Trivial

All our knowledge brings us closer to our ignorance.

T.S. Eliot

Read

Take a couple of minutes and read Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11. Try to notice the 4 things that Solomon tried out in his search for significance. What did he find in each of these things?

Think

Keep in mind that Solomon is acting "under the sun". He has looked around and noticed that everything is meaningless and empty, that nothing ever really changes, and that this monotony is boring and frustrating. So now he does something about it. He tries all of our most treasured pursuits: knowledge, fun, work, and wealth.

And he finds that, as it is in all of life, none of these things are able to fulfill. This truth has been proven throughout history, that no matter how much we learn, no matter how pleasurable our lives are, no matter how great our legacy, and no matter how rich we become, none of these things ultimately have the power within themselves to invest our lives with the significance we desire. After the dust settles and we have the time to ourselves so that we are able to consider and evaluate the course our lives have taken, the emptiness rushes back like a flood, intensified by the understanding that these pursuits that have so commanded our time have proven themselves trivial, devoid of any real meaning.

...in the end, it was "meaningless--utterly meaningless." Solomon, in today's language, would have said, "I had it all; I had it my way, and I climbed to the highest peaks of human achievement. But the one thing I sought was never within my grasp."

Solomon made a timeless error in his quest for meaning: he sought it in things and experiences. He searched in wisdom, in wild living, in work, in wealth--all in vain. The object of his search was, in fact, unavailable under the sun.

David Jeremiah, Searching for Heaven on Earth

Pray

Pray that God will continue to remind you of the significance that He has given His creation. Pray that He will help you to do all things for His glory, and that He would help you feel the significance you so desire.

Do

Evaluate your motivations. Are you trying to fill your own void? Are you trying to squeeze fulfillment and validation from things that have never been intended for this purpose? Ask yourself this question: Where's God in all of this?