King Solomon lived his life as if the past was irrelevant and the future uncertain. He drank, collected women, gathered possessions, and cultivated knowledge, only to discover in the end that these pursuits
were futile. Near the end of his life, filled with remorse and regret, he articulated a principle that speaks to us down through the ages. The words are simple, but their meaning and application are profound. In Ecclesiastes 12:1, he writes: Remember now thou Creator in the days of your youth.
It was a truth he himself had forgotten somewhere along the way. And why is this admonition so important? Solomon answers this question in the last two verses of the chapter: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Like Solomon, modern man has also forgotten the wisdom of a will greater than his own. The outcome is what Dr. Richard Halverson, former chaplain of the United States Senate, called, “Destination Sickness”: …the syndrome of man who has arrived and discovered he is nowhere. He has achieved his goals and finds they are not what he had anticipated. He suffers the disillusionments of promises that petered out – the payoff with kickback! He has all the things money can buy and finds decreasing satisfaction in all he has…he is the man who has become a whale of a success downtown and a pathetic failure at home. He’s the big shot with the boys in the office and a big phony with the boys at home. He’s the status symbol in society and a fake with the family. “Destination Sickness” – the illness peculiar to a culture that is affluent and godless.
The first and arguably the most important lesson anyone must learn is that life is inherently moral. There is a divine will to obey. Every human being needs to know that there is an all-powerful, all-seeing, all -holy God who rewards good and punishes evil. We all must learn that (absolute) values exists; that the commandments of God are liberating, not restrictive. That true satisfaction in life is directly proportioned to one’s own obedience to God. In this context, moral boundaries take on a whole new perspective: They become benefits, not burdens. If you are reading my article, I want to think you are a believer. If you would reach beyond your own “self” today and touch a life that you know has been cast down, YOU will start a movement! Darkness will not comprehend you.
Have a great week. Let brotherly love continue.
