Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13
All in this life is vanity, at least that is what King Solomon had to say. King Solomon, the son of King David, was gifted with extraordinary wisdom from God. Not only did he possess godly wisdom but he was extremely wealthy and was admired by peasants and kings alike.
So, you would think that in the last days of his life he would be telling the world how to get the wealth, wisdom and admiration that he possessed. Instead, he tells us that all of this is nothing more than vanity. He reminds us that all of the world’s wealth and fame is temporary. What a stark contrast to the prevailing wisdom of today that tells us to get all we can get, to spend our entire lives in the pursuit of wealth and fame. Millionaire televangelists tell us that their mansions, expensive cars and big bank accounts are mere “blessings from God” and are to be desired and sought after. Its no wonder that there is such confusion in the Church today when popular preachers ignore the wisdom of Solomon and promote worldly greed.
The book of Ecclesiastes is a fascinating book. It begins by asking the question “What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the son?” Of course we think that we must labor for the things of this life, such as food, clothing and shelter. But, is that true? After all, did not Jesus tell us to “… seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you?”
Neither Jesus nor Solomon was telling us not to work for the things we need in this life. The Bible does tell us that if we don’t work we don’t eat. Rather, both are pointing out that we are to look beyond self and this short mortal life here on earth. We must realize that we are subjects of a King who rules over a kingdom, we are not just mere individuals out here in the world trying to fend for ourselves.
In Ecclesiastes 12:13 Solomon was saying exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, it is useless and vain to focus our lives on the pursuit of worldly wealth and fame. It is useless and vain to look the the world and its methods, rather than looking to God, for fulfillment. Its useless and vain because this world and its methods are temporary. Jesus Christ is the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords. He will establish an unshakable kingdom and will rule and reign throughout all eternity.
We would do well to heed King Solomon’s wisdom, “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Jesus is coming back soon and we will stand in judgement before Him. We will not be judged on how much money we made or how popular we were in life. We will be judged on our commitment to the Lord and our service to Him.
The secret of doing well in this life and beyond is to get our eyes off of the ways of the world and focus on doing the will of God now.