Valuable, Valued and Vital

So much of life is and so much is not

Valuable, valued and vital

And often these three are confused

By not a few but by many people.

Let’s start with the valuable

Those things by which we set store,

There is much confusion here

And we will see this more and more.

Of course most will agree

That the considered valuable is truly valued

The second is determined by the first

And for most that’s the essential view.

How much something means to one

Then becomes the overarching issue,

If one considers that thing truly valuable

Then that thing will be greatly valued.

If we do not consider it to be valuable

Then to us it has little value

And therefore that particular item

Will have little value for me or for you.

Now here is where it gets dicey

Regarding the valuable and valued,

Remember to different people this varies

Depending on a person’s view.

What one person considers to be a valuable

Another person might disagree,

They both might possess the same thing

But the considered value would vary.

This occurs with material possessions

Like the computer, house and motorcar,

These for some are but utilities

But with others they can go very far.

I don’t want to belabour the point

But I trust you see where I am going,

Depending on how much one values a thing

That’s where his focus will be showing.

For him that is what is vital

To him that is what demands his time

To that he will give the utmost care

It matters not what another opines.

So far the valuable determines the valued

And the valued becomes what is vital

But sometimes this manner of association

Can become a vicious cycle.

This has to do with one’s outlook

Or perhaps what we want in life

And often puts our wants above our needs

And this brings about the world of strife.

A feast is made for laughter

And wine maketh merry,

According to Ecclesiastes 10 verse 19

The answer to all things is money.

As such the valuable is reckoned in money

And money resonates with the valued,

These two are seen as synonymous

And presto! There is your worldview.

The fallout becomes the disaster

For life means getting money at all costs,

Money is therefore the vital prerequisite

And without its abundance life is lost.

But the writer of Ecclesiastes 10 verse 19

Had much reason to lament

And in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 2

A contrasting admonition was sent.

The interesting part of all this

Is in this book the latter precedes the former,

Even in the mind of a mathematics dunce

Chapter one would be first in the natural order.

But this verse also conveys another point

Here the wise man is in his right mind

And perhaps with all that he had experienced

This is what he had to opined.

This bring us right back to the title

Valuable, valued and vital

For though Solomon was the wisest of men

To him this became a vicious cycle.

Although starting out on the right path

His life went right down to the pits,

Wrong focused relating to this title

He found himself in an inevitable fix.

His abundance of wealth occasioned for him

Whatever his heart had desired,

What he valued and practised as vital in life

Took him to the immoral muck and mire.

This is, however, instructive for us

Regarding our valuable, valued and vital,

If we value the temporal above the eternal

We become a people most miserable.

For our souls can never be satisfied

By the material things of this world,

Money is to be valued as a servant not the master

We should take note of God’s Holy Word.

We should consider as valuable, valued and vital

Things that are true and honest and pure,

Things that are of good report and lovely

Are those things we should value more.

These qualities are vital for living

They determine our valuables and values,

Only Christ can satisfy a man’s soul

He should be our life’s most vital issue.

Stewart Russell © November 2017