“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. 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.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NIV)

King Solomon was quite wealthy by anyone’s standards. Some have estimated that his wealth today would be in the billions or even trillions. This doesn’t even take into account his absolute power over everything and everyone in his kingdom. Anything and anyone he wanted was his for the taking.

Very few of us today could recite the verses above and apply them to our own lives. However, in this country in particular, we give it our best shot whether we’re rich or poor.

Greed is on an epidemic scale in America and it has infected nearly everyone. Who of us can say we have never bought (usually on credit) something that we couldn’t afford and didn’t need? Consumer debt is nearly 800 billion dollars in this country, if not more. Credit cards, house payments, vehicle payments, luxury items and the list goes on down the page. Very few of us have little or no debt. Most are swimming in debt and taking on water.

Our greed doesn’t stop with debt either. There are those in our society who will rape and/or murder others to satisfy their sexual desires. Some of our citizens have been murdered over pocket change.

In our society, almost nothing will be withheld by some to get what they want. They will lie, cheat, steal, rape, murder, gossip, whatever it takes. Even for those who obtain their desires legally, did they do so morally?

Notice that Solomon denied himself nothing his eyes desired and refused himself no pleasure. I personally feel that there are plenty of moral people (Christian and non-Christian) who have never gone quite that far. They may desire what someone else has, but would never think of crossing the lines of “illegality” and “immorality.”

However, we find ourselves still reaching beyond to obtain as much as we can (legally and morally) in material things and pleasures. So we still do not deny our eyes and heart “things” within our own limited resources.

Solomon next speaks of the labor of his hands and his being so proud of his accomplishments. I’m always reminded of the actor Jimmy Stewart saying grace in the movie Shenandoah. It went something like this:

“Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it and harvested it. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here. We wouldn’t be eatin’ it, if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-boned hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway Lord for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Does this sound like any of us, or do we even offer a prayer at our mealtime? I suppose one is as bad as the other. The prayer in the movie probably went about as far as the ceiling, so I guess no prayer at all would have been just as effective. I’m amazed at how many Christians do not thank God for their meal in public or even in their own home. They just dive in, with no thought of thanking God.

Is it possible we have Solomon’s attitude of “I did it. Look at what I’ve accomplished?” Sounds like a pretty good argument to me.

I love what Solomon says next. He says that everything was meaningless. He had just been chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun. Here is a man who had all his heart desired, and this is what he says of all he experienced.

Have you ever watched a child chase the wind? Maybe you did that as a child. I did, but I never could catch it. I could feel it, but I could never catch it.

We are all like the child chasing the wind. We don’t realize until we get older, if we’re blessed, that all these things we chased after are meaningless. Notice how Solomon ended the book of Ecclesiastes:

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14 NIV)

We can chase after the wind until our legs fall out from under us, but we’ll never catch it. The only thing that really matters in life is did we “fear God and keep His commandments?”

Life’s material pleasures are not wrong as long as they are within the framework of God’s will.

For example; if you enjoy fishing, then do so, but don’t neglect God. Do you want a boat but can’t afford one? Don’t buy the boat, fish off the bank until you can afford one, but make sure you don’t short-change Him for the boat.

I sometimes like to watch shows where people go buy a house. They’ll look at three or four and decide which one to buy. What amazes me is the prices these people shell out. Actually, they are probably in debt up to their eyeballs. I couldn’t sleep at night if I had the house payment some of these folks must be saddled with.

Most of us have not learned what is really important in our lives. Most of us are building bigger barns, not knowing that our soul may be required of us tonight. Our soul is the most important thing we have, and it is the most neglected. That’s what Solomon was talking about. Fearing God and keeping His commandments mean knowing Him as our Savior and serving Him as our Lord in today’s verbiage. That is the most important thing in our life. Everything else is just chasing the wind.

Grant Phillips

Have you ever noticed that most anything you can think of in this world needs to be maintained? Maintenance is always an issue in our lives. Wonder why that is? Could it have something to do with The Fall in the Garden of Eden? You think?

Name it: appliances, houses, vehicles, gardens, lawns, food, animals, and even humans. Because of The Fall corruption is everywhere. Everything is aging and succumbing to the elements.

I’m now in the latter years of my life, meaning I have fewer years ahead of me than are in my past. Comforting thought. I’ve also noticed that as the years pass by, more maintenance is needed. I guess a lot of us can identify with that.

Think about these basic issues. Who of us would leave the house without at least brushing our teeth and combing our hair? Most of us would even take the time to shower and put on clean clothes. Would we not? Yeah, I know. I’ve seen them too in the public arena, but I’m talking about most of us.

By the way, speaking of brushing our teeth and combing our hair, I’m always amused at the following: I’m watching a movie: Couple wakes up in the morning and she hasn’t a hair out of place. She is even still wearing lipstick. He has no cow-lick after a night of sleep. And then, their faces are about an inch apart when they say, “Good morning.” Now come on! Dragon breath! That isn’t real life!

What would happen to us if we never showered, brushed our teeth, changed into clean clothes, and everything else that goes along with it? We wouldn’t have many friends would we, unless maybe they do the same? It’s odd how some people get used to bad hygiene after a long period of avoiding it. We don’t notice it on ourselves or each other. We just get used to it. Sorry, but I just can’t go there.

Now I’ve been talking about physical maintenance, but what about our spiritual maintenance? Most people do carefully tend to their physical needs, but from what I’m seeing in this God-forsaken world we live in, our spiritual needs require some immediate attention. Notice this. Some neglect the physical, but most are neglecting the spiritual, when they both require our utmost attention.

Billions of dollars have been spent by all of us to maintain and/or improve our physical needs and wants. The average man or woman thinks nothing of spending the time and money to restore what The Fall keeps breaking down. What effort has been made in our lives though toward our spiritual needs?

When we are sick, we go to the doctor. We want to get better, especially if it is something serious. Neither do we want a sickness to be neglected and eventually take us out of this world.

We are so fortunate to live in the 21st century. There are cures, medicines, treatments, and physicians for every area of our bodies. From the Internet I obtained this list of specialists in medicine: allergist or immunologist, anesthesiologist, cardiologist, dermatologist, gastroenterologist, hematologist/oncologist, internal medicine physician, nephrologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, obstetrician, gynecologist, nurse-midwifery, occupational medicine physician, ophthalmologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon, otolaryngologist, pathologist, pediatrician, plastic surgeon, podiatrist, psychiatrist, pulmonary medicine physician, radiation onconlogist, diagnostic radiologist, rheumatologist, and urologist.

Regardless of which century we live in, there has always been, still is, and always will be one physician we all need for our soul; i.e. the Great Physician.

“And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)

Friends, we live in a sin-sick world, and only God has the answer. He says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Think about this. Most who die physically are dead spiritually and face only a judgment on the other side of the grave.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

There’s another problem though. Many who are alive spiritually (are true Christians) still need their spiritual life maintained and they are not maintaining it. The Lord said through the Apostle Paul, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) He also said through the same Apostle, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)

These two verses, and others, are all about “the maintenance of our spiritual life.” The few in this world who are true Christians need to get in the Word, get on their knees (figuratively speaking) and grow up spiritually. Some Christians do this, but many are still babes in Christ. They are not maintaining their spiritual lives, and it shows.

There’s an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” I believe that applies to people as well. We can encourage our brethren all day long to get in the Word with prayer, but only they can follow through. Those who have chosen to drink have found the waters to be very refreshing and their lives show it.

We in America have been petted, pampered and spoiled for many years, but that is about to disappear. I sincerely believe that even worse times than we can imagine are soon to befall our country, and the world for that matter. The leaders in our country from the top down are seeing to it that life as we once knew it is quickly fading away.

I can no longer recognize this country from the one I grew up in as a child. I know many of you feel the same. Satan and his crowd have taken over, and many of us still think everything will be okay. Friends, it isn’t going to happen, and this is why it is so important for us as Christians to apply the spiritual maintenance our Lord has provided to our lives. We have His Word, the Bible, and we need to get into it. We have access to Him through prayer, and we need to take advantage of it. We have the Holy Spirit living within us, and we need to get out of His way and let Him guide us.

The Lord may come today for His Church (Rapture) and He may not. How bad is it going to get before He does come for us? I just don’t know. None of us know, so we need to be ready for what is ahead, good or bad.

Even though I have never failed to vote since I was old enough to do so, and will continue to vote, I have come to the conclusion it is a waste of time. Democrat, Republican, and Independent it makes no difference. One side is pushing for socialism and is destroying the very fabric of our nation, while the other side is simply a silent partner.

We need to forget about our love for country and stoke the fire in our hearts for a burning love for our Savior and Lord. This is not our home anyway. Heaven is our home and we could all be there much sooner than we think.

I believe Jesus Christ is going to return very soon for His Church. That is only an opinion. Only the Father knows when He will tell the Son to go get His Bride. God has not left us in the dark though. He has given us His Word and told us certain things to watch for when He is ready to conclude the Church age and finish the seven years He previously set aside for Israel.

In the mean time we should work toward the spiritual maintenance of our souls so that when we do see Him He will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23) Our desire should be that we kneel before Him as a spiritual adult and not a spiritual babe.

Grant Phillips