September 13
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ON DESIRING WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE
A poem by ILMA
There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun
It weighs heavily on humanity; God gives some people great wealth
Then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things
They die, and someone else, ends up enjoying their wealth.
A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old
But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial
It would have been better for him to be born dead
His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness.
He wouldn’t even have had a name and he would never have seen the sun
Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man
He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment
Since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?
All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they don’t have enough
So are wise people really better off than fools?
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have
Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
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MEMORY VERSE
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. – Ecclesiastes 6:9
Read: Ecclesiastes 6: 1-9
Ecclesiastes explains how life can be meaningless and how we humans can focus so much on what we don’t have instead of what we actually have. This constant desire to clamor for something that is unattainable is what drives many people to covet, steal or live a life of discontent.
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REFLECTION
• Why is desiring something you don’t have meaningless?
• Why should we enjoy what we have instead of focusing on what we lack?