It Only Seems To Be

Please read Ecclesiastes 2:4-10. (The link will open in a new window).

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. – Galatians 6:7.

A Wall Street clerk went for a tuna sandwich one snowy noon and returned to work with $37.1 million in negotiable certificates of deposit found in a pouch dropped by a courier. The clerk turned them over to his supervisor, who notified the securities company. The man received a $250 reward for his honesty. As it turned out, that was more than the certificates were worth to him—they could only be converted with special clearance.

People give themselves to goals that are like those certificates. They seem real, but they aren’t. They seem so worthwhile, but are terribly disappointing. They promise millions, but return pennies. They are shameless—wealth, fame, career—tantalizing, alluring, then betraying. They leave us bitter, heartsick, and spiritually bankrupt. Only the goal of God’s unshakable kingdom can offer opulent wealth and sure and splendid promises. It guarantees an enhancement to perfection of all present benefits now possessed by those within its embrace: an undisturbed inner peace, an unmarred victory, an unsullied righteousness, an unbroken life.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.