Carol, my wife, in front of the Vanderbilt Mansion (2001).
I have always been a fan of architecture, and when we bought a second home near Asheville, North Carolina, which we have since sold, I jumped at the chance to go visit the Vanderbilt Mansion.
We went on the official tours offered, and greatly enjoyed the beauty of this place, but I also left with a fairly heavy heart.
You see, the story of the Vanderbilt family is one where the grandchildren spend nearly every penny that Cornelius ever made. In the 1880's, Cornelius Vanderbilt was easily one of the richest men in the world. Today, that fabulous wealth is all but gone. Completely spent by the third generation!
King Solomon, as he was writing in his journal (the book of Ecclesiastes), laments that all his hard work is for naught, vanity. I am certain that Cornelius Vanderbilt would echo the same sentiment.
I am most grateful that God has set me down to learn this valuable lesson now, before I spread a horrible disease down my family tree. Although it is very difficult to see right now, I am confident that God who has grabbed me by the collar, will set me on the right path, where I can refocus and exert my energies is a new direction.
Oh how I long for that day of clarity.
Here is Solomon's lament (Ecclesiastes 2:18-23) around the vain toil of his life:
"I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity."
