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God’s Word Is Alive

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

OUR Creator wants us to enjoy his precious gift of life. In the Bible book of Ecclesiastes he says: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, . . . and walk in the ways of your heart and in the things seen by your eyes.” However, the course you take in your youth to satisfy the desires of your heart and eyes will affect how God will judge you. So young ones are here urged: “Remove vexation [or cause for worry] from your heart, and ward off calamity.”

How can youths “ward off calamity,” and receive a righteous judgment​—to “everlasting life”? (Romans 6:23) How young ones can do so is shown by the further encouragement: “Remember, now, your Grand Creator in the days of your young manhood, before the calamitous days proceed to come.”

What are “the calamitous days” during which those who fail to remember their Creator say, “I have no delight in them”? The writer of Ecclesiastes meant the days of old age when a person weakens and body organs break down, failing to function properly. Ecclesiastes describes this ‘wintertime’ of life in symbolic language​—as when the sun, moon and stars darken, and the clouds of afflictions appear and increase a person’s troubles.

This time of life is also here called “the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the men of vital energy have bent themselves, and the grinding women have quit working because they have become few, and the ladies seeing at the windows have found it dark; and the doors onto the street have been closed, . . . and the grasshopper drags itself along.”

Do you grasp the illustration? The figurative “house” is the human body. Its “keepers,” or guardians, are the arms and hands, which, in old age, tremble. The legs​—“the men of vital energy”—​in old age are bent, having difficulty in supporting the body. The teeth​—“the grinding women”—​are unable any longer to perform their function. They “have quit working because they have become few.”

What about an old person’s eyes? These “windows” of the body “have found it dark” due to dimming eyesight. “The doors” of the mouth no longer open much to give expression of what is in the house or body. Indeed, due to infirmity, an old person may resemble a grasshopper as he drags himself along.

Then, as death approaches, “the silver cord is removed, and the golden bowl gets crushed, and the jar at the spring is broken.” The “silver cord” evidently means the spinal cord and the “golden bowl,” the brain. The “jar” stands for the heart, which receives the life-bearing blood and circulates it through the body. Old age affects all of these. Finally, a person returns in death to the dust.​—Ecclesiastes 11:9–12:7.

The calamitous days of old age quickly overtake a person who has wasted his life in vain pursuits​—“the greatest vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 12:8) Wisely, therefore, remember your Creator when you have strength and vigor. Build a record of faithful service to God, who will remember you with a favorable judgment, yes, to everlasting life.​—Matthew 6:19-21; Hebrews 6:10-12; Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.