Tag: Evanescence of Life

  • King Solomon’s Ring Of Wisdom

    Life on this earth is truly filled with many tears and sorrows, pains and sufferings. King Solomon with his wisdom knew clearly that everything on this earth is impermanent and will pass away quickly. Even though he had riches, wisdom, knowledge, power, wives, whatever a man desire after more than anyone on this earth, but still he did not lose his wisdom and knew that all these things are evanescent and meaningless.

    Ecclesiastes 2:4   4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem[a] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
    10
    I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
    My heart took delight in all my labor,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
    11
    Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
    everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun.

    One day King Solomon asked one of his ministers, saying to bring something to him, something that would be able to comfort him in the time of sorrow and distress and that would be able to humble and calm him in the time of happiness and exaltation. The minister brought one thing to Solomon which gave him great joy and contentment when he saw it. It was a ring with a inscription of four Hebrew letters, גם זה יעבור” (gam zeh ya’avor), which means “This too shall pass.” Wisdom too shall pass; so are the riches, power, authority, youth, wealth, and finally short and absurd life. These words gave him much comfort, making him always aware that whether it is good or bad, a thing shall have its end just as it had its beginning: Everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

     

    This realization led him into a longing for the eternal and spiritual things that never end and that is not meaningless. To gain eternity he concluded:

    Ecclesiastes 12:13   Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

    God and his world is eternal. Before our short life on this earth is over and we should go to stand in front of God for the judgement, Solomon teaches us to remember God and obey his commandments because God can give us the eternal life in heaven.

  • Sae-ohng’s Horse

     

    Once in China There was a man named Sae-ong in a village. One day, his female horse ran away and did not come back. All the people of the town came and comforted him for his loss, but he did not show any change in his emotion. He was as calm as he was before. A few days later, the female horse came back to Sae-ong’s house, bringing a tall and stout male horse along. Nobody came to claim the horse back. So the horse stayed in Sae-ong’s house. When people of the town visited Sae-ong, now they started to exclaim about the good fortune he received and they all envied the windfall he had, but Sae-ong did not answer anything to them without showing any happiness for the new horse.

    One day, the firstborn son of Sae-ong wanted to try the new horse and put a saddle on it and rode out to a field to test the horse. The horse was swift as wind, and ran around the town and far into the field. But suddenly it stopped just in front of a tall fence, knocking Sae-ong’s son off to the ground and he broke his leg so badly that he became crippled for good. All the people of the town came to Sae-ong and wept for the leg of his son and comforted Sae-ong for the bad thing that happened to him. But Sae-ong did not seem to be sad at all. He worked and behaved as if nothing had happened to him. Now townspeople thought it strange that Sae-ong did not feel sad for his son.

     After many years, the country was having a big war with a neighboring country. And all the young men was drafted as soldiers to the war and most of them died in the war. But Sae-ong’s son could not go to the war because he was crippled and he could save himself from the war. Now there were many in the town whose sons died in the war and came to visit Sae-ong and felt envious for the son of Sae-ong. All of them said how lucky it was for Sae-ong that his son was safe at home. But Sae-ong did not say anything. And Sae-ong lived many years and he died at his old age.

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