This lesson teaches children that money, stuff, and even a long life cannot fill a person’s heart the way God can. It works well for children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how many questions your class wants to talk through.
Big Idea
Things and days can never fill our hearts the way God does. Only God can make us truly happy, so we should trust Him above everything else we want.
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)
Teach the children to hold both hands out, palms up, then slowly bring them together over their heart as they say the last words of the verse. Then open the hands wide and look up, which reminds them that wanting things we cannot hold is like chasing the wind. Have them do the motion three times together.
The Story: Ecclesiastes 6 for Kids
Once, the writer of this book looked around at people’s lives and noticed something sad. He saw a man who had plenty of money, nice things, and everything his heart wanted. But the man could not enjoy any of it. Someone else ended up using all his good things, and he felt empty inside.
The writer also thought about a man who had many children and lived a very long time. You might think a man like that would be happy. Yet his soul was still not filled with anything good. When he died, no one even gave him a proper burial. The writer said that a baby who never got to see the sun was better off than that man.
Why did the writer say this? He wanted people to see that all the hard work in the world is often done only to fill the stomach, and the stomach is never really full. People keep wanting more and more, but more never satisfies them for long. The writer said that wanting things with our eyes is better than wandering after things our hearts crave, and both can feel like chasing wind.
The writer asked a question that makes us stop and think. He asked who can truly know what is good for a person in this life. Our days pass quickly, like a shadow that moves across the grass. Nobody can tell us exactly what will happen after we are gone. So we must be careful not to put our hope in things that will not last.
The lesson in this chapter is not that money or children are bad. It is that a person who only chases things will never find real peace. Real peace comes from knowing the One who made us and who stays with us through every day.
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 that God gave this man good things, yet he could not enjoy them. Ask the children what it would feel like to have a room full of toys but no one to play with. Explain that good gifts are best when we remember who gave them to us.
Ecclesiastes 6:7-8
7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. 8 For what advantage has the wise more than the fool? What has the poor man, that knows how to walk before the living?
(WEB)
Show the children how the writer keeps saying that people work hard but still feel hungry inside. Explain that our bodies need food, but our hearts need God, and nothing else can fill that empty place.
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 the picture of a shadow, which is here for a short time and then gone. Help the children see that our days on earth are a gift, and we should spend them loving and trusting God.
Talk About It
- What is one thing you really wanted, and how did you feel once you finally got it?
- Why do you think the writer felt sad about the man who had everything but could not enjoy it?
- What is something that makes your heart feel full and happy, even when you do not have many things?
- How can we remember that God gives us good gifts, and not forget to thank Him?
- What is one way we can trust God with our days this week?
Activity Ideas
Shadow Drawing Craft
You will need paper, crayons, and a sunny spot outside. Have each child stand in the sun while a helper traces the shadow on the paper with a crayon. Inside the shadow, the children can draw something that reminds them of God’s faithful love. Talk about how a shadow is here for a moment, but God’s care lasts forever.
Chasing the Wind Game
Gather a few lightweight items like paper scraps or feathers, and have the children try to catch them as you gently blow or fan them. Let them see how hard it is to hold onto something that keeps moving. Afterward, explain that wanting things we cannot keep is like chasing the wind, but trusting God gives us something steady to hold.
Take-Home Gratitude Jar
Give each child an empty jar and some slips of paper at home. Each day for a week, they write one thing God gave them and drop it in the jar. At the end of the week, open the jar together and read the notes aloud. This helps children remember that God’s gifts fill our hearts more than anything we can buy.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter reminds us that wealth, pleasure, and long life cannot satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul. The writer shows that people often chase after more without ever feeling content, and that only trust in God brings lasting meaning. It is an honest look at life under the sun that points us back to God as our true source of peace.
Avoid telling children that having money, toys, or a family is wrong. The chapter does not say these things are evil, and children may feel guilty about good gifts. Instead, focus on the idea that good gifts should lead us to thank God rather than become the thing we love most.
A Prayer to Close
Dear Father, thank You for all the good gifts You give us every day. Help us remember that only You can fill our hearts with real peace and joy. Teach us to trust You with our days, because our time is in Your hands. Amen.
