The panorama of earthly ambitions, when pursued as ends in themselves, produces emptiness.
Q: Did God originally create this world in a state of “vanity”? .webp)
.webp)
A: Absolutely not! “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Q: So, what happened?
A: Adam disobeyed God’s command, and in response God said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17).
--The apostle Paul underscored this consequence when he wrote, “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope” (Romans 8:20).
Believers must live life balanced between two extremes.
*First, we acknowledge that God provides the gift of life for us to enjoy. “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
*On the other hand, we should firmly acknowledge life’s limitations. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).
Solomon urges us to fear God, keep His commandments, and “remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)." CMI
