With all the graduations taking place right now, there will be an equal amount of motivational speakers giving out advice on the secret to success. The above quote by Colin Powell, states that there is no secret at all. It’s a matter of hard work and preparation, which only comes from those early years followed by more years of education.

Think of what it was like in the 16th century, before the printing press was invented.   Folks had to rely on word of mouth for their information and  by the time they got it, it was so muddled, it was far from the truth.  (Actually pretty much like today’s news anaad information services.)

In those days, people were concerned about having enough food to eat.  They relied on the sweat of their brows to get the work done.  They feared  invasion  by warring nations.  Most of them had never read God’s Word.  Most of them didn’t know how to read.  (Sad to say some of our high school graduates have slipped through the cracks and can’t read either.) The rich got rich and the poor got poorer.  (Also something like the news of our day.)

There were no great health care facilities.  Doctors were few and far between.  The average life expectancy was 40 years of age and if you were wealthy you might live ten more.   We are now living longer, have superior health care, but still don’t know how to contain communicable diseases – and there isn’t a cure for the common cold.

Have we made progress?  If you’re a history buff, you will soon see that it continues to repeat itself.  The passage of time often reveals that there is nothing new in the world.  Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to address that very thought.

Time goes swiftly by, but nothing really changes.  There will always be battles between good and evil.  There will always be wars and rumors of wars.  We face difficult weather, painful diseases, loss of money, jobs and some of our freedom.   We have Bibles in our homes and on our I-pads, but how often are they opened?  Is there any hope for a brighter future? As far as true success in life is concerned, we can find the solution in the Christian manual for successful living, the Bible.

Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  Our desire for paradise is beyond the grave.  Until then take advantage of the treasure available in the Holy Bible.  Blow the dust off of it and begin to actually read it. It contains the real secret to success.