Passage Read: Proverbs 30 - Ecclesiastes 2
Meditation Verses: Ecclesiastes 2:22-25
Thought
Because of death, all our labors are ultimately for nothing. Is just marking time and keeping us above until we die. But death is inevitable, so nothing on this earth really means anything. It's all temporary, and just for keeping us out of trouble until we finish our course. That is depressing and infuriating! Why bother? Because we need to feed ourselves. Why labor for great wealth and many precious things? There is no good reason. All one can really do is make the most out of each day, find all the enjoyment we can get out of it while laboring sufficiently to keep ourselves fed, clothed and sheltered.
Application
That all is certainly true, especially for the man who cannot see anything higher than the sun. If God made us only to live and die on this earth, then the wisest among us will live just for his own enjoyment, because afterward, who knows what becomes of us, but clearly whatever and whoever we leave behind will go on without us and do whatever they please. We cease to have say or concern over what we leave behind. But God didn't make us to live and die and cease all meaning. He made us to live forever, but not in this age. So meaning comes from knowing what counts for our eternal life, what carries over into eternity and what we can obtain and build on there. That, we will own for eternity. That, we will never have to abandon and leave to another. What we work for will forever be ours! That finally is something worth living and dying for! What endures for eternity? What can be banked in heaven? All we do for God and His kingdom. So my goal shouldn't be to work just enough to feed myself and get whatever pleasure I can from this life, but to work just enough to supply my needs and free as much of my day so that I can serve the Lord and advance His kingdom. That produces "wealth" that can never be lost!