Read Proverbs 12:28

The ad campaigns that come out of Madison Avenue promise much more than they can deliver. Their titillating messages fall into four categories: fortune and fame, power and pleasure.

Fortune. Fame. Power. Pleasure. The messages bombard us from every direction. 

But what's missing in all this? Stop and ask yourself that question. Isn't something very significant absent here?

You bet. A vertical dimension. 

There's not even a hint of God's will or what pleases Him in the hardcore pursuit of success. Note also that nothing in that horizontal list guarantees satisfaction or brings relief deep within the heart. 

And in the final analysis, what most people really want in life is contentment, fulfilment, and satisfaction.

Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.