What is meaningless and futile?
Psalm 23:4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
Psalm 127:1-2Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 16:9We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Matthew 6:25-27“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
James 4:13-15Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
To boast or worry about our plans for our lives is meaningless. Sometimes, we grow attached to a certain idea of what our service to God should look like, or even what blessings we deserve. Then we plan, work, and worry to make everything happen like we want it to. Though working hard is good, working for our own glory rather than God’s will lead to failure. On the other hand, if we are working as God called us, we shouldn’t be alarmed even by apparent failure. Ultimately, God will lead us where we need to go and provide for us along the way. All we need to do is learn to follow our Good Shepherd.
Mark 8:36“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”
Life without God is meaningless because it leads to eternity without God.
Psalm 76:5-8Our boldest enemies have been plundered. They lie before us in the sleep of death. No warrior could lift a hand against us. At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob, their horses and chariots lay still. No wonder you are greatly feared! Who can stand before you when your anger explodes? From heaven you sentenced your enemies; the earth trembled and stood silent before you.
Isaiah 41:11“See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing.”
Jeremiah 50:24“Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the Lord.”
Nahum 1:11Who is this wicked counselor of yours who plots evil against the Lord?
Fighting against God is meaningless, for we cannot win such a battle; and in the end, we wouldn’t want to win it.
Psalm 112:10The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.
Psalm 119:118You have rejected all who stray from your decrees. They are only fooling themselves.
Proverbs 10:28The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.
Proverbs 11:7When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.
Jeremiah 13:10“These wicked people refuse to listen to me. They stubbornly follow their own desires and worship other gods. Therefore, they will become like this loincloth—good for nothing!”
Jeremiah 51:58This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground, and her massive gates will be burned. The builders from many lands have worked in vain, for their work will be destroyed by fire!”
Ephesians 5:11Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
A life of sin is meaningless. If not forgiven, it will lead to an eternity of bitterness, despair, and loneliness apart from God.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, 20, 23I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. . . . Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. . . . So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world. . . . Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
Ecclesiastes 5:7Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
Ecclesiastes 6:9Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
The primary pursuits of pleasure, work, intelligence, wealth, technology, indulgence, and success are all ultimately meaningless if God is not in them.
