Sobering Thought for the New Year and Our Resolutions

After all the talk about new year’s resolutions, consider this wisdom from Scripture:

2 “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”
3 What advantage does a man have in all his labor In which he toils under the sun?† 
4 A generation comes and a generation goes, But the earth stands forever. 
5 The sun rises and the sun sets And returns to its place. 
6 The wind rises and goes toward the south And swirls towards the north. The wind whirls in a circular motion And returns full circle. 
7 All the rivers flow to the sea, Yet the sea shall not be filled. To the place where the rivers flow, There they return again. 
8 All words are wearisome, And a man will not be able to say them. Neither will the eye be satisfied with seeing, Nor will the ear be filled with hearing.† 
9 What has been is what will be, And what has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun. 
10 Who will speak and say, “See, this is new”? For it has already been in the ages That have passed before us. 
11 There is no remembrance of former things, And indeed, there shall be no remembrance of later things By the things that will come after that. Ecclesiastes 1

Remember that what is important is our relationship with God. This is everything. It endures forever.

The Book concludes in chapter 12:

13. Fear God And keep His commandments, For this is the whole man. 
14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including everything that has been overlooked, Whether it be good or evil.

Quotes from The Orthodox Study Bible