"Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor Him in your youth before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore."...Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone's duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad." Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14
King Solomon was highly successful by most people's standard of success. He had fame, fortune, status, comfort, and power-all things by which the world judges success. But his life did not end as well as it started. That's because those things by which the world judges us don't satisfy over the long haul. I have seen too many people seeking things that aren't worthy of all the time, expense, and effort that go into them. Time eventually shows which of our pursuits were ultimately empty. Excessive time at the office, watching tv, or chasing after fame and fortune, or chasing fleeting pleasures will always leave you feeling empty.
We have all seen how Christ's priorities are different from the world's value system, and most of us have to reevaluate our priorities from time to time in order to line them up with what is eternally valuable. We don't want to end like Solomon did - knowing the key to a meaningful, fulfilling life but never living up to what we know to be true. But how do we shift our priorities? How do we make changes that will last in our life?
A life centered in Christ will not only help to free us from the uncertainty of tomorrow and the constant worries that success and achievements bring, something that Solomon called "chasing the wind." It will redirect our focus toward what really matters. It will put our finances, health, relationships, and our goals for the future in the right perspective. When we finally start to "chase after God" rather than chasing after a wind that we can't ever hope to catch, we find that our relationship with Him will rearrange priorities.
It is never too late to put your life in order and be able to enjoy the blessings God has placed all around you. If you simply stop and look around you will see blessings every where - the sunset that you ignore when driving home from work, the face of your children even when they are being a handful, or any other evidence of His work in our lives. Shifting our priorities will require some changes, and it isn't always easy. Solomon said the key to a meaningful, fulfilling life is God. If we make Him the center of our life He changes the perspective that we have and ultimately shows us our true purpose.
King Solomon was highly successful by most people's standard of success. He had fame, fortune, status, comfort, and power-all things by which the world judges success. But his life did not end as well as it started. That's because those things by which the world judges us don't satisfy over the long haul. I have seen too many people seeking things that aren't worthy of all the time, expense, and effort that go into them. Time eventually shows which of our pursuits were ultimately empty. Excessive time at the office, watching tv, or chasing after fame and fortune, or chasing fleeting pleasures will always leave you feeling empty.
We have all seen how Christ's priorities are different from the world's value system, and most of us have to reevaluate our priorities from time to time in order to line them up with what is eternally valuable. We don't want to end like Solomon did - knowing the key to a meaningful, fulfilling life but never living up to what we know to be true. But how do we shift our priorities? How do we make changes that will last in our life?
A life centered in Christ will not only help to free us from the uncertainty of tomorrow and the constant worries that success and achievements bring, something that Solomon called "chasing the wind." It will redirect our focus toward what really matters. It will put our finances, health, relationships, and our goals for the future in the right perspective. When we finally start to "chase after God" rather than chasing after a wind that we can't ever hope to catch, we find that our relationship with Him will rearrange priorities.
It is never too late to put your life in order and be able to enjoy the blessings God has placed all around you. If you simply stop and look around you will see blessings every where - the sunset that you ignore when driving home from work, the face of your children even when they are being a handful, or any other evidence of His work in our lives. Shifting our priorities will require some changes, and it isn't always easy. Solomon said the key to a meaningful, fulfilling life is God. If we make Him the center of our life He changes the perspective that we have and ultimately shows us our true purpose.
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