For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
Ecclesiastes is a book by a wise teacher who tried everything to find out what makes life truly happy. In this chapter he tells us how to talk to God — and why more stuff never makes anyone's heart full.
Today's Story
The Teacher had a quiet word for everyone who came to God's house. He said: when you go to talk to God, listen first.
Some people, he said, rush in and say a hundred words a minute. They make big promises they don't really mean. But God is in heaven, and we are here on the ground. So it's good to slow down, take a breath, and not make promises we can't keep. If you tell God you'll do something, do it.
Then the Teacher looked at people chasing money. He had watched a man work and work to get richer and richer — and the more he got, the more he wanted, and the less he could sleep at night. People who love money never feel like they have enough.
But then the Teacher smiled. He said the best thing a person can do is enjoy the plain, good gifts God gives every day. A nice meal. Good work to do. A happy heart. None of us can take a single thing with us when our life is over — so the gifts are for now, to be enjoyed and thanked God for today.
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- When you pray, do you do more talking or more listening? What might God want to say to you if you got quiet for a minute?
- The man in the story kept wanting more and more and was never happy. Why do you think getting more stuff never makes a person feel full inside?
- What is one ordinary gift from today — a food, a person, a moment — that you can thank God for right now?