Papa Anyemedu

Age: 19

Branch: Manhattan

· Vanity of Vanities, All is Vanity
A few months ago I decided to make the book of Ecclesiastes, my book of choice to read. As I began to read I remembered the voice of my Youth Teacher Sister Harriet Darkwa, who had been urging us to listen to messages by Bishop, especially those from the Allos camps. One message she mentioned was the, Agree on the Way camp. To my surprise the whole message was based on the book of Ecclesiastes which I had decided to read. The book of Ecclesiastes speaks to me so directly because of the core of its message, all is Vanity! Some of us do not want to serve the Lord fully because we feel it is too much work, or we must sacrifice too much for the

cause but Ecclesiastes tells us that “All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Ecc.1:8). We go through life struggling to reach goals that we have made for ourselves or trying to obtain as many possessions as we can. However, Ecclesiastes tells us that we will never be satisfied. The only true satisfaction that we can obtain is from serving God with all our hearts and all our might!

As I read on I came to a verse that reopened my eyes to a bigger picture of how I was sometimes living my life. Many of us are aware of how we should be living our lives each day, but sometimes it is easier to backslide or do the wrong thing. But why? Ecc. 8:11 tells us that “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” This verse has since been in the back of my head and I try to live with this in mind. But although it may seem that doing the will of God is the harder choice, there is promise for those who obey and endure. “Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God” (Ecc 8:12-13)

Another Verse that stuck with me was Ecc 9:11-12. “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.” It tells us that no matter whom you are or what you have, there will come a time where you have to answer for the things that you have done throughout your life. All your worldly possessions will no longer have meaning, they are all VANITY!
So before you say that it is too hard to serve fully remember that all things require labor, before you decide to backslide remember that scripture against an evil work will be executed, and before putting worldly things before God remember that ALL IS VANITY!