Vanity and Vexation

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 - The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

King Solomon- self professed to have set his hand to every type of work, to have experienced every type of gain and every type of learning- this man who was important, rich (ha, ha, understatement of the year!) and held in high esteem by the Queen of Sheba repeated this little phrase over and over in the book of Ecclesiastes: 'All is vanity and vexation of spirit'.

First, what is vanity; second, what is vexation of spirit; and thirdly, what is the 'all' that is vanity and vexation of spirit?

1. Vanity is pretty much something that is useless, it is also costly; either in time or resources, it doesn't render you any gains, and doesn't do anything anyway. That's why earrings, lip-stick, fancy cars, or the latest technology in cell-phones could be called vanities. (One might argue that looking pretty does get you something, but whether that is something worthwhile is a topic for another day and one might say that fancy cars and cool cell-phones are, well, cool! I agree. At any rate, I'm NOT here to argue against any of these things.)

2. Vexation of spirit is when your sister won't stop arguing with you; that is, your sister or your brother or your child. No seriously. Your spirit is vexed when circumstances beyond your control prevent you from reaching your goal- or what you thought your goal was, by whatever means you believed would get you there. Anyone who has watched Pride and Prejudice has no doubt noticed that Mrs. Bennett's favorite expression seems to be "I shall be extremely vexed!!!!" or something of the like, always with several exclamation points. Also noticeable is how circumstances are always out of her control… And--- in both of these cases, the party being vexed is almost always are one of the contributors to the problem. (Off topic note- please don't argue with your siblings!)

3. OK, so what is vain and is also vexing the spirit of the most powerful, wealthy, and influential king of (pretty much) all time? He explains in chapter two, verse seventeen- Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit…

Ah ha! It's life then, eh?

Our first reaction might be one of "Oh that is such an unchristian thing to say! Hating life? The very idea!" But wait a minute, maybe he's got something there. Skip the maybe, he definitely has got something there. Throughout the book he talks about the works of men’s hands and the length of men's lifetimes; the evil that fills the earth and the inevitable death of man who has spent his days in vain pursuits of that elusive god Happiness. He continues speaking about the good that man does and the evil works--- and when a man dies he will be judged according to his works.

This sounds a lot like the picture we have when men try to reach the benefits of God without God. Salvation by works- that sort of thing. Of course it is vanity- it's useless and a waste of time. Of course it's vexation of spirit, you are ultimately frustrated in your attempts to reach a goal – but get this- you are prevented by the very nature of the thing you're pursuing.

This image that Solomon paints for us is full of men being born; growing up; working only to pass on their works to another and then to die. They return to dust with 'their spirit returning unto God who gave it' (Eccl. 12:7) the world does seem to be full of a lot of vain works. Mainly, the vanity is trying to get something on earth that we can't get. It isn't possible to have a 'perfect life' of comfort without the pain of sin. Everyone pursues happiness and everybody dies. Nobody wants to waste their lives, but anybody who is not following after God and fighting His battles is going to waste it anyway, going after something that doesn't exist on this earth.

Jesus said that whoever will save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of the Gospel shall save it. (Mark 8:35) This life is vanity- it's going to blow away, but Jesus promises an incorruptible inheritance found only in Himself. This life isn't about turning on the radio or reading a book or learning trigonometry or becoming successful. All of these things directly relate to the true life, the real existence, and what's going to happen in the eternal realm.

That's why we Christians must set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2) The world has got it all backwards. We're supposed to be pursuing heaven, but we can't get it on earth. Man spends so much time chasing the proverbial 'Heaven on earth' that he forgets to pursue the heaven that there actually is. Life is indeed vanity and vexation of spirit.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. So ends the book of Ecclesiastes. And here end my comments on this topic. My articulate comments anyway.

(all emphasis mine)

~Jordan Elizabeth