Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NIV
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
When I read this verse, I think of American culture. It's motto should be: "GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!" Americans number one priority seems to be, "how can I make sure I have everything I want with as little effort on my part as possible." I confess I even fall into the trap of gluttony that pervades our nation. I find myself sometimes more concerned with what I have and what I can get more than how can I love people better. It's a hard thing to let go of when so many around you are grabbing up everything the can get their hands on. Satan starts that niggling doubt that if you don't get yours too you will be left with nothing. But as Solomon, the wisest man in the world, said, "What I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
Christ once said that if you lose your life you will gain it, and if you keep you life you will lose it. What we need to focus on is not what things should we have or what lifestyle should we be living, but what do I want to do for eternity. How do I want to spend my eternity?
So I encourage you today to sacrifice the things of this world which will only rot and decay. Love people well. Focus on the things that are important to God. Spend time with the Most Holy and do the things his Spirit says to do. Thereby storing up great rewards in heaven that you may hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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