Passage of the Day - April 19, 2011

Ecclesiastes 2:8-26

 ¹⁸Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

 ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun This too is vanity.

 ²⁰Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

 ²¹When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.

 ²²For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?

 ²³Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity.

 ²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.

 ²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

 ²⁶For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight This too is vanity and striving after wind.

Here, we are beginning to see the whole point of life.  God is the whole point of life.  No matter how much pleasure we seek, how wise we are, or how hard we work, it is all pointless if we aren’t pleasing God.  We can never be happy without God.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)