Meaningless
What if you came to the end of your life & all that you had done was meaningless? What if you were a CEO of a big company, or president of a world superpower, or a big time movie star, or were high up in a religious institution? What if you were any of these & you were also a generous philanthropist, or built orphanages, or made a major scientific discovery, or found a cure for cancer? What if you were any of these & did any of that & you still died & at your life’s end you stood before God & He rejected you forever?
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. – Jesus in Mt 7.22-23
Many people put their value in what they do & what they have. Then some can mistakenly believe God thinks the same way they do (Isa 55.8-9, 1 Sam 16.7). All this can occur in the contexts of their work, charity, family or religion to name a few. Such a focus can lead us to either become arrogant & prideful or depressed & feel like a failure – even if we don’t realize any outwardly expressions, the sentiments still can reside internally. This is the fruit of only focusing on the physical realm & then comparing ourselves with others purely on a basis of what we can see (2 Cor 10.12). But there’s so much more to us than just the physical. In fact, the most important part of who we are is not physical; it is our soul – we are spiritual beings. It has been rightly said that you aren’t a body that has a soul; you are a soul that has a body. When someone dies, their physical body is all there, but their soul is gone & that makes a huge difference!
Nonetheless, we live in a physical world & we have needs & desires for physical things. Yet, we also have spiritual needs & desires. Often, people unwittingly strive to fulfill their spiritual needs through physical things. They may seek to fill their spiritual void by buying something & enjoy its intrigue for a while until novelty wears off & they rush to replace it with more disappointing stuff. Or people can try to be fulfilled by what they do at work or in a hobby or for some cause or even to help others. This can end up in an endless pursuit, workaholism & neglect of priorities. Still other times, people attempt spiritual fulfillment through human relationships; always seeking what other people can’t ultimately give.
Don’t misunderstand; physical stuff & activities are not bad in & of themselves. And we are not to completely neglect the physical needs of our bodies or deny all material possessions. We are to care for & steward them, but we must not rely on the physical realm to fulfill us – it cannot meet the spiritual needs we all have. Doing so is futile – it is meaningless.
Nonetheless, we live in a physical world & we have needs & desires for physical things. Yet, we also have spiritual needs & desires. Often, people unwittingly strive to fulfill their spiritual needs through physical things. They may seek to fill their spiritual void by buying something & enjoy its intrigue for a while until novelty wears off & they rush to replace it with more disappointing stuff. Or people can try to be fulfilled by what they do at work or in a hobby or for some cause or even to help others. This can end up in an endless pursuit, workaholism & neglect of priorities. Still other times, people attempt spiritual fulfillment through human relationships; always seeking what other people can’t ultimately give.
Don’t misunderstand; physical stuff & activities are not bad in & of themselves. And we are not to completely neglect the physical needs of our bodies or deny all material possessions. We are to care for & steward them, but we must not rely on the physical realm to fulfill us – it cannot meet the spiritual needs we all have. Doing so is futile – it is meaningless.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? – Eccl 1.2-3
One of the wisest & richest men to walk the Earth, King Solomon of Israel, had the means & ability to test all this out, then he recorded his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes. He pursued intellectualism (Eccl 1.16-17), pleasure (Eccl 2.1-2), great achievements (Eccl 2.4-6, 10-11), riches & possessions (Eccl 2.7-8), hard work (Eccl 2.20-22) & justice (Eccl 3.16, 4.1-4). And what did he discover? Seeking fulfillment in all these physical things in the absence of spiritual life is vain – a chasing after the wind – it is meaningless.
So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me – Eccl 2.17-18
Fortunately, this wise man didn’t just tell us what was meaningless, but he also told us what was meaningful. He went on to explain that true & lasting fulfillment can only come from God. God gives us the ability to enjoy things (Eccl 5.19), find satisfaction in our work (Eccl 2.24-25, 3.13), have joy with wisdom (Eccl 2.26) & enjoy our relationships (Eccl 9.9).
But God doesn’t merely want us to have all this stuff. He wants us!!! The problem is that we don’t recognize that we need Him! And all the distractions of this life can crowd out that very important fact. Actually, whenever something else (even religion) has become more important to us than God, we have made it an idol. Idolatry is a sin – a violation of God’s law & holy character. All people have a sinful nature that causes us to sin against God in some way (lying, stealing, lusting, hating, etc.). That same wise man also said:
But God doesn’t merely want us to have all this stuff. He wants us!!! The problem is that we don’t recognize that we need Him! And all the distractions of this life can crowd out that very important fact. Actually, whenever something else (even religion) has become more important to us than God, we have made it an idol. Idolatry is a sin – a violation of God’s law & holy character. All people have a sinful nature that causes us to sin against God in some way (lying, stealing, lusting, hating, etc.). That same wise man also said:
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. – Eccl 7.20
We are all guilty of sin & our sin has cut us off from
God (Isa 59.2) - the true source of life & joy. This is why sheer
religion fails. No amount of religious
activity or human accomplishments, no matter how sincere, can overcome this separation (Rom 4.1-5). No other activity, no matter how great in
man’s eyes, impresses God so much that He’ll overlook their sin.
God is holy & just; He must judge our sin no matter how small or insignificant we believe it is (Ps 36.1-3). God sees it & it is enough to eternally separate you from Him in a place of divine punishment called hell. Thankfully – to the praise of God Almighty – He is also a loving & forgiving God. He has made a way – and only 1 way – for our sins to be dealt with & a relationship to be established with Him.
He sent His Son – Jesus Christ – to live a perfect, sinless life on earth. Though perfect, He was betrayed & sentenced to death by crucifixion. This was God’s plan – Jesus stepped in to take your punishment for you. But He didn’t stay dead; He came back to life 3 days later & then returned to God the Father. And He tells us that if we trust that Jesus died in our place & came back to life, then He will graciously forgive all our sins & give us eternal life!
God is holy & just; He must judge our sin no matter how small or insignificant we believe it is (Ps 36.1-3). God sees it & it is enough to eternally separate you from Him in a place of divine punishment called hell. Thankfully – to the praise of God Almighty – He is also a loving & forgiving God. He has made a way – and only 1 way – for our sins to be dealt with & a relationship to be established with Him.
He sent His Son – Jesus Christ – to live a perfect, sinless life on earth. Though perfect, He was betrayed & sentenced to death by crucifixion. This was God’s plan – Jesus stepped in to take your punishment for you. But He didn’t stay dead; He came back to life 3 days later & then returned to God the Father. And He tells us that if we trust that Jesus died in our place & came back to life, then He will graciously forgive all our sins & give us eternal life!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. – Jesus in Jn 3.16-18
This satisfies our greatest needs – forgiveness of our sins & eternal life with God! But eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now! (Jn 17.3, 10.10) God grants us the spiritual life we’ve always desperately needed. And if you have put your faith in Christ, pray to God asking & trusting Him to guide you. Read His written word to us – the Bible – to know how you can live to please Him. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for???
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4.12
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? – Jesus in Mk 8.36