MAY 3

Ecclesiastes 4:7-8
Memorise 1 Timothy 6:10-11
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things”

Continuing his observation of man and his labour, Solomon sees a man who is a miser, who cannot get along with anyone else, and works only for himself. He has no family; there is no one who is relying on him for provision. Perhaps because of his blind ambition and obsessive fixation on his work and the wealth it brings, he has alienated all the people around him. Yet despite the fact that he has no need for the wealth, he cannot stop working and continues to store up riches and treasures for himself. This is indeed a common mindset of many, who work for the sake of money, and it seems they can never be satisfied no matter how much they earn. They do not actually need the money, for they have earned more than they can spend in a lifetime. Yet their eye is not satisfied with riches, and they never realise that they have more than enough to live. Their inconsumable greed just keeps driving them on, much to the detriment of their soul. Through it all, the blind ambition of the man Solomon was observing has bereaved his soul (caused his soul to be in lack or want). This means that the life he has lived is a worthless, meaningless one, devoid of any good. How sad! This is indeed vanity, and a sore travail.

Dear teen, is this perhaps the sort of attitude and mindset that you are in danger of having as well? In our competitive society, our schools, teachers, peers, and sometimes even our parents have placed such an emphasis on ambition and success. The world’s philosophy is that we must work hard and study hard in order to be successful in life, that we can get good high-paying jobs and enjoy the luxuries that money can buy. As Christians, we must be very careful that we understand the motives behind why we work hard. We strive to do well in school, not because we are ambitious and want a great future for ourselves. Neither do we do it so that we can please our parents, show off to our friends, and win the recognition and accolades of our school and society. Our only motivation is that we want to please and glorify our Lord! As Christians, our affections are not to be set on the things of the earth, but only on the eternal things of heaven. We must be able to separate and distinguish ourselves from the materialistic greed of the world. We must seek godliness with contentment, which we know is great gain!

Thought: Why do I want to work hard in school?
Prayer: Lord, may You search my heart and grant me the right motivations behind my studies.