ALL IS VANITY

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.” Ecclesiastes 12:1

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s words hauntingly draw us into a time vacuum where reality spills over to the imagined, and we find ourselves wanting to push away at the discovery he made. Surely he was wrong. There must be a way for us to indulge in the pleasures of this world and serve God at the same time, but alas, there is not. Solomon is right —all is vanity.

Therefore, his warning is true that we should remember our Creator in the days of our youth, before the years come when you will say, “‘I have no delight in them’; before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim. . . then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. ‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher, ‘all is vanity!'” (Ecclesiastes 12:1-3, 7-8 NASB).

God wants us to enjoy His provisions. However, the key to the good things in life is not in doing or having but in living for Jesus Christ. You will find that when your affections are set on material gain, your spirit suffers. Life takes on a hopeless effect. But you avoid all of this when knowing Jesus is your aim and goal.

Dear Lord, I want to set my affections on spiritual things instead of material things. Help me to do that during the coming year.