The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.
“I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 2:18-19It turns out that Sol…
“Then I thought in my heart, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said in my heart, ‘This too is meaningless.’ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!“ Ecclesi…
“I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.” Ecclesiastes 2:13-14Sergei Nikolaev, pastor of the Temple of the Gospel in St. Petersburg, Russia, knows Billy Graham well…
“Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done?” Ecclesiastes 2:12 I’m sure Solomon felt pressure from both sides on the issue of kingly succession. On the one hand his father was David, who quite frankly was a better man than h…
“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:11You would think Solomon would be happy. After all, he had it all-money, fame, power, a vast harem, an enormous kingdom, ships that brought him riches …
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.” Ecclesiastes 2:10Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be king for a day? Suppose that for just one day you had unlimited wealth, unlimited power, and could do anything you w…
“I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.” Ecclesiastes 2:9Here is his story, briefly told: At age six, his mother threw his birthday cake off the porch. He played the French Horn at age twelve and by the time he was fifteen he was playing professionally with some of the top j…
“I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man.” Ecclesiastes 2:8Solomon had a harem, all right, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Historians tell us that many of his wives were not romantic attachments b…
“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem…