Topic: Vanity

Our earthly lives are fleeting, and most people have great difficulty with that – a lament which is echoed by the author of Ecclesiastes. To cope with our mortality, so many of us resort to vanity – pride in our own achievements or appearance, and devoting our lives to worthless things. We pile up possessions on earth which we cannot take with us when we die. But our most prized possession should in fact be God. As the famous hymn says, “we are rich in things, but poor in soul.” But as Luke’s Gospel challenges us, we must instead be rich towards God.

We who enjoy the luxuries of 21st century America are the unmatched champions of vain things! Our lives are so dedicated to vain things, trivial things, pointless things, that we go out of our way to celebrate vanity itself! The Gospel calls us away from vain things just as it did the pagans at Lystra. But are we willing to turn away from vain things?