Scripture for Today:  Ecclesiastes 5:10  “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.  This too is meaningless.”

The name of this store in Freiburg, Germany caught my attention!  It seems as if the owners are inviting me to “grab” their gold!  Because I do not speak German, I looked up “grabisch” and found that it was simply a family name.  However, the word “grab” in German means “tomb” or “grave.”  Hmm.

The promise of happiness through wealth is an empty one.  Certainly, there will be extra creature comforts and enviable ease in a wealthy life, but it will not satisfy.  The  emptiness and futility of life remains.  Rather than look elsewhere, the tendency is to think that satisfaction will come with just a little more.  Perhaps happiness will come with just one more purchase.  But we find that it does not.  It is meaningless.

In reaction to the “gluttony of consumerism” is the minimalist lifestyle.  It promotes individuality and self reliance in one’s pursuit of happiness.  Believing that “less is more” is to somehow provide meaning to our world.  I can just hear King Solomon saying, “this too is meaningless.”

The only source of meaning and satisfaction is not found in wealth.  Nor is it not found in a philosophy.  It is found in a Person.  We are made for this particular relationship.  When it is lacking, we feel empty and life seems futile.  Meaning and significance elude us.  Jesus Christ has promised true life that begins now and continues into eternity.  He satisfies that indefinable longing of the soul.

It is so easy to be distracted and duped by the empty promise of riches.  May I recognize my discontentment and run to Him!  With Jesus, the deepest longings of my soul are satisfied!