Throughout Job, we saw the futility of personal control over our circumstances. After all we live in a broken world where it appears so often that evil wins. There are times when it appears all is lost and much like Job did, we question God. Job’s big question came when all of prosperity disappeared in a moment’s time. Then, now as we turn to Ecclesiastes and ask, what if you had everything? Would that bring lasting joy apart from God? Or is that also, futility of thought and action? After all, a brief glance at the elite and one might see they are some of the most despairing of all.Suicide, drug addiction, drunkenness, and despair reigns rampant among the elite. Always chasing after the wind. One more pleasure, another affair, more money, power, prestige. Yet, it is appointed to every person born, a moment to die.

I saw an article this morning within a women’s magazine describing “smiling depression”; otherwise known as Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD). It describes those who continue in life with an outward facade of happiness and control; yet, deep within lies a sadness that cannot be overcome. So afraid that anyone might find out, they march on in silent despair. We chase after the wind and in the end, lie down at night wondering what it is all about.

C. S. Lewis wrote: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

That brings us to the words of Ecclesiastes:

The Futility of All Endeavors

Ecclesiates 1:

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
“Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”

³
What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does ^[^a^]under the sun (while earthbound)?
⁴
One generation goes and another generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.
⁵
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hurries to the place where it rises again.
⁶
The wind blows toward the south,
Then circles toward the north;
The wind circles and swirls endlessly,
And on its circular course the wind returns.

⁷
All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
⁸
All things are wearisome and all words are frail;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
⁹
That which has been is that which will be [again],
And that which has been done is that which will be done again.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰
Is there anything of which it can be said,
“See this, it is new”?
It has already existed for [the vast] ages [of time recorded or unrecorded]
Which were before us.
¹¹
There is no remembrance of earlier things,
Nor also of the later things that are to come;
There will be for them no remembrance
By generations who will come after them.

The Futility of Wisdom

¹²I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] ^[^b^]wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which ^[^c^]God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed. ¹⁴I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind. ¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom and experience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.” ¹⁷And I set my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I realized that this too is a futile grasping and chasing after the wind. ¹⁸For in much [human] wisdom there is much displeasure and exasperation; increasing knowledge increases sorrow.

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

2 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness). ²I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³I explored with my mind how to gratify myself with wine while [at the same time] having my mind remain steady and guide me wisely; and how to take control of foolishness, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

⁴I made great works: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself; ⁵I made gardens and orchards for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶I made pools of water for myself from which to water the forest and make the trees bud. ⁷I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in my house. I also possessed herds and flocks larger than any who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights and pleasures of men—^[^a^]many ^[^b^]concubines.

ALL IS FUTILITY

⁹So I became great and excelled more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also remained with me. ¹⁰Whatever my eyes looked at with desire I did not refuse them. I did not withhold from my heart any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my reward for all my labor. ¹¹Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.

Wisdom Excels Folly

¹²So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done. ¹³Then I saw that [even secular] wisdom [that brings sorrow] is better than [the pleasures of] folly and self-indulgence as light excels darkness. ¹⁴The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I know that [in the end] one fate happens to them both. ¹⁵Then I said to myself, “As it happens to the fool, so death will also happen to me. What use is it then for me to be extremely wise?”

Then I said in my heart, “This too is vanity (meaningless).” ¹⁶For there is no [more] lasting remembrance of the wise man than of the fool, since in the days to come all will be long forgotten. And how does the wise man die? Even as the fool! ¹⁷So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

The Futility of Labor

¹⁸So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit). ²⁰So I turned aside and let my heart despair over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

²¹For there is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill yet gives his legacy to one who has not labored for it. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun? ²³For all his days his work is painful and sorrowful; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity (worthless).

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? ²⁶For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

Must We Conclude Futility is our Only Hope?

Paul the Apostle wrote in I Corinthians 15 (nkjv):

“¹⁹If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

⁵⁰Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹Behold, I tell you a ^[^m^]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵“O^[ⁿ^] Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

So, Is Futility Our Only Hope in Life?

No, Jesus Christ is our hope of joy in life and in the world to come. He is the only one that can fulfill the desires of our heart. We were made for a relationship with Him and nothing on this earth can satisfy that longing. All else is futility, chasing after the wind.

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.