“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
Since the beginning of cell phones as we know them, I have probably owned about five phones. There was the bulky phone that resembled the handheld part of the house phone with the dial buttons on it; you had to have a belt clip to carry it around with you. There was an effort to make a smaller phone that could be placed in your pocket, but the problem was you could touch a button and accidentally dial another person. This led to the flip phone and the phone you could slide the cover on and off, which solved the problem of accidental dialing. In the recent history of the mobile phone, there have been constant upgrades. Despite the upgrades, I am one who tries to hold on to a phone until it dies. As these phones changed, so did the chargers. Over the years I have kept some of the chargers—why I don’t know, other than thinking they might have some use in the future (LOL). At one point, I had a drawer containing several outdated, useless, good-for-nothing phone chargers.
In the Biblical text, the writer Solomon says that all is “vanity.” The word vanity (Hebrew hebel) referred to a vapor, the wind, or one’s breath. In other words, material possessions have no substance to them; they are just like a vapor appearing for a while then vanishing. To say that all is vanity seems like a rather extreme statement, but when studied out in the light of Scripture it has profound implications. All material things will be destroyed and cease to occupy time and space (2 Peter 3:10-14). Furthermore, material things have no spiritual value and will not help a person gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:26). When a person stands before the Lord, all material possessions will be as useless as an outdated phone charger. In light of Solomon’s statement, let me offer three pieces of Scriptural advice:
- Give your life to something meaningful (Psalm 90:12) and eternal (Psalm 90:17).
- Pass a godly heritage down to future generations (Psalm 128).
- Learn how to be content with the things God has given you (Philippians 4:11-12).
Let us go to the Throne of Grace
To the God of all eternity. Give me wisdom to use my material possessions in such a way that they bring lasting value. Help me not to labor for material possessions that mean nothing in eternity.
~Dr. William R. Glaze