Once, a fox discovered a vineyard. It was completely enclosed by a wall, except for one small hole. When the fox tried to enter the hole, he discovered he could not. It was too small. So he decided to fast for three days until he became thin enough to enter through the hole. He began fasting and, after three days, was scrawny enough to make it. He entered the hole and found to his delight that the vineyard was a virtual paradise. He ate and ate until he became sleek and fat.

But when he wanted to leave, the fox couldn’t get through the hole. So he had to fast again until he was thin enough to get out. It took three days before he could make it. He finally exited the vineyard just as thin, scrawny and hungry as he had been nine days before.

So it is with life. We struggle so hard for things that don’t bring lasting satisfaction. We work long days in order to be able to purchase things that break within the month. We wish and long for things we soon grow tired of. Remember that as fat and sleek as we may become in life, we will leave just as naked and scrawny as we came in.

He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away.” Job 1:21