Have you ever tried to catch the wind? I remember when I was a kid I tried this. It didn’t take long to discover that chasing the wind is a fruitless affair. You can run right into the wind and try to grab ahold of it, but guess what? Your hands will be empty. You can take an open box, stand in the path of a big gust of wind, and try to capture the wind in the box, but guess what? When you open the box, no breeze blows out of it. It’s empty!
We wouldn’t laugh at a kid trying to chase down the wind, because they are just learning, but can you imagine seeing an adult do that?
Solomon likened this illustration to what it’s like when we chase after money, power, pleasure, and possessions. Read Ecclesiastes 1and 2, and you will see that even after he chased these things and got them within his hands, it came up empty. He had all the wealth, power, and pleasure this world can offer, but instead of finding fulfillment, he recognized the futility of it all and in desperation he declared, “And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” Eccl 2:11
Paul takes it a step further and says that the pursuit of these things is more than just a waste of time. It is actually far more destructive than we realize. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1Tim 6:9,10
We live in a world full of people who’s whole life’s purpose is to seek these things. Jesus puts it all into perspective with two simple questions. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36,37
Examine your own life in relation to these verses. Do you have Jesus and His purpose for your life on hold because you are chasing other things?
Do you really want to exchange God’s will for something that will come up empty?
A Christian who is chasing after these things looks just a silly as a full grown adult trying to grasp the wind in his hands. We ought to know better.