This lesson teaches children that money, stuff, and even a long life cannot fill a heart the way God can. It is built for children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to teach.
Big Idea
Things cannot make our hearts truly full. Only God can give us what we really need, so we should trust Him more than we trust what we own.
Memory Verse
Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
(WEB)
Ask children to hold both hands out flat, then slowly pull them back to their chests as they say the verse together. Wandering hands show wandering wants, and hands held close show a heart that is settled. Repeat it three times, speeding up each time, then slowing down.
The Story: Ecclesiastes 6 for Kids
Long ago, a wise man named Solomon looked around at the world and noticed something sad. He saw a man who had plenty of money, plenty of nice things, and plenty of honor from others. The man wanted for nothing he could think of. But God had not given him the joy of enjoying any of it, so other people ended up using it instead.
Solomon also thought about a man who had many children and lived for a very long time. Even with a big family and many years, his heart still felt empty. He never found the good things his soul was hungry for. Solomon said that a baby who never got to see the sun would be better off than that man, because at least the baby did not spend a whole life feeling empty.
Solomon said that people work and work, but their hunger never goes away. A wise person and a foolish person both end up in the same place, and a poor person who knows how to live well still has more than someone who has everything but no peace. Solomon told his readers that wanting things can only chase the wind, and no one can fully know what is good for them in this short life.
Solomon was saying something important with his question: who can tell us what is best for us? He knew the answer was not our bank account or our long list of wants. The answer was the God who made us and knows what our hearts truly need.
Read It Together
Ecclesiastes 6:2
A man to whom God gives riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him no power to eat of it, but an alien eats it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
(WEB)
Point out how God is the one who gives good things, and how a man can have everything yet still not be able to enjoy it. Ask children what it would feel like to have a room full of toys but no fun while playing with them. This shows that the gift matters less than the heart that receives it.
Ecclesiastes 6:7
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
(WEB)
Point out how people work hard to fill their mouths, but their hunger keeps coming back. Explain that food is good and needed, yet it cannot fill the deeper part of us that wants to be loved and known. Help children see that we need something more than what we can buy.
Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
(WEB)
Point out how the verse asks who can tell us what our lives will bring. Remind children that our days are short, like a shadow, and that God is the one who knows the whole story. Let them see that trusting God means we do not have to figure everything out ourselves.
Talk About It
- What is one thing you really wanted that made you happy for a short time but then did not feel like enough?
- What do you think it means to have a heart that is full?
- Why do you think Solomon said that money and stuff can feel like chasing the wind?
- How can we tell the difference between something we need and something we only want?
- What is one way we can trust God to fill us, instead of trying to fill ourselves with things?
Activity Ideas
Empty Jar, Full Heart Craft
You will need a clear jar, some cotton balls, a few marbles, and paper for drawing. Have each child draw something they love most in the world, then glue it on the outside of the jar. Let them fill the jar with cotton balls and marbles, and talk about how the jar still looks empty inside. Finish by writing “God fills my heart” on a strip of paper and tucking it inside.
Chase the Wind Game
You will need a few paper streamers or tissue paper strips and an open space to move in. Have children run around trying to catch the streamers as they blow through the air. After a minute, stop and ask how it felt to chase something they could never hold onto. Connect that feeling to chasing things that cannot truly satisfy.
Take-Home Thankful Card
You will need index cards, crayons, and a pencil. Have each child write one thing they are thankful for that is not a thing they can buy, such as a family member, a friend, or a sunny morning. Let them take the card home and place it where they will see it at bedtime. Encourage them to read it aloud to a parent that night.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter is a sober look at how wealth, children, and long life can all fail to bring the peace we hope they will. Solomon is not telling us that riches are evil, but that they cannot be our ultimate source of satisfaction. The passage points us to the God who alone knows what is good for us in this short life.
With children, avoid overstating the idea that having money or nice things is always wrong. Children may hear that getting toys is bad, which could create guilt rather than gratitude. Focus instead on God being the one who fills our hearts, and let the lesson be about trust rather than a rule against possessions.
A Prayer to Close
Dear God, thank You that You know what our hearts really need. Help us not to chase after things that cannot fill us up. Teach us to trust You every day, because You are the one who gives us what is truly good. Help us to be thankful for Your love and to rest in You. Amen.
