Chasing the Wind

We’re one month into the new year and so-called experts tell us that most new year’s resolutions have already been abandoned. I don’t put much stock in resolutions, per se, but I often judge my actions, words and intentions throughout the year that I may be ever more pleasing to my Lord. There is one good thing about the desire of many to look to a new year as a fresh beginning and a time to make improvements in their life. It reveals that we all sense we can be better, that we have some cleaning up to do and bad habits to break. The Bible encourages this kind of reflection.

However, many resolutions involve our preoccupation with the outside of the cup, so to speak. Each year brings the same hopes and dreams; lose weight, eat healthier, quit smoking, exercise more. We’ve all heard these same aspirations year after year and most fall woefully short of their goals.

In addition to improving our health, we also find our desires gravitating toward vanity. People want to look better at any cost. Millions flock to plastic surgeons and gyms, seeking the perfect body or face. Supermarkets contain several isles of beauty aids and cosmetics. Beauty parlors abound. Magazines and TV infomercials tout the latest discoveries to make us look younger or to get in shape. Everything from exercise equipment to pills to lotions and potions are purchased by those hoping to tap into perfect health or the fountain of youth.

Millions also seek material possessions as a means to happiness, purchasing bigger and better houses, cars, boats and clothing. We want non-stop entertainment, spending thousands on big screen TV’s, computers, fancy phones, all the latest technology. Let’s face it. We are obsessed with the body, including our appetites and desires. We covet everything we see. We covet that which makes us feel better, that which keeps us from stopping long enough to reflect, to look on the inside. We mistakenly believe that things can satisfy the nagging emptiness within.

They cannot! None of these pursuits is wrong in themselves, for the most part. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be healthier or to look better or have nice things. It’s just that the focus on these things as a means to happiness can never fully satisfy. We can learn a lot from Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He tells us in the book of Ecclesiastes that he had it all. God blessed him with wealth beyond measure and he denied himself nothing. He had numerous wives and concubines at his beck and call, he ate and drank whatever he wanted, he oversaw great building projects and a glorious palace. Leaders throughout the known world came to Jerusalem to see for themselves this great king they had heard so much about and the glory of his kingdom. What does his life reveal to us? He tells us that it is all vanity, like chasing the wind! Why? Because life is not measured by the things we have. We will all one day leave this world and we can’t take it with us. When we stand before the judgment seat of God, he will be looking at the heart, at the inside. Our relationship with him is his primary concern. If we get that right, everything else will be supplied according to his will and purpose for our lives.