Ecclesiastes 3:1 - Song of Solomon 8:14
38 times. That's how often the word "meaningless" is used in Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!"
Just to prove it, Solomon tries everything: Wisdom, Pleasure, Work, Folly, Wealth, and Success. And he finds out that we all end up in the same place: the grave. He also finds out that life is a lot more like the movie Groundhog Day than we care to admit. It's the same thing everyday.
Let's be honest with ourselves. Take a look at your week. We get up about the same time. Either go to work, school, or stay at home. We perform the same tasks everyday. We eat the same meals and watch the same television shows. And it makes us tired. Tired of the same old thing.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 "All things are wearisome"
So we decieve ourselves by trying something "new." We go buy a new house, a new car, some clothes, the latest TV or gadget. We even get excited about it, but usually for the wrong reasons. Instead of praising and thanking God, for the resources He has provided to buy our new things; we are showing everyone around us what great things we have. But pretty soon, the newness wears off. And we are tired once again.
Ecclesiastes 1:10 " Is there anything of which one can say, Look! This is something new? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time."
But before you go get some caffeine to pick yourself up from what appears to be depressing;
Be still and Be honest about your life.
Understand that the things of this world, in and of themselves, are meaningless apart from God. But once we are honest, we will learn that our pursuit of toys, trinkets, jobs, and knowledge are supposed to lead us to the same conclusion. That they are all meaningless, apart from God. The reason is that they all pass away, they are all temporary. And inside our hearts, God has placed a spirit that is eternal. A restless spirit that demands something more.
Ecclesiastes 3:11b "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes 3:14 "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him."
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
The conclusion of the matter is that if our lives are based on anything other than Jesus Christ, then our lives meaningless and we are chasing after the wind. And when we become weary from all the striving, we will be able to hear God.
And God will say to your restless, tired soul:
There is someone better!
There is someone eternal!
There is someone meaningful!
And that someone wants a relationship with you. God wants to you to realize you do have meaning to Him, in Him, and through Him!
(Some of the commentary on Ecclesiastes is borrowed from the pastor of Village Church, Matt Chandler.)
