Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” Ecclesiastes 12:1 (NLT)
Men, what are you chasing in life? Some men work eighty-hour weeks to earn a promotion. Some throw all their energy into sports or some other hobby. Others think if only their marriage was more exciting, everything would be fine.
Financial success, hobbies and a thriving marriage are all great things. The trouble is, if you hang your happiness on them, you’ll remain stuck. Sadly, it takes many people decades to figure this out. When they’re old and grey, they look back with regret and realize they got it all wrong.
Ecclesiastes 12 cautions us to get our priorities straight—the sooner, the better—and to remember our Creator before our eyes go dim and we limp around “like a dying grasshopper” (v. 5). You may think, “Leon, that’s depressing!” It certainly is sobering, but life isn’t all about checking off my bucket list or racking up achievements.
Our culture today is all about rights and freedoms—and I’m all for protecting our rights politically. But we need to recognize the duties and responsibilities we’ve been given as men in our families, churches and circles of influence. It’s your duties that will give you a sense of purpose and a reason to rise up. Without purpose, all the rights and freedoms in the world are empty.
Tune out life’s distractions and focus on what matters most—your relationship with God, your duties as a father and your responsibilities in the body of Christ. You’ll unlock the most enriching life you can imagine!