The theme of Solomon’s great book Ecclesiastes is exclaimed at the very beginning: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”1 The Hebrew language has two words for vanity, hebel and awen, which mean emptiness, breath, wickedness, falseness, transitory, unsatisfactory, and in vain. Solomon’s idea includes all those definitions, but his focus is on the breath of life, the transitory state of all things—the realization that nothing lasts. Therefore, translations for the word vanity include absolute futility, nothing but smoke, meaningless, to no purpose, perfectly pointless, and useless.
After announcing his theme, Solomon then lists six points to prove his thesis.
- Nothing lasts. We work hard and then we die: “A generation goes, and a generation comes.”2
- Nothing ends. The sun rises and sets and rises and sets, etc. The wind blows around the world and then repeats and “around and around goes the wind.”3
- Nothing is ever full. The streams empty into the sea, “but the sea is not full.”4
- Nothing is ever satisfied. “All things are full of weariness.”5
- Nothing is new. “There is nothing new under the sun.”6
- Nothing will be remembered. “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.”7
Note that his points are all about nothing. These negative thoughts also apply to humans as well. Our work will not last. Our bodies will not last. We are never full. We are never satisfied. We never have a new idea. We will not be remembered. The conclusion, then, must be that our lives mean nothing. It sounds so depressing! Is this a book worth reading? Nothing could be more important! As a matter of fact, what Solomon discovered is great news!
At some point, most of us will ask Solomon’s overriding question: What is the point? Solomon’s answer? “All is vanity!” Meaningless. Futile. And he is correct.
How is this great news? The vanity of life is discovered when we look for meaning in this life. If we believe our work will create purpose in our lives, if we think that relationships will give value to our lives, if we assume that the world will yield hopeful insight about our lives—we will soon be disappointed, then, be frustrated, and finally, be distraught. Our work, our relationships, and our world is transitory. Nothing lasts. It all ends. Solomon’s discovery is spot-on: there is nothing worth doing in this life because it will all disappear!
So, what is the point of it all? There is more to life than this life. What Solomon was searching for was something more because God “put eternity into man’s heart.”8 Solomon’s longing for things to last is our longing, too. When we realize that God is the only thing eternal, we are close to finding the meaning we are looking for. The next step is look to Jesus for “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”9 Finally! Something that lasts!
When we discover that we can live forever with God and that eternal life begins immediately, our lives take on an eternal purpose. This means that our work, our relationships, even our world becomes meaningful and everything we do is significant.
The truth is there is Nothing Worth Doing without God. Conversely, nothing we do with God is worth nothing. With God everything we do counts! God created us with things to do, places to go, people to see, “for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”10
Our life counts. Everything we do for God has lasting quality. All is not vanity with God. As a matter of fact, nothing is vanity, nothing is absolute futility, nothing is nothing but smoke, nothing is meaningless, nothing is to no purpose, nothing is perfectly pointless, and nothing is useless with God.
At last!
1Ecclesiastes 1:2 2Ecclesiastes 1:4 3Ecclesiastes 1:6 4Ecclesiastes 1:7 5Ecclesiastes 1:8 6Ecclesiastes 1:9 7Ecclesiastes 1:11 8Ecclesiastes 3:11 9John 3:16 10Ephesians 2:10