Vapor

In Ecclesiastes, the word meaningless, or vanity, or frustration, may also be translated to mean vapor. As in, all life under the sun (apart from God, the earthly realm alone) is vapor, like seeing your breath on a cold day, brief and then gone forever. I listened to a few Driscoll sermons on the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes, and I again realize the reason I love this book is that it is depressing, but brutally honest. Meaning, of course, that the brutal truth of life is somewhat depressing. It doesn't matter if you are wise or a fool, in the long run both die. Nothing here really matters. We work so hard to get the things we want, but then we are too busy to enjoy them, then we die and someone else takes them and gets to enjoy them.
Here lies the problem of my life: "I will be happy, just as soon as..." and fill in the blank with the things I think I need that will make me happy. I'd be happy if only I had money, so I didn't have to worry about things so much. I'd be happy if I had love, or at least a girlfriend because then I wouldn't be so alone. I'd be happier if I just had knowledge, what to do with my life, how to do things. I would be happy if I just had leisure, nothing to do, no worries. This mindset leads me to be depressed. Because I don't have these things. But I think that they will bring me happiness, if only I could get them. They are vapor. They will not bring me joy. They are not God.
Eat, drink, and be merry. This is something Solomon says we are to do. We need to find contentment in what God has given us and blessed us with. We must not strive for more things, never taking time to enjoy what we are given. Eat good food, enjoy it, but don't let it become and idol. Drink good beer, or wine if you prefer, enjoy it, don't sin in drinking too much and don't let it become an idol. If you find love, enjoy it, but it is not God, so don't let it try to be. Enjoy the blessings in life, but don't elevate them to something more than they are. They are, in the end, vapor.
God is lasting. God is good.
In the beginning God was Lord and steward over us. We were lords and stewards of the earth. Then we sinned and our relationship with God was ruined. And as we were now frustrating and a problem for God, he cursed the earth to be frustrating and problematic for us. This frustration we feel with life, this hatred of life we may come to feel if we continue to persist in foolishness, this is pointing to God with all its might. Because God alone will endure. The rest is vapor.