Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher. All is futility (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and transitoriness)! – Ecclesiastes 12:8, Amplified Bible

This week I learned of the recent deaths of three men I had some acquaintance with. Two of the three men were successful businessmen, and the third a faithful employee of the local government. All were victims of cancer, and all left loved ones behind. 

When I learned of two of the three deaths today, I was jolted into remembering that many of us live in a fantasy world. We place value on things that have no lasting value. We chase dreams that have no real substance to speak of. We live life like the here and now is what matters most, but nothing could be further from the truth. The here and now will end for us sooner than we think, and when it does, we will take nothing with us into the next life but the record of the deeds which we have done in this life. Our riches will not follow us. Our fame will not join us.  Our entertainment will not keep us company. We and our works – either good or evil – will stand alone before the Great Creator once we’ve left this Earth behind.

Take a moment from the hustle and bustle of life to ask yourself the penetrating question, “What am I doing with my life, and why am I doing it?” In Ecclesiastes, Solomon equated everything on Earth with vanity, falsity and emptiness except for one thing: fearing God and keeping His commandments. If our answers to the question above are anything but fearing God and keeping His commandments, then we are living under the delusion that something else besides God’s service has value. Only obedience to God has value, which means following God’s ways is the only substantive path any of us can follow. The rest is just smoke, and if we chase the smoke, we foolishly follow the fantasy attractions of this temporary life.  

Remember Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (AMP):

13 All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil.

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