What Shall We Live For?

Solomon lived in such abundance that he had no one to envy, yet late in life, looking back over his years, he lamented that all was vanity of vanities. He saw people who served God and were content even in poverty and hardship. From them he came to understand that wealth does not make anyone happy, and that reigning as king does not satisfy either.

The vanity Solomon speaks of is wind that cannot be grasped, or a hollowness like something left empty. He had enjoyed the wisdom, riches and honor God gave him. Yet to hold on to his wealth and power he took in foreign gods and turned away from God. From that moment his life became like an empty vessel, and the emptiness of his soul was never filled. As the sun rises and sets and the rivers run to the sea, the world only goes round again. One generation goes and another comes while the earth stays as it is, and human sin stays as it is too.

So Solomon urges others not to live as he did, turned away from God, but to receive Christ and live. An arrow that has left the bowstring cannot be called back, and neither can time that has passed. And so, he says, the blessed life is one that worships God through these few short years and fills that vanity with joy and hope.