Old Testament
Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:14 (vs. 1:10) “Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh. For childhood and youth are vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth….”
Ecclesiastes 12:6 “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed…”
New Testament
I Corinthians 11:1-16 “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
There was a little girl who they called Punkin. Skin so dry, wrinkled, and always broke out. Her hair was fine but no one could really tell because it was always broken out with bald spots. She couldn’t do the things most little girls her age could do because she was always sick. The other kids made fun of her while her sister and brothers hardly claim her. Father was absent and mother was present in the home but was better off away from home. You see, her mother was not the motherly kind. She showed favoritism to the younger two a boy and a girl and forgot about Punkin and her older brother. God blessed her with 4 children but she acted as if she had 2. Punkin wanted to be so much like her mother that she began wearing her makeup like her mother. She even went as far as mocking her mother by the way she walked, her talk, and yes her habits. Her mother wasn’t having that so she began telling her daughter how she look in a negative way. Punkin had on a pair of blue jeans with ruffle socks and blue pumps. Her hair was pulled straight back into a pony tail while wearing a pink and blue blouse. Wanting to show off her new make over she walked into a room full of family and friends and her mother loudly stated that Punkin looked like she belonged on third and main. At 13 years old, Punkin was no longer trying to reach her mother. She withdrew, became hateful and evil especially to her brothers and sister. Until summer day, her grandmother took notice about the girl who nobody seem to want to be bothered with. Grandma was a Evangalist who served God all her life. Her mother was a saved woman of God and Grandma saw something in Punkin that no one else saw. Beauty! Vanity! Wisdom! but heart who will love hard and give unselfishly. Punkin got baptized and terry for the Holy Ghost July 27, 1984 at the First Bibleway Pentecostal Church of God in Christ in Oxford Ohio under the leadership of the late Lenora Jenkins. Through her many struggles in life, she stayed close to Grandma and very close to God. Today, the girl who they once called Punkin is now called by her birth name, Cheryl A. DeVaughn. It is an honor to meet you!
- In Webster dictionary the word vanity is 1 : something that is vain, empty, or valueless 2 : the quality or fact of being vain 3 : inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance : conceit 4 : a fashionable trifle or knickknack 5 a : 3compact a b : a small case or handbag for toilet articles used by women 6 a : dressing table b : a bathroom cabinet containing a sink and usually having a countertop
When I was Punkin I was vain, empty and trying to find me but in the process began loosing the light in my own life. But God sent me an angel to walk with me, talk with me, show me how to call upon the name of Jesus. Had it not been for God’s grace I don’t know where I’d be. When Grandma took me to church something deep down inside of me woke up. I yearned to hold on to God’s hand especially when my summer vacation ended and I had to go back home. God knew the path I was going to take before I was even thought of. The key was to standing on his word, praying and forgiving those who persecute me. When Grandma opened the door for me to know Christ she was allowing God to remove the sorrow from my heart and giving me the tools which is to pray and call on the name of Jesus by putting away evil from my flesh. She knew my childhood and youth were vanity!
So I had to suffer, go through some things that some folks would have probably taken their own lives but God had his hand on me when I couldn’t through my hands up and say “HALLELUJAH” The good thing about growing up Pentecostal is the foundation of fearing God. The strictness of the church provided discipline. So when I would hear or read, “Fear God and keep His commandments for this man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing Whether good or evil” has a little girl scared to think evil thoughts. Yet it was those sayings that kept my soul flourished,
So I no longer wanted to imitate my mother for now I saw the perfect person to imitate. God! My Grandmother is the most important person to me and I am so grateful to God for allowing her to be my Gannie! When I was young and even today, she has always said I would follow in her footsteps. I have some pretty big shoes to fill. But I accept her vision and embrace God’s will for me. Had it not been for Granny imitating Christ and seeing my vanity I don’t believe I could have been a good mother, a good wife a loving anything. When I turned 21 I decided to take my name back. I stopped answering to the name of Punkin because that name was associated with too much hurt, too much pain. I released the silver cord as I had done when I gave my life to Christ. What is a Silver cord it is in metaphysical literature a term referring to the connection between the physical body, astral body, and Higher Self. Sometimes you have a out of body experience where you can see yourself and the things around you in a better light so when you come back to reality you make the necessary changes. This life we are living is the most precious thing God entrusted us with. Why are we wasting time throwing it away on foolish things? Why are children being abused? Children growing up too fast because the parents have lost their way, lose their mind, lost their religion and stop believing. Kids killing one another because no one sees the vanity that is within desiring to helped. We have the government and the liberal organizations telling we shouldn’t pray in schools or in the court house. The bible says I will BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES and HIS PRAISE SHALL CONTINUALLY BE IN MY MOUTH ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE not I will bless the Lord when the government tells me. Nothing or no one will stop me from praising Him! When I cut the silver cord on my pass, I stopped the hurt to myself and many of us need to know how to cut off the hurt. I am not talking about the person we need to pray for those who trespass against us. The hurt is something the devil will hold on to just so he can use it against you……”he's going to hurt you as soon as he can”, “She don’t love you”, The devil wants us to be insecure with our walk with Christ. We can’t say we believe in God in one breath and in the next say “I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M GONNA DO” Where is the I in God? He don’t need your help. You need his. Let God do a work in you and through you so you can bring up a child to know him. It is better to fear God more than fearing this world! So what is the plan…..“...keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” This is the bottom line to all of the arguments presented throughout the book of Ecclesiastes! This again points back to verse 1: “Remember your creator in the days of your youth” ... those who do will obey God’s commands all their lives! What we lay down as our foundation for life in our youth is what will drive us throughout our lifetime! Those who remember God in their youth are likely to make His commandments their rule for living! This will bring a harvest of spiritual fruit and thus satisfaction in old age. This will enable us to handle life from an eternal perspective which is a much broader frame of mind than just the here and now! Our plans will be built on whatever foundation we set in youth, remembering our Creator God will ensure that our plans include Him throughout our life, and His commands. It is our duty to obey God’s ways if we want the best here and now, as well as then!
If you have forgotten your creator in your youth you are not likely to remember Him in your old age. It is never too late however, just tear down the bad foundation and start building the right one now, it is never too late, but how much better to do this in youth!
Every house has a foundation, without one it could not be stable or stay standing for long. It will have to stand against storms, earthquakes, weathering. Etc. The better the foundation, the more durable the house, the same is true in life, if we establish an early foundation based on a relationship with God we will more easily endure the storms of life. The patterns of our life are set in youth, so set them in Christ! This is what it means to “REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH!”
