"The Greatest Kingdom on Earth"

31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth."
-Daniel 2:31-35 (NIV)

Pecy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" carries so much significant resemblance to this one passage in the Book of Daniel from the Bible. An Egyptian statue that once stood majestically falls to utter ruin, until all that is left is the common dust and shattered fragments serving as the only remembrance of a once grand kingdom. Combining the importance of both of these great works brings a curious contemplation to mind: why do people spend so much time trying to build something mighty, all for it to fall into common dust over the passage of time?

The answer is simple: they want the remembrance of their "kingdom" to stand forever. If they cannot settle for an eternal kingdom, they can make due for its glory being preserved for all time, right? Sometimes they accomplish it by building a colossus, which does stand the test of time, but only for a brief moment compared to the rest of eternity. In context of real life, some people put forth all the effort they can into amassing wealth, title, and popularity, but what is any of that when it eventually fades away over time?

When you think about it, such accomplishments are so trivial compared to what really matters. After all, just like the rest of material, they all deteriorate and fade.

What really matters, therefore, is what transcends the material realm. Many know the phrase, "a heart of gold," which actually carries profound significance. The way people help to provide a benefit in another's life is how their true worth is determined. After all, the people that are remembered the most are those who have done much to provide the foundations for a future of goodwill, such as those who give their lives to helping others.

Material crumbles to dust. The memory of another's good deeds, unseen by human eyes, lasts for an eternity.