Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
–Ecclesiastes 12:13
We live in a world today that’s been captured by the theory of relativism, the theory or idea that says you can’t firmly or finally say what is right or wrong. So the very idea of a rule or a “commandment” flies in the face of what most people in our world today believe.
But God gave us his commandments not to restrict us, but to protect us. Why? So that we will live well upon the earth. You and I have a loving heavenly Father who wants to protect us from the very things that will harm us and ultimately destroy us.
Think about Solomon. God says he was the wisest man who ever lived. Yet he had to learn the importance of this truth the hard way.
If you look at Solomon’s life, you find that he was a great king. He had everything going for him, including enormous wealth and power. Yet he took what God gave him and he abused it.
As Solomon shares in the book of Ecclesiastes, he threw away his money buying everything he wanted. He had numerous wives so he could have sex any time he desired. Solomon did anything and everything he wanted to do.
He didn’t let himself be limited by the commandments of God! Yet where did it get him?
When Solomon looked back on his life, he said, “I’m a loser. My life has added up to a big fat zero!” That’s why his parting words at the end of Ecclesiastes are, “Fear God and keep his commandments….” Solomon learned life’s lesson that if you break God’s commands, you will be broken on them.
This is a lesson I pray you and I will keep at the front of our minds so we don’t have to learn it the hard way like Solomon did.
YOU HAVE A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER WHO WANTS TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE VERY THINGS THAT WILL HARM YOU.