All is Vanity
Ecclesiastes 2:9-11
Solomon chased after pleasure. He indulged in wine, he built wealth, he built big houses, and he had any woman he desired. Each new pleasure was an attempt to find purpose and fulfillment. He was king of Israel. He had status and became the greatest in the city of Jerusalem, yet he found no rest from his intrinsic desire created by God. He found that all things on earth are meaningless, because all things on earth are temporary. The soul longs for the eternal because the soul is eternal. Temporary success and pleasure are meaningless to the soul. Unless the soul is filled with the eternal fulfillment of relationship with an eternal God, it cannot be satisfied. The thirst of the soul can only be quenched by the Living Water.
"9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere."
Many people desire to have the life of Solomon. Status is king in the modern world just as it was in the ancient. Human nature has not changed. We aspire for wealth, status, and respect. Many people think that if they gain these things, they will automatically be fulfilled. This is not the case. Some realize this, but still miss the mark. In the attempt to satisfy the eternal soul, they pursue something thought to be eternal: legacy. Those who seek to build a legacy have made the leap from a focus on the present life to a focus on future effects of a present life. While this may seem to offer what is necessary to fill the void of eternity, it falls short. It has expanded the scope, but not to an infinite level. Those who focus on legacy may seem more noble than those who pursue wealth, status, and respect; however, they are really no different. Each desires to fill the void. One with selfish gain, the other with selfish altruism. Selfish altruism may seem oxymoronic at first glance. This is not the case. Selfish altruism is the desire to gain fulfillment or purpose from helping others. Those who seek to create a legacy do so through "good" actions that either help people in the present, the future, or both. Regardless, it is an attempt to gain immortality on earth. This pursuit is still vanity since there can be no immortality among the mortal. Immortality can only exist in an immortal realm, not our present mortal one. Fulfillment and satisfaction that does not fade, is infinite, can only come from an immortal and infinite source. The only immortal and infinite being to exist is God. Only God can provide that which is not vanity. The living water that makes us never thirst again.
