“I know this, that whatever God does is final—nothing can be added or taken from it; God’s purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God.” Ecclesiastes 1:14
When Solomon says “all is vanity” he means nothing really has any substance. Everything is simply a vapor or a breath; It’s nothing new and...it doesn’t last.
He must have been a golfer...
I hit this beautiful drive with my new Callaway Epic Flash driver. It felt perfect off the club. It sailed perfectly straight...in a classic arc...and settled on the back of the green 260 yards ahead of me. I putted in for a birdie. I was euphoric. If you’re not a golfer you have no idea how long and hard a person has to play in order to experience one brief moment of exquisite pleasure on a golf course.
And then, the next hole...
No matter how good a golfer you are, there is always the next hole and...that fleeting euphoria is “vanity”. It vanishes as quickly is it came. In the book of Ecclesiastes “vanity” describes all human endeavor on earth...pursuit of pleasure, fame, wisdom, and all unsatisfied desires or possessions. Vanity...הבל (hebel) occurs no less than 37 times in Ecclesiastes, and has been called the key of the book. It suggests everything passes away more or less quickly...and completely and leaves no satisfying result. Vanity is also applied to the worship of idols, as contrasted with the Living, Eternal, and Almighty God, and, thus, in the Hebrew mind, pursuit of purpose and meaning apart from God amounts to idol worship and is sin.
Solomon didn’t pull these thoughts out of a hat. He was the wisest man in the world and produced much of value for his people. He also tried every pleasure known to man...300 wives and 700 concubines (which makes me wonder how he had time for any other kind of pleasures)...and none of them brought satisfaction. And so, at the end of his life he said “I’m going to die, just like everybody else. All my wealth and possessions are going to my son and...I don’t even know if he’s smart enough to keep things going so...what’s the point?” Then he answers his own question; God’s purpose in this is that man should learn to acknowledge Him...the source of the one thing we all strive for...purpose and meaning. He ended up saying “I decided that there was nothing better for a man to do than to enjoy his food and drink and his job. Then I realized that even this pleasure is from the hand of God.” (2:24)
Most of us don’t want to take Solomon’s word for it. We want to take a spin chasing pleasure ourselves. We just aren’t very teachable.
The point is clear; if our goal is to create something that has our name on it...that has meaning...and lasts, we are in for a huge disappointment. If our goal is to let God create something through us that has His name on it...well, that’s full of possibilities.
There is an advantage to growing old. It gives a person perspective. It allows us to look back and recognize we didn’t amount to much without God doing it. In fact, when we attempt to build edifices to ourselves we sin.
So, I’m going to enjoy the life God has given me. If I enjoy it enough, perhaps he will make something out of it.
Live boldly out there today...
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