“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 1:2

These are not the words of one who was destitute, or poor, or sick, or abandoned. No, these words were penned by the wealthiest king in the history of Israel, King Solomon. In fact he wrote of himself in Ecclesiastes 2:4-9:

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

You would think that one who acknowledged and was fully aware of his great wealth and accomplishments would not consider life to be meaningless. Yet Solomon sums up his list of accomplishments and wealth succinctly in chapter 2:10 and 11.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. 

He considered all that he had done as valuable as “chasing after the wind.” Time wasted attempting to grab hold of something elusive and just out of reach. Holding onto the hope of happiness and joy, yet finding the closer he came to his prize the further away it seemed to be.

Solomon discovered the hard way that living a life apart from God and the purpose He has destined for each of us, leads only to frustration and regret. The irony being of course, that while full of great wisdom he missed a relatively simple truth.

I leave you with the words of Jesus.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:26