Daily Devotional for Today 31 January 2022 | Monday Message
Read Daily Devotional for Today 31 January 2022
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Topic: All is Vanity
Today’s Scripture: Eccl 2:18-19
Today we have one of my favorite books in the Old Testament – Ecclesiastes! It is second only to Psalms. What are riches? What is so important about having things? Now, I’m not talking about necessities, or even the luxuries that most of us enjoy, but having things, just to have them.
Greed is a very dangerous vice that we often don’t even recognize in ourselves. Just watch what happens when someone dies and the relatives fight over what they leave, or complain that one person got more than another! This happens in the best of families but it doesn’t usually make the papers or the media in the way it does when the person is rich or famous.
In Ecclesiastes, this is pointed out rather starkly – no matter what you accumulate on earth, someone else is going to enjoy or waste it in the end. Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who hoards his goods only to die that night. I don’t believe that Jesus is telling us not to prepare for the future, but not to the extent that we think only of ourselves.
How many times when a hurricane or blizzard is predicted have we seen people rushing out to the grocery store to buy enough water and milk or food to last a month or more without a thought of others who might want enough to last a couple of days! In times of extreme emergencies, we often see the generosity of others, but why does it take a catastrophe to open our eyes to another’s needs?
Jesus asks us to be aware of the needs of others all the time, to share what we have, to refrain from envy and jealousy. Our society doesn’t make it easy to do this, as we are constantly bombarded with ads that encourage us to buy more, think only of ourselves and to live for the pleasure of the moment. What is it that we possess that we would find it hard to do without? This reading makes me think, what about you?
Prayer for Today
Lord, help us to see what is important in life. Greed does not lead to happiness. Looking out for oneself and overlooking the pain of others only leads to fear and unhappiness. We are told in the Old and New Testament alike that the way to happiness is love of God and love of neighbor. Let us choose the right path. Amen.