6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing[a] they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
The definition of vanity is, “excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.”
We have all been there, the internal realization of our own achievements that feel deserving of accolades. Whether it was a project at school, your first car, or even the perfect outfit, someone else out there seems to trump you most of the time. If you follow this vanity, you realize we even have massive award shows to give praise and admiration to the best film, best actor, best supporting actor, and so on. Wanting to reach this pinnacle of success seems to be what the world needs to feel good and know that all their efforts have been worth it.
Verse 7 of this Psalm says, “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” This is most likely the best question ever put to words: “…where do I put my hope?” For most of us, this question changes every day. One day we are trusting in the Lord, and the next day we are gathering together all we know and can do to find peace. I am not against hard work and planning, and the Bible is for hard work and planning as long as it does not replace the Lord. We seem to be so self-sufficient most of the time that we crowd out the Lord altogether. That is why David is reminding himself that his hope should be in the Lord.
In the span of eternity, our lives on earth are a speck of time. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says, “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.” We may live a good life here on earth, but our spirit will live for eternity. God has given us free will to choose where our spirit will spend that eternity. Vanity will make sure that the choice of living for Christ every day will be hard, when in reality, following Jesus is the only way to be free, truly free, and full of life, something vanity promises but doesn’t deliver.
Vanity is something that sin leads us into. Vanity has its place among the people who climb the ladder of success, only to realize that the ladder is leaning against the wrong building, and that building is on fire. Don’t waste precious time pursuing vanity. Instead, put all your hope in the Lord, because Solomon was right, fear God, because this applies to every person. What are you pursuing?
Prayer: Father, too often we let the things of this world crowd out You. I pray that we put all of our worldly possessions before Your throne and realize that all of it belongs to You. I pray that we would be good stewards of the things in life we have been blessed with. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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