Keeping Christmas in Perspective

​“I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?  Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.  So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.”  (Ecclesiastes 2:18-21)

The author becomes depressed and discouraged when he thinks too long about the fact that at the end of his life, after all his work and labor, when he dies he will not be able to take anything with him, and all that he has labored for will become someone else’s possession and they will enjoy it.  So what is the point?  What is the point of laboring and working so hard for the things of this world when we cannot take any of it with us?  While we certainly must work in order have the basic necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter), and there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to have a decent car that runs, we need to remember that the things of this world are fleeting and temporary, and ultimately will never fully satisfy.  It is particularly important to remember this during the Christmas season when we can be so tempted to covet and become discouraged with not being able to afford the things we want, the things that others have.  In the end, let’s keep in mind that Christmas is not about stuff—it about celebrating the birth of the greatest gift ever given to mankind—the birth of Jesus Christ!