SATURDAY 18TH FEB.,2017
TOPIC: THE INSUFFICIENCY OF FAME AND FORTUNE
TEXT: Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee….”
Fame and fortune especially from celebrities such as stars in the film, sports, media etc industries do not provide the satisfaction it advertises. Yet, they are idolised by millions daily. Consider the adoration accorded to late Mohammed Ali in his prime. He was known as ‘the prize fighter who couldn’t be beaten’. His picture appeared on the cover of Sports magazines Illustrated more than any other athlete in history. Wherever he went the cameras followed, but wealth and riches he heaped not knowing who shall gather them including fame could not buy sound health when he fell victim to the ravages of Parkinson’s disease. When visited at his home by Sportswriter Gary Smith the ailing fighter was asked to see his trophy room. Ali escorted him to a dark, damp barn beside his house. Leaning against a wall was a board displaying various mementoes – photos of the ‘Thrilla in Manila’, pictures of Ali dancing and punching, and hoisting championship belts he had won over his head. Glaringly, the pictures were smeared with white streaks caused by pigeons that had made their home in the rafters. He picked up the board and turned it around, face to the wall. Guess what he mumbled, ‘I had the whole world’, and it was this extract that reminds us of the essence of what we are living for in this world that is opposed to God and His Word. Do you know you have a short time here as a period of testing to determine your faithfulness to God (even at its conquest in relation to eternity? ‘All our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you’ (vs. 6-7). Endeavour to check the clause in verse 20b “then whose shall these things be which thou hast provided.” Only what we do for God and others will endure forever (Jam 4:14). It is a food for thought.
MEDITATION: Luke 12:16-21
BIBLE STUDY – Exodus 1; Luke 4; Job 18; 1 Cor. 5