The pursuit of success can drag you down and lead you away from God’s Word and Spirit. Only by stepping away from life’s rat race will you begin to experience real success and satisfaction on God’s terms.

This section of Ecclesiastes, though direct and bold, is very much in tune with life today.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-18 is a section of Scripture that invites you to pull out of the rat race and take an honest, studied look at life.

When the Bible paints a portrait it doesn’t remove the imperfections. It’s reassuring to know the men and women God used to accomplish His will were real people.

In Ecclesiastes 9:11-18, each verse is a maxim, loosely connected to the next, comprising a whole chapter of contrasts: wisdom versus folly.

In Ecclesiastes 10:12-20 Solomon goes further into detail, supplying additional information about the characteristics of a fool.

Don’t wait until you reach some magical age to start enjoying life—start now! Don’t take a single day for granted.

Are you someone who’s waiting for “some day” to accomplish your goals? It’s time to stop preparing and start living! As long as God gives us breath there is a life we need to realize here on earth. And we need to live it.

Everybody gets older whether you admit it or not. The question is, “Will we grow sweeter, or will we rot?” Once all the children have left the nest and two people who honeymooned together 25 or 30 years ago are left to “start over,” how can they resist negative tendencies and stay young at heart? How can they support one another's growth toward spiritual maturity?

Be bullish in your pursuit of life. Pursue the things you can change. Give your attention to the things that can be altered. And don’t do it for money!