That is how he lived his life. He spent his time chasing the things the world said would make him happy. He said he was a Christian. He did those things that Christians do, but God would have to settle for what this busy man would spare of his time, talent and energy. The Big Lie of the world beckoned, and he sold out to buy in. It began innocently enough. All he wanted was some land of his own, financial freedom and enough so that his children would not have to go without. In the deepest recesses of his heart, he knew that what he really wanted was approval. Just for once, he wanted to be the center of attention and to hear the praise that always seemed to go to someone else. There wasn’t a second to waste. He worked away the numbness, and, with a bottle of bourbon, washed away the loneliness. At the end, he felt as empty as the bottle in front of him. His wife and children never knew exactly where he was. His friends and brethren finally stopped coming to see him. For years, he was captive of the clock. But now, finally, all that had changed. Despite the well-meaning warnings and the dire predictions, even his critics had to admit that his sacrifices had brought him everything he thought he had ever wanted — some land, release from financial worry, provision for his family, even the attention he secretly craved. But … as the crowd

In the gold fields of Alaska, California and Brazil, there was the practice of “salting” rocks and mines by loading a shotgun with gold dust then firing the dust into the rock. The rock would then appear to be thoroughly laden with the precious metal. The prospective purchaser of the claim, upon discovering that he had been duped, would confront the unscrupulous seller, which often ended in a shoot-out, ending the life of one or both of the participants. A little glitter would mislead the person into accepting fraud as truth. Some look for happiness in pleasure, position, power or wealth. True happiness is experienced when we turn from pursuing self-satisfaction in the pleasures of this world and begin to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). For What Did They Die? Nine prominent people (a baseball star, six entertainers, two who had inherited great wealth) committed suicide. A highly regarded educator and his wife took a lethal dose of drugs upon learning that she had terminal cancer. They all failed to find the real “stuff” by which to cling to this life. Human beings were created to bring glory to God. Our lives have purpose for time and eternity. God made us in his image (Genesis 1:5; Colossians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 11:7). We are to bring honor to our Creator. We may choose the glitter of this world or we may choose that city of pure gold whose builder and maker is God (Revelation 21).