Ecclesiastes 1:1-2; 2:1-11, 17-26

Have you ever tried to catch the wind? Sure, maybe you’ve caught some of the things carried by the wind: butterflies, lightning bugs, Covid-19 – but catching the wind itself; that’s impossible. Wind isn’t the only thing rushing past us in this life – pleasure, wealth, accomplishments are all rushing past us every day – have you ever chased after them, tried to grab on to them and store them up, thinking that at some point, when you have enough of them, you will finally be happy and satisfied? In the Gospel Jesus taught that it doesn’t matter how big your barns are and how much stuff they are filled with – because when God comes for your soul, someone else will get all that stuff you worked so hard to gather (Luke 12:20). I would argue that this text from Ecclesiastes goes even further, arguing that apart from God all earthly pursuits are meaningless. “Nothing but vapor,” Ecclesiastes said. “Totally vapor. Everything is just vapor that vanishes.” Havel havelim [1], declares King Solomon. When Hebrew writers repeat a word, it’s a superlative; “the vaporiest of vapors.” Emptiness. Nothingness. Worthless. What’s he talking about? Anything and everything; life itself. And if anyone would know, it would be Solomon – because he had it all and more – and yet, probably writing as an old man, he looks back and calls it all meaningless, as meaningless as chasing after the wind. Aren’t you glad you rolled out of bed this morning to hear that? Why would the Lord inspire Solomon to tell us that everything we do, work for, strive for in this life is as meaningless as vapor? It’s because our Lord loves us too much to let us chase the meaningless winds of this world now and learn the truth only when it’s too late, when our eternity is already determined.

While Solomon appears to have learned this truth by the end of his life, each generation must learn it for itself – and in our generation, these are fighting words. Whether we realize it or not, we’ve been conditioned to measure our lives based on wealth, fame, power, beauty, accomplishment – and a host of other worldly measures. We’ve been taught to study hard so that you can get a good degree with which you can find a good job which will make you appealing to a good spouse who can help you find the perfect house in which to raise the perfect children until you enroll them in the ideal college and find them an ideal spouse – at which point you can crack open that giant nest-egg you worked so hard for in retirement, take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:19). That’s the basic American dream, right? But on a deeper level, this is the delusion spawned by our sinful nature – that true happiness is out there, just around the corner, you just need to find it, work for it and grab ahold of it. And it’s not going to let go of its delusion easily. The sinful nature can’t be persuaded or converted – it must be killed. And that’s the job of the Law – to expose the sin in our hearts and put it to death (Colossians 3:5). It’s an ugly and painful death – but it must be done to escape the hellish eternity which awaits all who set their hearts on worldly things. So, for the sake of your soul, listen as Solomon drains the life out of the American dream.

I thought in my heart, “Go ahead, test yourself with pleasure to see what is good.” But, oh, that too is vapor. About laughter, I said, “Madness!” About pleasure, “What good is it?” As my heart kept guiding me with wisdom, I put it to work researching how to relax my body with wine and how to grasp why people do stupid things…I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives great pleasure to men – one concubine after another. “Work hard, party harder” is not just a slogan found on T-shirts and bumper stickers, it’s the philosophy many – maybe even many of us – live by. And it’s not new. The Lord condemned the Israelites for lounging on their ivory-embroidered beds and drinking wine by the bowlful (Amos 6:1-7). The Epicureans of Paul’s day lived by the motto let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32). There’s no doubt that the hedonistic, Hugh Hefner philosophy of chasing pleasure is attractive – the question is: does it work? Does it satisfy? You can fill your belly with the very finest food and drink – and make no mistake, these are good gifts from God (Psalm 145:15) – but if these gifts are enjoyed apart from thanksgiving to the Giver, then you’re no different than livestock; you’re just a well-dressed food processor. Well, sex then. Sex is satisfying, right? Not outside of the boundaries God has drawn around marriage – color outside of these lines and all you get is loneliness and emptiness, broken hearts and broken families. Younger generations are known for pursuing pleasurable “experiences” – thus the rise of adventure vacations, escape rooms, and Airbnb’s. Does it work? No, there’s always one more adventure to have, one more niche restaurant to “experience” and one more exotic place Facebook says “you just have to visit.” Chasing pleasure is just chasing after the wind.

Ok then, how about accumulating stuff? I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted every kind of fruit tree in them. I made reservoirs of water for myself to irrigate a forest of sprouting trees. I acquired male and female servants. I also had slaves that were born in my own house. Livestock too! I had more herds and flocks that anyone before me in Jerusalem…But when I turned my attention to everything that my hands had done and to how hard I had worked for it – note this – it was all vapor, all chasing the wind. There was no benefit under the sun. Can piles of wealth give meaning to life? Jesus calls the person who believes that a fool who has forfeited his soul (Luke 12:20). Sooner or later, everyone realizes that death will rob you of every last penny you worked so hard for. But it’s even more important to see that wealth doesn’t bring happiness even when you’re alive. To the illusion that says “If I can only make enough to buy this, to find financial security, then I’ll be happy,” Solomon responds, “don’t bother, I’ve tried it, it doesn’t work.” Have you ever known anyone who earns enough? Who has saved enough? Has a car that’s new enough? Gadgets that are cutting-edge enough? You may not be a king, but you build your own little kingdom only to have someone eventually give it all away to Good-will. It’s meaningless: as meaningless as chasing after the wind.

Well, if it’s not the destination, then it must be the journey: life’s meaning must come from work. To this proposal, Solomon responds, what does a man gain through all his hard work, through all the turmoil in his heart, as he works so hard under the sun? Pain fills all his days. His occupation is frustration. Even at night his heart does not rest. This too is vapor. Ah, but that’s not what that seductress named “the American Dream” wants you to believe. She transforms the quiet wisdom of “work ethic” into the shrill scream of a slave-driver: “Work, work, work. Learn, earn, compete, build your resume, plan, sacrifice, worry, lose sleep, skip vacations, add hours, climb the corporate ladder, scratch the right back, invest, buy low, sell high, save, risk, work, work, work!” After all this, your life will have meaning and fulfillment – right? Wrong! Solomon says that all the hours he worked, all the plans he made – even after building a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself – all his toil brought him nothing more than frustration and sleepless nights. And if you think his experience was unique, consider that 13% of Americans take medication to fight off depression and anxiety [2] and over $800 million dollars per year is spent on sleep aids. [3] What will all your hard work amount to after you retire, after you hand it over to someone else who tears it all down and starts over? Nothing. Apart from God, even work is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

It’s depressing, isn’t it? It’s depressing to think that all your hard work, all the blood, sweat and tears you’ve spilled to acquire wealth and experience pleasure is nothing more than chasing after the wind. But it’s the soul-crushing truth. It’s why many people today struggle to summon the energy to get out of bed in the morning, why others just live for the weekend when they can drown their despair in meaningless activities and substances, why so many need the constant distraction of music, movies, and social media – anything to escape the dark, silent emptiness of life under the sun. That’s idolatry for you, and idolatry when viewed from that perspective is pretty horrifying, isn’t it? It’s empty. It’s hollow. Idols consume their worshipers from the inside, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell. This is life without God, life without Christ at the center. Why? Because it’s not who you are. You are not the sum total of what you own and what you’ve done. You’re so much more than that. You were created by God, redeemed by God, adopted by God to live forever with him. But without God at the center of your life, your being, your identity, all you do and all you have under the sun is utterly meaningless. Thankfully, God offers us a better way. In spite of our futile attempts to find meaning and happiness apart from him, God graciously gives us a new way of life. He enables us to see beyond the horizon of life under this sun, to find the true meaning of life in his Son, Jesus.

In the final verses of our text, Solomon points us in the right direction: There is nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink and to find joy in his work. This too, I saw, is from God’s hand. For who can eat or enjoy himself apart from him? Hang on, I thought Solomon just established that pleasure, wealth and work are meaningless; now he says that there is nothing better than eating and drinking and working? Did you catch the key phrase? Apart from him – apart from God – no one will find contentment or happiness, but with him we can be joyful whether we are rich or poor, whether the meal is the chef’s special or Chef Boyardee, whether we are running our dream business or just counting the minutes to 5 o’clock. Why? How? Because Jesus did the most meaningful thing of all by taking up the seemingly most meaningless task of all (Isaiah 49:4). Because Jesus came specifically to destroy the one thing that makes it all meaningless: death. He left his place at his Father’s right hand, he emptied himself of his glory and power as the Son of God, he became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He despised all other earthly pursuits apart from his pursuit of your salvation; which led him to the cross where he willingly suffered the horrifying wrath of God and the miserable, meaningless death and hell we deserved for our sins of idolatry, greed, gluttony and lust. The blood he shed won for us the greatest treasure of all: the forgiveness of sins. When you have this treasure, then death is not the end, but the beginning of true life. When you have this treasure you can be certain that – unlike the rich fool – you will pass the test on the night God summons your soul (Luke 12:20) – because you have Christ and his righteousness. Through baptism this treasure is yours – which means that you don’t have to waste your time chasing your best life now because your best life is still to come, when you will finally be free from sin and the futility of chasing the wind of meaning in this life.

And that’s the secret to a meaningful life here and now. The secret is not having a better life, but rather a better perspective on life. Knowing that Jesus has secured eternal life in heaven for you frees you to actually enjoy life now. While the unbelieving world tries to squeeze meaning out of pleasure, wealth and work, believers understand that the good things of this life are just that: things of this life – to be used, enjoyed, and, eventually, left behind; just like the wind. Don’t believe the lie that happiness is something that lies just over the horizon, after just a little more work and a few more years of saving – because if you do, you won’t just find yourself continually disappointed – you will miss the wonderful gifts God has already given you. Instead see that the meaning of the pleasure and wealth and work you have today lies in the simple fact that the God who created and redeemed you has given it to you – nothing more and nothing less.

The meaning of life isn’t the sum total of the pleasure we’ve experienced, the wealth we’ve accumulated or the hard work we’ve completed. The meaning of life is that God loved us so much that he gave us life, gave us his Son, gave us faith to believe in him, and has promised to give us a place in his heavenly mansion. Try to grasp hold of what this life under the sun has to offer and you will find yourself empty handed, like trying to catch the wind. But open your hands to receive Christ in faith and God promises to fill those hands with everything you need for this life and more (Matthew 6:33). The Christian life is the simple life: 1) trust in God to take care of the big picture – now and forever – and 2) enjoy the life under the sun he has given you – because Jesus has already earned the one thing we could never catch for ourselves: the never-ending joy of eternal life in heaven. Amen.

[1] Incidentally, havel was the name of Adam and Eve’s second son (Abel), whose life was so meaninglessly cut short by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:8)

[2] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/22/new-study-challenges-value-antidepressants/

[3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11058925/Experts-warn-melatonin-use-America-control.html