In Ecclesiastes Solomon logs an account of the great variety of different things he tried in a search to be fulfilled in life. His comes to this realization: "Vanity of vanities...; all is vanity."
His final conclusion? "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
I like to remove the "optional" word "duty" in the last phrase. It's one of those little italicized words in the KJV that was not in the original text, but was added for the sake of the interpretation. Know what that means? You can take it out. Then it reads, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole of man."
Everything we do must come second to this, our ultimate purpose in life. There are many good things in life, but they are all intended by God to be enjoyed in the context of a relationship with God that puts Him first. We will never be find true fulfillment in anything--work, play, school or learning, relationships with people, money, travel, etc. Those are all things that are meant to be enjoyed within the context of a healthy relationship with God. When we are content to "Fear God, and keep his commandments," we will find fulfillment whether we are able to do any of the other good things in life or not.
God designed it this way on purpose, and in Ecclesiastes we see an example of someone who tried it and prove how it works. We will save ourselves a lot of pain in life if we can figure this out before we try to find our fulfillment in something other than God.
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