ROOTED - Saturday, April 25, 2026

Ecclesiastes 2:11

11 Then I considered all that my
hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was
vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the
sun.

Reflection: Vanity

Written By:
Pastor Jesse Caro

Vanity of vanities!!!! “What is the point of life?” This is the
question that everyone asks. It is a philosophical question that occupies many
of the YouTube videos I watch with atheists and skeptics (I love watching debate
videos between atheists and Christians). Anyway, “what is the point of life” is
a question often asked/debated… as often, I think, as “why is there suffering?”
I recently watched one famous atheist (Sam Harris) talk for an hour… taking a
stab in the dark for an answer. His answer boiled down to: “the goal of life is
to bring as much happiness (and lack of suffering) to the world as possible.”
The answer was much more “sophisticated” than that, but that was the gist.

The author of Ecclesiastes is trying to come to terms with the
same question. “What is the point, for it seems all pointless!!!” Eventually
toward the end of the book, he comes to some satisfactory answers. But, I
think, any satisfactory answer must factor in God. If there is not a God, then,
of course, there is only this big blue ball spinning in orbit, and humans on it
without any mooring. Everyone should just “eat, drink, and be merry” (a
conclusion the author wrongly makes early in the book). If we are just an
evolved species and animals like all other animals, then we are adrift morally,
with no purpose other than self-preservation and pleasure. The fact that God
exists gives us meaning and purpose (I would say this is true even if you don’t
necessarily believe in the God of the Bible). And ultimately, we as Christians,
know the ultimate purpose of life. It is not for our own happiness, Sam. We
exist ultimately for the glory of God.

Prayer

Lord, we know from the book of Ecclesiastes that not everything is
vanity. We have hope and purpose in the Creator of the Universe, and ultimately
in your Son… that in Him we have true purpose!