True Happiness

<p>In the tenth century, Abd al-Rahman was the ruler of Cordoba, in Spain. After fifty years of successful reign (&ldquo;beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies&rdquo;), al-Rahman took a deeper look at his life. &ldquo;Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call,&rdquo; he said of his privileges. But when he counted how many days of genuine happiness he&rsquo;d had during that time, they amounted to just fourteen. How sobering.</p> <p>The writer of Ecclesiastes was also a man of riches and honor (Ecclesiastes 2:7&ndash;9), power and pleasure (1:12; 2:1&ndash;3). And his own life evaluation was equally sobering. Riches, he realized, just led to a desire for more (5:10&ndash;11), while pleasures accomplished little (2:1&ndash;2), and success could be due to chance as much as ability (9:11). But his assessment didn&rsquo;t end as bleakly as al-Rahman&rsquo;s. Believing God was his ultimate source of happiness, he saw that eating, working, and doing good could all be enjoyed when done with Him (2:25; 3:12&ndash;13).</p> <p>&ldquo;O man!&rdquo; al-Rahman concluded his reflections, &ldquo;place not thy confidence in this present world!&rdquo; The writer of Ecclesiastes would agree. Since we have been made for eternity (3:11), earthly pleasures and achievements won&rsquo;t satisfy by themselves. But with Him in our lives, genuine happiness is possible in our eating, working, and living.</p>