'This also is vanity' — the most miserable man in the Bible wasn't Job

From a sermon · Ecclesiastes 2:1–11; 12:13

Let's reason together. I'd propose that Job was not the most miserable man in the Bible. The most miserable man in the Bible might have been Solomon. Having been given much is wonderful — until you lose it. Only those who've had greatly can suffer greatly in what they've lost. Solomon had been given more than anyone, and he lost more than anyone, and he wrote about it in Ecclesiastes. Read chapter 2, verses 1 through 11, and listen to the refrain: "This also is vanity."

What vanity is

Vanity is emptiness — the lack of anything solid enough to satisfy desire. Fruitless effort. Labor that produces nothing good. And it always craves more, no matter how much you give it.

Vanity is a bucket with a hole in it: no matter how much water you pour in, it never fills. Vanity is a pig at the trough — however much food is around, it wants more and wants it all. Vanity is a child who's already had candy and wants more, not knowing or caring what too much will do. Vanity is planting a garden that yields nothing. Vanity is running on a treadmill — long and hard, and going nowhere. Vanity is the empty cereal box somebody put back in the cupboard. Vanity is lust: you crave, and the craving is never filled. Vanity is chasing a cow around a field trying to get it back in the pen. Vanity is sin — it always wants more of you, never plays fair, never repays with good, and always repays with harm. Vanity is the food of fools.

We could all name things we've done that ended in vanity.

What vanity feels like

Solomon pairs it with another word: vexation — to be irritated, plagued, tormented, disturbed, agitated. Vexation is how vanity makes you feel. Could you feel the emptiness in some of those pictures? The frustration, the longing? You've felt it. That's vanity.

He had it all

Everything you think you want in this life that's earthly, Solomon had. Women. Money. Knowledge. Wisdom. Fame. Position. Power. Learn from him. He's telling you from the far side of all of it: you don't want it. "I had it all — and this also is vanity and a striving after wind."

Necessary things that still end in vanity

Some things we have to do will end in vanity anyway; the question is how much we value them and what we aim them at. Breathing ends in vanity — you'll always need another breath. Eating ends in vanity — you'll be hungry again. Your job ends in vanity — you'll always need more money. Even attending church ends in vanity — you'll always need more feeding. If these things aren't pointed at a purpose that isn't vain, we end up living vain lives, and vain lives end in vexation.

If you're breathing just to take another breath, you're breathing in vain. If you're eating just to eat again, you're eating in vain. If you're working just to go to work tomorrow, you're working in vain. If you're coming to church just to stay "alive" as a Christian, you're coming in vain. It's the person who works to live and lives to work.

Turn it around. Breathe to stay alive so you can serve Jesus. Eat to stay alive so you can serve Jesus. Work to survive so you can serve Jesus. Come to church to grow so you can serve Jesus.

What doesn't end in vanity

There are things worth pursuing that won't leave you empty: your spouse, your children, your friends, your church family, and your God and Savior, Jesus Christ. All of life should point at one purpose — serving Him.

Solomon's conclusion

After a whole life chasing what turned to wind, here's where the wisest man who ever lived landed: "When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). That's the whole duty of a person. Everything else is vanity.

One more thing

One more thing, for whoever's reading this at the end of a long empty stretch. Solomon had everything a man could get his hands on and called it wind. You might have a whole lot less and feel exactly the same. The one thing under the sun that doesn't end in vanity is a Man who died for your sin and did not stay dead. That's the entire difference. Tell Him you believe it and ask Him to save you, and your breathing has a point for the first time.

For the rest of us, the ones who already serve Him: take one ordinary thing tomorrow. The dishes, the drive, the shift you don't want. Say out loud who you're doing it for before you start. Same work. Same Tuesday. Different reason. Do it every day this week and watch how much of the emptiness was never about the work at all.

Related: 1 John 2 — why not to love the world and King Jesus — why are you a Christian?