Ecclesiastes 2
Happiness is Useless
I told myself,
“Come on, let me test you with happiness. Focus on the good!”
But sure enough, that proved to be a vapor too. I realized that laughter is conceited, and I asked,
“Does being happy even accomplish anything?”
I tried using alcohol to cheer my body while analyzing the situation with wisdom. I tried embracing foolishness to see if Adam’s descendants could use it for anything productive during the few years of lives here under heaven.
Accomplishments are Useless
I focused on my accomplishments:
I built a house for myself
I planted vineyards for myself
I made orchards and parks, planting all kinds of fruit trees
I made ponds of water for myself to irrigate all my trees
I paid for male and female servants, and new ones were born in my home
I owned more livestock than anyone who preceded my in Jerusalem
I amassed silver and gold for myself along with the most valuable treasures that kings and provinces had to offer
I trained musicians so I could listen to music
I had mistresses and delighted in exquisite pleasures that other men would classify as a luxury
Then I grew more powerful, and I accomplished more than anyone in Jerusalem who preceded me. Keeping wisdom by my side, I didn’t withhold anything that my eyes desired. I didn’t withhold my any happiness from my soul, because I was pleased with my work and wanted to reward myself. So I reflected on everything I had accomplished, and sure enough, it was all a vapor.* It was like trying to catch the wind, and there wasn’t anything under the sun that had been gained.
Wisdom is Useless
So then I turned and decided to analyze wisdom compared to madness and foolishness. When someone new comes and replaces the current king, what could he accomplish that hasn’t already been done? I concluded that wisdom is better than foolishness in the same way that light is better than darkness. A wise person has eyes in his head, but a dimwit lives in the dark. But even so, I know that they both have same fate. So I told myself,
“I have the same fate as fools, so why have I lived so wisely?”
I concluded that this was a vapor too. People forget about wise people in the same way that they forget about fools. Soon enough we’ll all be equally forgotten. Wise people and dumb people both die!
Everything is Miserable
So I hated life because everything we do under the sun is miserable. Everything is a vapor. Everything is just chasing after the wind.
Our Work Will Pass to Someone Else
And I hated all the work I did under the sun because one day I’ll just have to hand it over to whoever comes after me—and who knows whether that person will be wise or dumb? Yet that person will be in charge of all everything under the sun that I so wisely worked for! That really is a vapor. Internally I felt really hopeless about all the work I had done under the sun. One person works with so much wisdom, knowledge, and skill, but then he has to pass everything he owns to someone who doesn’t. Not only is that a vapor, but it’s also really wrong. What do we become in all the projects we work toward under the sun? Our daily tasks are painful and frustrating, and even at night our minds can’t get any rest! It really is such a vapor.
Enjoy What God Gives You
The only good thing we can do is to eat, drink, and tell ourselves that our work is good. I consider that to be from God. Because who can eat or enjoy anything outside of Him? When He finds someone to be pleasing, He gives that person wisdom, knowledge, and happiness. But if someone goes the wrong way, He tasks that person with gathering and collecting so it can be given to someone who God views as pleasing. This really is a vapor and chasing after the wind.