Let us hear the conclusion

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. – Ecclesiastes 12.13-14

Whoops, I jumped ahead of my self there and didn’t finish Ecclesiastes before I jumped into the Song of Songs, but how can I leave out the ‘conclusion of the whole matter?’

After all of Solomon’s searching and trying things out and finding only vanity he comes to the end of his search. He had tried power and pleasure and possessions and people and found everything wanting and stated ‘vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’

The conclusion of the whole matter?

Fear God and keep His commandments

Why?

This is the whole duty of man.

It is only in fearing God and keeping His commandments that we can find peace and contentment and satisfaction and the meaning on life. If that is our goal the circumstances we face can’t destroy us. Our lives are based not on what we can get out of them but on how we can serve Him.

When we do that all the stuff that Solomon sought to find peace don’t matter – our peace is the peace that Jesus left behind that the world can never provide.