"Vanity of Vanities"

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
[Ecc 1:2 ESV]

What better way is there to begin a book on Human life. The NIV renders it to be 'meaningless' instead of vanities, but this is not the complete thought. Although not used commonly any more, Vanity means more than simply self centered, although self-absorption is an inseparable part of vanity.. Vanity is a labor that produces no good results. A labor that serves no purpose, a labor that will be rendered useless in the end. And this is how Solomon, likely the wisest man who has ever lived, inspired by the Holy Spirit, describes our lives and our works. They are not only meaningless and worthless, but so much so that they are called THE vanity of vanities! It does not get any worse than this. Our lives are the bottom of the barrel.

Of course when reading through the entire book of Ecclesiastes it is made quite obvious that this summary of human life applies only to the life separated from God. As true as this was in the Old Testament times, it is true for us today. It is still true today that the pursuits of wealth, pleasure, and even wisdom, when separated from faith in God, are nothing more than vanities.

In fact, anything we do, when we separate God from it, is nothing more than a vanity. This can even apply to those things that we consider to be God pleasing. When going to church becomes nothing more than a routine, or something we do to look good to others, it is a vanity. When good works are self-motivated instead of Spirit motivated, they are shallow vanities. When preaching no longer consists of the crushing law and the uplifting Gospel, it is merely a vanity. When we take credit for our conversion in anyway, it is nothing more than vanity. When we try to take the Holy Spirit out of Holy Baptism, we make it nothing more than a vanity. When we try to take Christ's Body and Blood out of the Lord's Supper, it turns into a mere remembrance meal, and nothing more than a vanity.

Every single thing that we do can become a vanity, however when we have become new creatures in Christ Jesus, these things are no longer vanities. When we are lead by the Spirit, we will produce God pleasing good works. When we are baptized, it is not a public declaration of our works, our vanities. Baptism is recognized for what it truly is, the Spirit working faith and forgiveness in us. In the Holy Supper, we do not just remember what our savior did for us, we receive it through the very Body and Blood that paid for our sins. When a pastor preaches law and Gospel, he is not simply giving us pointers for how to have an easier, happier life. He is proclaiming the very word of God through which his Spirit works.

It is terribly sad to realize that we are such dreadfully sinful creatures that we can take even God's most precious gifts to us and turn them into the very Vanity of Vanities condemned by God through Solomon. It is awful to realize the emptiness that will be a result of these vanities. It is also wonderful to see how well God takes care of us when our sin does not reduce his gifts to vanities. There are so many wonderful gifts God has given us, each one can give more blessings than we comprehend.

SOLI DEO GLORIA