The Battle Against Vanity: Why Men Waste Their Strength on Pleasure
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
A man can climb the corporate ladder, stack his bank account, seduce a dozen women, and win the admiration of fools—and still, at the end of it all, be nothing more than a dying breath on the wind.
The world sells us a lie. It tells men they can build their own meaning, forge their own purpose, and carve out their own little kingdom of self. But when the dust settles and the noise fades, every so-called success crumbles under one inescapable truth: without God, everything a man does is meaningless.
Solomon, a warrior-king, a builder of empires, a man who had tasted every pleasure and power under the sun—looked at his life and called it hebel (הֶבֶל), a Hebrew word meaning breath, vapor, a passing mist. All of it was fleeting. All of it was a lie.
Men Are Dying in a War They Don’t Even See
Look around.
Men are tired. Spiritually drained. Caught in a rat race that never ends. They drown themselves in distractions—porn, Netflix, endless scrolling, shallow pursuits—desperate to avoid facing the reality that their lives feel hollow.
Even in the Church, too many have grown soft. They trade discipline for comfort, trading the battle-ready mindset of a soldier for a passive, lazy “faith” that asks nothing and expects everything. They work jobs they hate, entertain sins they refuse to fight, and chase pleasure like people with an addiction seeking their next fix—because deep down, they are afraid to admit that everything they’re living for is dust.
Ecclesiastes forces a man to look this truth in the eye. It doesn’t offer sugar-coated comfort. It doesn’t coddle. It confronts. It rips the illusions away and asks: If you are not living for God, what are you actually living for?
The Two Paths Before Every Man
Every man has two choices.
He can live under the sun like a beast—chasing money, women, status, entertainment—only to die and be forgotten. Or he can live under the King, placing his allegiance in Christ, investing in what is eternal, forging his soul in the fires of discipline, sacrifice, and righteousness.
Solomon shows us where each path leads.
The path of vanity is a slow decay into meaninglessness. You chase pleasure, but it never satisfies. You work hard, but it is never enough. You seek wisdom, but you realize how little control you actually have. You build an empire, only to watch it fade. Death wipes out everything—your ambitions, your wealth, your reputation. Everything under the sun perishes.
The path of faith is different. It doesn’t promise wealth or comfort, but it does offer one thing that the world cannot give: meaning that lasts beyond the grave. A man who fears God, who embraces discipline, who builds with eternity in mind—he will not be forgotten. He walks in strength, knowing that every trial, every hardship, every sacrifice is forging him into something indestructible.
The First Step: Get Serious About the War You’re In
If this message stirs something in you, don’t ignore it. That’s the Holy Spirit calling you to wake up. To stop wasting your strength on smoke.
Ask yourself:
Where am I investing in things that don’t last?
What comforts have made me soft?
Where have I been passive when God calls me to fight?
Then, take action.
Cut the distractions—TV, social media, mindless entertainment.
Strengthen your body and mind—start training, reading, fasting, and disciplining yourself.
Seek God like your life depends on it—because it does.
Men were not created for vanity. They were created for conflict. And only those who fight for what is eternal will stand when all else fades.
Are you ready to leave behind the fleeting and step into what lasts forever?
