Meaningless. That's what King Solomon describes, well, EVERYTHING as. Meaningless.

I'm inclined to agree with him. And since he has been canonized (in other words, his writings got to be part of the Bible) and I have not, it's probably a good idea to agree with him. Here are some of the things he thinks are meaningless or useless in this life:

Everything (yup, that's where he starts)
Wisdom
Pleasure
Possessions
Labour (working for money)
Riches
Life (as a good summation, in case "everything" didn't cover it)

Sound a little negative or depressing? Actually, it's a good reminder. We work and strive a lot in this world. Even as Christians we often follow the trends of the culture to make enough money to be "comfortable" or have the things we want. We want to be known as smart or we want to have things or enjoy life. Or perhaps in the church we strive to fill our pews with just more numbers or louder singers. Ecclesiastes warns us that all of this is useless.

OK, then! So.....now what?

Easy - it's all about God. It's the Sunday School answer, I know. But after 12 chapters of how meaningless everything is, Solomon ends the book with these 2 short verses:

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Fear God. Keep His commandments. There's too much to keep up with in the world. There's also too much to keep up with in the church culture, if we let our focus go awry. Fear God. Keep His commandments. I can remember that much.