The end of all men is the same. Rich or poor, famous or ordinary, intelligent or stupid, learned or illiterate, strong or weak, old or young, their end is all the same.

Every man dies. Every man is forgotten.

Therefore what counts in life is not glory, or fame, or riches, or any other superlative. Duty to God and man are the only things that count. Do not burden yourself with lofty goals beyond the earthy and heavenly good of your people. A man can no more expect himself to be rich or influential or successful any more than he can expect himself to be lucky. For riches, influence, good looks, success, and many other aspects of abundance are in large part due to luck. All things come from God: blessing and cursing, celebration and mourning, life and death. Accept your lot in life, whether lucky or unlucky, as the result of the fatherly providence of the Lord of Glory. For, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

God does not expect you to be wealthy, or exceedingly learned, or achieve great power or success, or any other thing which men so often strive for. He commands you only this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27). Do not burden yourself beyond this.

Are you a Christian? If you are, then you are already exceedingly wealthy. Are you diligent in your duties to God and man? If so, then you are a virtuous and pious man. Are your children fed and clothed? Are they catechized to love and trust Jesus Christ? Is your wife loved? If so, you are doing well.

This commandment of our Lord requires no special means, resources, endowments, or power to achieve. It is within reach of all men, in all times, and in all places. It does not require you to make a million dollars, or build a real estate empire, or learn a dozen languages, or become president. Obey Christ while you can, and require no more of yourself. Resolve with every fleeting and temporal thing of this life only to “do what you can, where you are, with what you have”. Riches come and go, excessive learning is wearisome, and power is only for a time. Do not be the rich fool, who built bigger barns to store his immense wealth, yet neglected to steward his own soul (Luke 12:16-21). His wealth had him; he did not have it. His end was the same as the poor man with no barns at all.

You cannot even control the length of your years, and long life and short life both come to the same end. An old saint who has died cannot bring his years with him to heaven, and neither is the infant who perished in the womb impoverished when he is with the Lord of Glory. No man has his past. His glories, sins, and memories are all gone and done. The past cannot be relived, or revived, or saved for later; it can only be forgiven. No man has his future either, since it is not here yet; neither the heathen, who awaits hell, or the saint, who awaits heaven. Both only have the present moment, to do good and worship God, or to do evil and scorn Him. The saint as such is presently living as he will live forever, and will have the present forever. So will the heathen, in his own way.

Why do we pine away for events in our near future, and neglect our far future? Don’t be burdened, saint, with present anxieties, sorrows, worries, and ambitions, when a glorious heavenly future awaits you. Don’t be distracted, heathen, by lusts, indulgences of the flesh, riches, achievements, and vain philosophies, for your far future may be much nearer than you think. Concentrate on your duty as a man in the present moment: work and worship with the far future in mind. Give yourself to your duties in the present moment, and enjoy the time and blessings that God has already given you, for however much you have or whatever amount you lack, the end is the same for both.