Ecclesiastes 1

Ecclesiastes 1

This is without a doubt one of the most enigmatic books in the Bible. But also a book that speaks to the universal human condition. The author opens famously with “vanity of vanities.” This word “vanity” or “futility” should better be translated literally as "smoke." The vigorous effort to capture something is like trying to grab smoke. For all the human effort to capture happiness, we are still chasing smoke. Happiness studies and the pursuit of happiness represent 1.5 trillion dollars a year in spending, but no one can grasp that elusive smoke. Two key points from this chapter. First, if you think you are someone else who will discover the missing secret of happiness, you're wasting your time. In verses 3-11 Solomon makes the point that the greatest of research hasn't produced the answer. Second, there's something wrong even if we can never articulate or find that missing part. Verse 15 tells us something is wrong or missing, but we don’t know what we don’t know. We can't account for what is not there. So where do we go for the answer? It comes at the end of the book, but that destination takes us down a twisting, turning, fascinating road.

“Help me, Lord, to hold all of life with an open hand and not to try to grasp the smoke. AMEN.”