When Is a Full Life Empty?

The book of Ecclesiastes is a very interesting read. It is written by Solomon and the essential theme of the book is that life without God is not much of a life at all. Solomon is recorded as the wisest and richest man of his day.   There were no pleasures of the world that Solomon could not obtain or afford. In chapter 2, Solomon writes that he set out to “grab all the gusto” he could grab. You can read the beginning of the chapter here: Ecclesiastes 2. At the end of this time of partying and possessions Solomon comes to the following conclusion: Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.

Interesting isn’t it? Solomon had all this world could offer and found that what was offered was empty, vanity and grasping for the wind. We can learn from Solomon. There is nothing that we can obtain through this world that will be of lasting value. Truly, much of what we can obtain doesn’t even have much of a short term half life and value. What Solomon found out is what God has said all along. The real value in life is in knowing Him. The real value is in serving and not being served. The real value is in giving and not receiving. I hope that we can all learn from Solomon and put our priorities into those things and people that really matter; being directed by a God who knows what really matters. It would be a shame to think you are living a full life; only to have revealed one day that it was empty.

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