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Therefore, my beloved brethren,
Be ye stedfast,
Unmoveable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Forasmuch as ye know
That your labour is not in vain
In the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
If I have learned anything in life it is that nothing you do matters unless it is for God. The book of Ecclesiastes lays this fact out quite plainly.
Solomon had his faults but when God asked what He could give him Solomon asked for wisdom, (1 Kings 3) and not wisdom to gain power, or a superiority over others, but so that he could take good care of his people. Oh that all of us would consider God, and the people when we come to those crossroads of life where we have to chose what road to take.
I met a young man recently and we came to the subject of his future profession. He told me that he hadn't decided what he wanted to do yet but that he was either going to be a lawyer or a doctor. Now there is nothing wrong with being a doctor or a lawyer but the only thing that makes those two professions remotely alike is that both are, generally, big money makers. So when I hear people say they are choosing between the two it is clear to me that dollar signs are the deciding factor in this decision and neither of these professions should be entered into solely on the basis of making money. People would be putting their lives in their hands, and it should mean more to them than that. Anyway, it made me sad that this young man was only concerned with money.
Ecclesiastes 5:15, 16 says, "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." He says that all the physical things of this earth that we labor for eventually turn to dust. "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" What point is there in working so hard for something that is so temporary?
Some might say, "But I would at least enjoy my things while I was alive." But would you? Solomon said in chapter 2 verses 10-11, "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." The pleasures of the flesh are fleeting as well. It doesn't fulfill. We see many examples of this in Hollywood today. They are just as much, if not more of a mess than the rest of the world. Money hasn't fulfilled anything for them. When asked if he was happy with all his riches, John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made millions, but they have brought be no happiness." John Jacob Astor, American Fur Company Tycoon, who left his children with $20 million at his death in 1848 said, "I am the most miserable man on earth" Henry Ford said, "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job." Solomon had wealth that far surpassed even the wealthiest American and even he did not see any long lasting comfort in these things.
All of the pleasures that Solomon heaped upon his flesh, all of the wealth he accumulated during his life have now been gone for thousands of years, but something of his labor still remains. Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the wisdom of God poured out through Solomon to us today, still alive, still teaching and exhorting Gods people, from Solomon, to today, to the return of Christ in the future.
No, a Christian life is not free of hardships, but there is a joy that comes from knowing that your struggles are endured for a lasting cause.Be ye stedfast,
Unmoveable,
Always abounding in the work of the Lord,
Forasmuch as ye know
That your labour is not in vain
In the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
If I have learned anything in life it is that nothing you do matters unless it is for God. The book of Ecclesiastes lays this fact out quite plainly.
Solomon had his faults but when God asked what He could give him Solomon asked for wisdom, (1 Kings 3) and not wisdom to gain power, or a superiority over others, but so that he could take good care of his people. Oh that all of us would consider God, and the people when we come to those crossroads of life where we have to chose what road to take.
I met a young man recently and we came to the subject of his future profession. He told me that he hadn't decided what he wanted to do yet but that he was either going to be a lawyer or a doctor. Now there is nothing wrong with being a doctor or a lawyer but the only thing that makes those two professions remotely alike is that both are, generally, big money makers. So when I hear people say they are choosing between the two it is clear to me that dollar signs are the deciding factor in this decision and neither of these professions should be entered into solely on the basis of making money. People would be putting their lives in their hands, and it should mean more to them than that. Anyway, it made me sad that this young man was only concerned with money.
Ecclesiastes 5:15, 16 says, "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." He says that all the physical things of this earth that we labor for eventually turn to dust. "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?" What point is there in working so hard for something that is so temporary?
Some might say, "But I would at least enjoy my things while I was alive." But would you? Solomon said in chapter 2 verses 10-11, "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." The pleasures of the flesh are fleeting as well. It doesn't fulfill. We see many examples of this in Hollywood today. They are just as much, if not more of a mess than the rest of the world. Money hasn't fulfilled anything for them. When asked if he was happy with all his riches, John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made millions, but they have brought be no happiness." John Jacob Astor, American Fur Company Tycoon, who left his children with $20 million at his death in 1848 said, "I am the most miserable man on earth" Henry Ford said, "I was happier when doing a mechanic's job." Solomon had wealth that far surpassed even the wealthiest American and even he did not see any long lasting comfort in these things.
All of the pleasures that Solomon heaped upon his flesh, all of the wealth he accumulated during his life have now been gone for thousands of years, but something of his labor still remains. Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it." Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the wisdom of God poured out through Solomon to us today, still alive, still teaching and exhorting Gods people, from Solomon, to today, to the return of Christ in the future.
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 4:6) That means if all you are after are the things this life can give you, your life will be spent as a man who finds no rest trying to hold the wind in his hands, never knowing the peace of working along side a God who is filling up a bag of treasure that isn't going anywhere.
