What do you give someone who has it all? Sometimes you find this question in advertizing for gift ideas. Yes, there are people who seem "to have it all."

You might have asked the question about giving a gift if you would have given Israels King Solomon a present. He described his life in the book of Ecclesiastes:

"I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem" (Ecclesiastes 2:4-9).

Yes, Solomon really had it all – in material things. But he had to realize that material things are not the source of real joy: "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun . . . For what can the man do who succeeds the king? – Only what he has already done" (verses 11-12).

The man (or woman) who thinks he has it all would be well advised to ask whether he is missing the most important thing in life. Otherwise he might reach the same low point in his life that Solomon did: "Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind" (verse 17).

Solomon came to see that material possessions and achievements do not provide lasting happiness by themselves. We need to know why we exist and have a relationship with the creator God who put us here. That is Solomon's conclusion near the end of his life: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!