VANITY OF FAME - Pastor W.F Kumuyi

DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

TOPIC: VANITY OF FAME

Bible Text: 1 Chronicles 8:33-40

Key Verse: "And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin" (1 Chronicles 8:40).

MESSAGE:
A commentator once said: "People have had mountains named after them, but a following generation changes the names. People have had their names etched into buildings, but in time the buildings will be demolished and the names forgotten. People write books to be remembered by posterity, but in time the books will be replaced by other books and the authors will be forgotten". Today's text is a continuation of the list of descendants of Benjamin.

Obviously, the most familiar name there is Saul, the son of Kish who became the first king of Israel. Unfortunately, he died along with his children in battle because he disobeyed the Lord and consulted with a woman with familiar spirit. Concluding the list also were the sons of Ulam who were said to be mighty men of valour, archers with many sons and grandsons numbering up to one hundred and fifty. However, there was no mention of their faith or devotion to God. Vanity means "vapour" or "breath". It is what comes out when you blow your breath on a freezing winter morning. You see it for a while, and then it disappears. Vanity is "whatever is left after you break a soap bubble". So, it refers to that which is meaningless, futile, ephemeral and transient.

From the world's point of view, without God in the picture, we are all in competition to obtain the scarce resources of life in order to meet our needs. We want to feel that we are important or significant in life and that we count for something. In that system, only a few make it to the top, and those who do will soon be replaced by generations that follow. Life can only have meaning when we commit it into the hands of God who only can make something good out of it.

Thought for the day: Your life is nothing; only God can make it something.

Bible Reading in one Year: James 1-5