The hollowness of life

This morning in my devotions I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes.  This is a book that is very negative in places because it is written by a man who at the time was backslidden.  Solomon had lived the so called good life and now he was reflecting on how hollow that life had become.  Solomon started out well but did not finish well.  He started following God but at the end of his life he followed the gods of his foreign wives.  Solomon for all his wisdom and knowledge forget the first law of the spiritual walk.  You are in a long distance race, so pace yourself.  In the spiritual walk of life, it is not how you start that matters it is how you end that does.  Solomon did not end well.  Solomon may not even be in heaven because it never does tell us if he ever repented.  Solomon is a fine example of how a Christian must never let the things of this life overcome the things of God.  Recently a beautiful and talented singer named Whitney Houston died tragically.  What was so tragic is that she started off singing in church but the lure of the world eventually lead her down a path of self destruction.  A beautiful voice has been silenced.  The other tragedy is that her story is not unique, there are hundreds of similar stories, something the entertainment industry does not tell you.  Solomon learned the hard way and his example can serve as a warning to others.  The wise are those that see what happens to others and learn from their mistakes.  Good advice.