⭐️ rating.
Everything Is Never Enough did a good job surveying the main themes of Ecclesiastes and synthesizing them into a clear picture. I highly recommend this book for the big picture understanding of Ecclesiastes this book conveys.
May 12, 2025
Reading the book of Ecclesiastes is like doing a cold plunge. The words of the Preacher (ESV) will shock you. If you’re not careful, you’ll freeze in the water. Bobby Jamieson is here to make sure that doesn’t happen.
He doesn’t downplay the sayings of the Preacher; he lets you sit in them. But Jamieson will pull you back up and encourage you with practical insights, showing you how Ecclesiastes teaches to live a happy life.
Yet Jamieson does not fail to present the telos of Ecclesiastes: Christ, the only one who can satiate your longing for perfect and satisfying happiness.
If you suspect that daily reels, pictures, or advertisements have persuaded you that only this or that will finally make you happy, then you need an Ecclesiastes cold plunge. Let Jamieson be your guide.
He doesn’t downplay the sayings of the Preacher; he lets you sit in them. But Jamieson will pull you back up and encourage you with practical insights, showing you how Ecclesiastes teaches to live a happy life.
Yet Jamieson does not fail to present the telos of Ecclesiastes: Christ, the only one who can satiate your longing for perfect and satisfying happiness.
If you suspect that daily reels, pictures, or advertisements have persuaded you that only this or that will finally make you happy, then you need an Ecclesiastes cold plunge. Let Jamieson be your guide.
April 19, 2025
I’ve always been fascinated by the book of Ecclesiastes. Here’s this strange little book of philosophy in the middle of the Bible. There’s nothing else like it. It almost reads like an existential manifesto. What is going on with this book? Why is it in the Bible? I was excited when I saw that Bobby Jamieson has a book coming out dealing with just those questions: Everything Is Never Enough: Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness.
An Existential Enigma: The Philosophy of Ecclesiastes
“Everything is Never Enough”— the title alone is golden. It reminds me of Arcade Fire’s Everything Now album. The perennial problem in our consumeristic age is the more we have the more we want. The easier life is the easier we want it. I don’t know if that sentence works, but you get what I mean. We live in the age of anxiety (another Arcade Fire reference). People desperately search for meaning, but even when they think they’ve found it, it never feels like enough. Jamieson articulates the problem this way:
One of happiness’s many paradoxes is that you don’t get happy by aiming at happiness but by leading a life worth living. So the question “How can I be happy?” opens downward onto a deeper one: “What makes life worth living?”
Ecclesiastes explores what makes life worth living, yet it is such a strange book. The strangeness begins with the author who identifies only by a title: Qohelet (pronounced like “Go yell it,” according to Jamieson). This word refers to an activity—someone who makes a living speaking to groups. Many translate it as “teacher.” Now, the author does say he is a son of David and a king, so tradition says this is Solomon. We don’t know that for sure.
Qohelet’s Experiment: Testing Life’s Promises
Qohelet invites us into his experiential research project. He tests all the things we generally think will bring us happiness and make life great. You name it: work, pleasure, food, drink, money, knowledge. He explores everything in search of meaning and satisfaction.
Jamieson had me hooked with this sentence: “Ecclesiastes tries to convince you that many of this world’s most common promises are false friends and you should break up with them.” This isn’t a feel-good book. It’s a hard look at why we struggle to find happiness. Guess what? The problem is largely in ourselves. As my pastor @ChaseHinson ofter says, it’s a bad news / good news proposition. You get the bad news first.
Jamieson writes:
We long for permanence, but life proves fleeting; we desire wholeness, but the world stays broken; we crave satisfaction, but our appetites always rebound. This aspect of absurdity is a problem not only with the world but with us.
The Three Floors of Life: From Absurdity to Divine Insight
He uses a great metaphor to describe Ecclesiastes. He calls it a three-story building. Qohelet spends most of the book on the first floor looking out the windows with a limited view of all the elements of life. He declares everything hevel or absurd. “Vanities of vanities! All is vanity!” (Ecc 1:2)
What does he mean that everything is absurd? Again, this sounds a lot like existential philosophy. In fact, Jamieson quotes existentialist Albert Camus who calls the tension and hostility between the self and the reality of the world “the absurd.” We personally want things a certain way, and the world is indifferent to what we want. It often does the opposite.
According to sociologist Hartmut Rosa, the central drive of modernity is to “make the world engineerable, predictable, available, accessible, disposable … in all its aspects.” In a word, controllable. We want to control everything, down to the temperature of the room I’m in as I write and the one you’re in as you read… The compounding discoveries of science serve mastery. We want to know so that we can control.
Jamieson goes on to explain that it is this desire for control that aches within us. Qohelet comes to realize this on the ground floor of Ecclesiastes. We certainly feel this today. As humanity advances scientifically and technologically, we increasingly struggle with anxiety, despair, and anger. Mental health issues have skyrocketed.
There are many variables involved, but perhaps the deepest is this desire we have to control the uncontrollable. Of course, this goes all the way back to the garden and chapter 3 of Genesis. We want to be God for ourselves. We want to be in control, but no matter how much you prepare or how much you learn, you can’t control the ultimate outcome.
You may not get the job even though you’re the most qualified. You may not win the match even though you trained the hardest. You may not stay healthy even though you ate all the right things. Bad things may happen to you even though you were morally upright. And as Jim Morrison said, “No one here gets out alive.” You certainly won’t live forever.
The modern world teaches us that we are the captains of our ship. We tell our kids you can do anything and go anywhere. Jamieson writes, “But you’re not the captain; you’re not even on the boat. In the end, you’re a fish in the ship’s net.”
Qohelet systematically tries gain, work, knowledge, pleasure, money, time, power, death, and satisfaction itself. Jamieson dedicates a chapter to each of these. There was so much gold I felt like highlighting entire chapters at once. He highlights how Ecclesiastes is so applicable to our culture.
What does Qohelet learn on the ground floor? “So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is absurd and a striving after wind.” (Ecc 2:17) Everything is absurd to the point that he hates life. A few verses later he says he gives up his heart to despair because all his labor equates to nothing. What an encouragement, right? Remember, we have to get the bad news before we get the good news.
Jamieson writes, “The more you expect to be able to control, the more you will resent the uncontrollable.” This is where Qohelet is after doing his research on the ground floor. Don’t we get frustrated when things don’t go the way we think they should go? How about when people don’t do what we know they should do? We want to scream, “Just do what I told you!” Yet, that’s not where we will find happiness.
Jamieson goes on to say:
A masterful sunrise; a series-winning shot; a look that says all you need to hear; hearing, live, the opening chords of your favorite song: None of these would cause the skin on the back of your neck to tingle if they lacked the uncontrollable. You can’t control the sun, the shot, the look, the song. If you could, their meaning would splatter then disappear, like water from a burst balloon.
He goes on:
Letting go of control is like taking a deep gulp of air after you’ve held your breath too long. Happiness comes not from controlling your life but from realizing that everything you care about most is entangled with forces beyond your control.
Qohelet moves to the second floor of Ecclesiastes. Here his view has changed a little. He can see a little better from this vantage point. Life may be absurd, but it is still a gift. Gifts are meant to be enjoyed.
Qohelet realizes that we are to enjoy what God has given us, but we are to enjoy it in the moment. He goes through food and drink, toil, wealth, portion, marriage, and what Jamieson calls resonance. Each has its own short chapter in Everything is Never Enough.We are to enjoy these as gifts, not as ends themselves. That is often what we struggle with. We end up worshipping the gift instead of the giver.
Here’s an example from the chapter on toil:
The economists of the early 20th century did not foresee that work might evolve from a means of material production to a means of identity production. They failed to anticipate that, for the poor and middle class, work would remain a necessity; but for the college-educated elite, it would morph into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community. Call it workism.
We are to find enjoyment in work, not from it. We should get enjoyment from craftsmanship, effort, and a job well done. However, work is not meant to be our identity. This is true of everything that Qohelet surveys from the second floor. We are not meant to find our identity in the gifts of life. They are temporary. They should point us to the gift giver who is eternal. That is where we will find true happiness.
Beyond Control: Embracing God’s Sovereignty
Qohelet finally makes it to the third floor of Ecclesiastes. He spends the least amount of time at this level, but he can see the clearest from this height. What does he see? God is sovereign over all. We are not in control, but he is. If control is the thing we desire most, we would do well to fear him.
Qohelet surveyed all and judged it all absurd: We can neither understand nor control it. But the creator of all, by definition, both understands and controls all. The verdict of absurdity teaches us not only that the world is not all we wish it were but that we are not all we think we are. Only God is the creator, sustainer, and judge of all. Only he sees the whole tapestry because, ultimately, he is the one weaving it. Only he understands the whole story because, ultimately, he is the one telling it.
Jamieson uses the final chapters of Everything Is Never Enough to show that Qohelet’s ultimate lesson—drawn from his life’s experiment—is that if we fear and trust God, we have nothing else to fear. This is the good news. God entered the absurdity of this world by taking on human form as Jesus Christ. He suffered and took the absurdity to the cross so that we could experience the wholeness of God not just temporarily in this world, but fullness in eternity with him. That is where we will find happiness and satisfaction.
Bobby Jamieson’s writing is smart and engaging. I know it’s an odd thing to say, but he makes Ecclesiastes, a book of philosophy, exciting and accesible. His exposition of the scripture is insightful, and his analysis challenges readers to think deeply about their lives. I greatly enjoyed it.
An Existential Enigma: The Philosophy of Ecclesiastes
“Everything is Never Enough”— the title alone is golden. It reminds me of Arcade Fire’s Everything Now album. The perennial problem in our consumeristic age is the more we have the more we want. The easier life is the easier we want it. I don’t know if that sentence works, but you get what I mean. We live in the age of anxiety (another Arcade Fire reference). People desperately search for meaning, but even when they think they’ve found it, it never feels like enough. Jamieson articulates the problem this way:
One of happiness’s many paradoxes is that you don’t get happy by aiming at happiness but by leading a life worth living. So the question “How can I be happy?” opens downward onto a deeper one: “What makes life worth living?”
Ecclesiastes explores what makes life worth living, yet it is such a strange book. The strangeness begins with the author who identifies only by a title: Qohelet (pronounced like “Go yell it,” according to Jamieson). This word refers to an activity—someone who makes a living speaking to groups. Many translate it as “teacher.” Now, the author does say he is a son of David and a king, so tradition says this is Solomon. We don’t know that for sure.
Qohelet’s Experiment: Testing Life’s Promises
Qohelet invites us into his experiential research project. He tests all the things we generally think will bring us happiness and make life great. You name it: work, pleasure, food, drink, money, knowledge. He explores everything in search of meaning and satisfaction.
Jamieson had me hooked with this sentence: “Ecclesiastes tries to convince you that many of this world’s most common promises are false friends and you should break up with them.” This isn’t a feel-good book. It’s a hard look at why we struggle to find happiness. Guess what? The problem is largely in ourselves. As my pastor @ChaseHinson ofter says, it’s a bad news / good news proposition. You get the bad news first.
Jamieson writes:
We long for permanence, but life proves fleeting; we desire wholeness, but the world stays broken; we crave satisfaction, but our appetites always rebound. This aspect of absurdity is a problem not only with the world but with us.
The Three Floors of Life: From Absurdity to Divine Insight
He uses a great metaphor to describe Ecclesiastes. He calls it a three-story building. Qohelet spends most of the book on the first floor looking out the windows with a limited view of all the elements of life. He declares everything hevel or absurd. “Vanities of vanities! All is vanity!” (Ecc 1:2)
What does he mean that everything is absurd? Again, this sounds a lot like existential philosophy. In fact, Jamieson quotes existentialist Albert Camus who calls the tension and hostility between the self and the reality of the world “the absurd.” We personally want things a certain way, and the world is indifferent to what we want. It often does the opposite.
According to sociologist Hartmut Rosa, the central drive of modernity is to “make the world engineerable, predictable, available, accessible, disposable … in all its aspects.” In a word, controllable. We want to control everything, down to the temperature of the room I’m in as I write and the one you’re in as you read… The compounding discoveries of science serve mastery. We want to know so that we can control.
Jamieson goes on to explain that it is this desire for control that aches within us. Qohelet comes to realize this on the ground floor of Ecclesiastes. We certainly feel this today. As humanity advances scientifically and technologically, we increasingly struggle with anxiety, despair, and anger. Mental health issues have skyrocketed.
There are many variables involved, but perhaps the deepest is this desire we have to control the uncontrollable. Of course, this goes all the way back to the garden and chapter 3 of Genesis. We want to be God for ourselves. We want to be in control, but no matter how much you prepare or how much you learn, you can’t control the ultimate outcome.
You may not get the job even though you’re the most qualified. You may not win the match even though you trained the hardest. You may not stay healthy even though you ate all the right things. Bad things may happen to you even though you were morally upright. And as Jim Morrison said, “No one here gets out alive.” You certainly won’t live forever.
The modern world teaches us that we are the captains of our ship. We tell our kids you can do anything and go anywhere. Jamieson writes, “But you’re not the captain; you’re not even on the boat. In the end, you’re a fish in the ship’s net.”
Qohelet systematically tries gain, work, knowledge, pleasure, money, time, power, death, and satisfaction itself. Jamieson dedicates a chapter to each of these. There was so much gold I felt like highlighting entire chapters at once. He highlights how Ecclesiastes is so applicable to our culture.
What does Qohelet learn on the ground floor? “So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is absurd and a striving after wind.” (Ecc 2:17) Everything is absurd to the point that he hates life. A few verses later he says he gives up his heart to despair because all his labor equates to nothing. What an encouragement, right? Remember, we have to get the bad news before we get the good news.
Jamieson writes, “The more you expect to be able to control, the more you will resent the uncontrollable.” This is where Qohelet is after doing his research on the ground floor. Don’t we get frustrated when things don’t go the way we think they should go? How about when people don’t do what we know they should do? We want to scream, “Just do what I told you!” Yet, that’s not where we will find happiness.
Jamieson goes on to say:
A masterful sunrise; a series-winning shot; a look that says all you need to hear; hearing, live, the opening chords of your favorite song: None of these would cause the skin on the back of your neck to tingle if they lacked the uncontrollable. You can’t control the sun, the shot, the look, the song. If you could, their meaning would splatter then disappear, like water from a burst balloon.
He goes on:
Letting go of control is like taking a deep gulp of air after you’ve held your breath too long. Happiness comes not from controlling your life but from realizing that everything you care about most is entangled with forces beyond your control.
Qohelet moves to the second floor of Ecclesiastes. Here his view has changed a little. He can see a little better from this vantage point. Life may be absurd, but it is still a gift. Gifts are meant to be enjoyed.
Qohelet realizes that we are to enjoy what God has given us, but we are to enjoy it in the moment. He goes through food and drink, toil, wealth, portion, marriage, and what Jamieson calls resonance. Each has its own short chapter in Everything is Never Enough.We are to enjoy these as gifts, not as ends themselves. That is often what we struggle with. We end up worshipping the gift instead of the giver.
Here’s an example from the chapter on toil:
The economists of the early 20th century did not foresee that work might evolve from a means of material production to a means of identity production. They failed to anticipate that, for the poor and middle class, work would remain a necessity; but for the college-educated elite, it would morph into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community. Call it workism.
We are to find enjoyment in work, not from it. We should get enjoyment from craftsmanship, effort, and a job well done. However, work is not meant to be our identity. This is true of everything that Qohelet surveys from the second floor. We are not meant to find our identity in the gifts of life. They are temporary. They should point us to the gift giver who is eternal. That is where we will find true happiness.
Beyond Control: Embracing God’s Sovereignty
Qohelet finally makes it to the third floor of Ecclesiastes. He spends the least amount of time at this level, but he can see the clearest from this height. What does he see? God is sovereign over all. We are not in control, but he is. If control is the thing we desire most, we would do well to fear him.
Qohelet surveyed all and judged it all absurd: We can neither understand nor control it. But the creator of all, by definition, both understands and controls all. The verdict of absurdity teaches us not only that the world is not all we wish it were but that we are not all we think we are. Only God is the creator, sustainer, and judge of all. Only he sees the whole tapestry because, ultimately, he is the one weaving it. Only he understands the whole story because, ultimately, he is the one telling it.
Jamieson uses the final chapters of Everything Is Never Enough to show that Qohelet’s ultimate lesson—drawn from his life’s experiment—is that if we fear and trust God, we have nothing else to fear. This is the good news. God entered the absurdity of this world by taking on human form as Jesus Christ. He suffered and took the absurdity to the cross so that we could experience the wholeness of God not just temporarily in this world, but fullness in eternity with him. That is where we will find happiness and satisfaction.
Bobby Jamieson’s writing is smart and engaging. I know it’s an odd thing to say, but he makes Ecclesiastes, a book of philosophy, exciting and accesible. His exposition of the scripture is insightful, and his analysis challenges readers to think deeply about their lives. I greatly enjoyed it.
July 19, 2025
Truly excellent. Accessible but philosophical; encouraging and clarifying for Christians but resonant to the unreligious. Makes sense of a complicated book of the Bible, and applies it in the broader context of human history and the redemption story.
But more than that—this was just really heartening to read.
“Yet underneath the drastically different surface desires lies a singular desire for something all out of proportion with anything that sticks to earth's spinning skin. Beneath your longings for things you know you want lies a longing for something you want but don't know. If you pull up a weed from your garden every day, and the next day always reveals another weed, would you conclude that tomorrow you will no longer have to weed? Or that something in this ground will cause it to keep sprouting shoots that seek the sun?
What unsatisfied longing stings you most sharply? What are you looking for in the thing you're longing for?
You might tailor or trim longings, but what about longing itself? Can you switch it off? If your heart sprouts longings quicker than you can weed them, maybe the solution isn't to weed faster but to find the sun and eat it.”
But more than that—this was just really heartening to read.
“Yet underneath the drastically different surface desires lies a singular desire for something all out of proportion with anything that sticks to earth's spinning skin. Beneath your longings for things you know you want lies a longing for something you want but don't know. If you pull up a weed from your garden every day, and the next day always reveals another weed, would you conclude that tomorrow you will no longer have to weed? Or that something in this ground will cause it to keep sprouting shoots that seek the sun?
What unsatisfied longing stings you most sharply? What are you looking for in the thing you're longing for?
You might tailor or trim longings, but what about longing itself? Can you switch it off? If your heart sprouts longings quicker than you can weed them, maybe the solution isn't to weed faster but to find the sun and eat it.”
December 31, 2025
From the first section I wanted a bit more from the book, which is ironic given the subject. But as Jamieson wrote on he opened up deep truths with understandable and enjoyable writing while remaining humble and pointing back to the most important source, Ecclesiastes itself. It’s a good book, and it’s Good News. What a gift He has given us to live this absurd life and really live it well, because He lives!
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Also Bobby Jamieson looks like Paul Dano so please cast him for the Ecclesiastes movie
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Also Bobby Jamieson looks like Paul Dano so please cast him for the Ecclesiastes movie
December 11, 2025
This book is equal parts social philosophy, biblical commentary, and theological psychology.
Been a fan of Bobby Jamison for awhile now as an author, as he is very well read and a robust thinker. This book really highlights not only his knowledge, but also his writing ability, as it is beautifully and provokingly written.
If you’re asking the deep questions of life and want to know how the Bible both shatters your expectations but also gives you hope, this book is for you
Been a fan of Bobby Jamison for awhile now as an author, as he is very well read and a robust thinker. This book really highlights not only his knowledge, but also his writing ability, as it is beautifully and provokingly written.
If you’re asking the deep questions of life and want to know how the Bible both shatters your expectations but also gives you hope, this book is for you
August 29, 2025
Bobby was right. This book will hurt you before it begins to heal you, just like Ecclesiastes. It’s also the kind of book that you can receive and understand upon completion, but will take a lifetime to digest and embody. Again, just like Ecclesiastes.
Don’t read this simply as a guide to studying Ecclesiastes (though Jamieson’s book is a sure guide.) Pick this one up for an ever bigger purpose: to discover the roots of Joy.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
It just so happens it’s also the bedrock of true happiness.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures, here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Amen.”
Don’t read this simply as a guide to studying Ecclesiastes (though Jamieson’s book is a sure guide.) Pick this one up for an ever bigger purpose: to discover the roots of Joy.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
It just so happens it’s also the bedrock of true happiness.
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures, here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Amen.”
May 1, 2025
Superb. Accessible, balanced, thought-provoking. A top read of the year so far.
May 6, 2025
Excellent. Will be recommending this to everyone who has the breath of life in them for the next year
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