The greatest things in life aren’t things.
Rick Warren
Man’s quest for the meaning of life is as old as time, and we’ve stumbled on a bunch of different ways to measure the substance of our existence.
Materialism has been a popular worldview that filters how we see and understand the world around us. It teaches us that fame, wealth, money, possessions, achievements are what make us matter.
Albeit, for a Christian, it has been proven that these do not guarantee ultimate satisfaction. I know this is an uncommon stance. Materialism is a phenomenon that is here to stay.
Looking at King Solomon, who is the richest and most accomplished human both past and present, he penned down his experiences to us in the book of Ecclesiastes and concluded everything amounted to chasing after the wind. I searched through this book and saw that he emphasized this particular phrase ten different times. This expression is a powerful illustration as it represents the futility of our striving for things in this world. The wind is free and fast-moving, it’s something that can’t be contained or caught up with.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”
Ecclesiastes 1:2 AMP
At the end of the day, God is the one that gives meaning to our very existence. Life without Him is simply chaos walking.
Here’s food for thought: Why do we think we can go through life without God’s guidance?
I remember one time when I got a new gadget and it wasn’t working properly as I expected it to, only for me to realise I had failed to follow the instructions in the manufacturer’s manual. I just assumed it was something I could handle easily.
We seem to thrive in a culture of DIY’s (Do It Yourself), and so we even carry that DIY mentality in everything that pertains to life. But who are we to think that we could do life without God, or that whatever we have isn’t due to Him.
Going back to the scenario earlier, I felt a bit silly upon noticing my fault. It was quite unrealistic on one hand to have expected it to work just doing it my way and ignoring the directions of the maker.
This experience made it dawn on me that a lot of us do this same sort of thing even in our personal lives. We try things our way, hoping it’ll work out somehow. Then fret when it doesn’t go according to plan. Willfully choosing to neglect divine wisdom from our creator. This is one folly of humans. It results in a waste of time, effort and needless frustration. We’re not meant to do life on our own. He has designed us in such a way that there’s a void in us yearning for Him, and we would keep going through things that will make us see our need for God. It’s His will that we are God-reliant, completely dependent on Him, not trying to strike out from the path established for us.
I often like to pray this prayer:
“You God, you make my world make sense, you give meaning to my existence and in you, I find peace, contentment and satisfaction. I know it’s not all about me. Life is all about you and others. Help me to always remember this. Knowing that you are ultimately enough for me.” Amen.
May we continue to find meaning in all that is God. Selah
Love and Grace,
© Zizi, 2021.
Life Lessons With Zizi 
Brilliant and inspiring 👍
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Thank you very much.
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You know that humans generally are driven with having desires for one thing or another at different stage of life such that even the economists arrived at the conclusion that human wants are insatiable. Well, we are made to be driven by goals because we are co-builders(co creators) with God. For instance, God made the heavens and the Earth but humans are to develop it. Some are house developers, some are medical personnels, some into auto mobiles,etc. So naturally humans have to have their own part to play but a Christian only need to put these goals and desires in check so as not to be driven over board or better put, not do it contrary to God’s will. In the case of King Solomon, he over did it to the extent that even his spirit told him so. The watch word for everyone should be ” godliness with contentment is great gain”
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Thank you so much for sharing your point of view. You put in succinctly. It’s all about perspective, and just like you said contentment should be a watchword for us.
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