Under The Sun Series

The movie Antz begins with an ant named Z talking to his therapist. Take a look. (Show Antz (1998)—You Are Insignificant scene).

All my life I've lived and worked in the big city…. I always tell myself there has got to be something better out there. Maybe I, maybe I think too much. I think everything must go back to the fact that I had a very anxious childhood. My mother never had time for me. When you're the middle child in a family of 5 million, you don't get any attention. I mean, how is it possible? I've always had these abandonment issues, which plagued me. My father was basically a drone, like I've said. The guy flew away when I was just a larva. And, my job, don't get me started on it because it really annoys me. I was not cut out to be a worker. I, I feel physically inadequate. My whole life I've never been able to lift more than ten times my own bodyweight. And, and, when you get down to it, handling dirt is not my idea of a rewarding career.… I mean, what is it, I'm supposed to do everything for the colony? What about my needs? What about me? I mean I've got to believe there's some place out there that's better than this. Otherwise, I'll just curl up into a larva position and weep. The whole system makes me feel … insignificant.

The therapist responds, "Excellent! You've made a real breakthrough!"

Z says, "I have?"

"Yes, Z. You are insignificant!" replies the therapist (Antz, Dreamworks, 1998, written by Todd Alcott, Chris and Paul Weitz, directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson V; www.PreachingToday.com).

After writing about love in the Song of Solomon and life in the book of Proverbs, King Solomon in his old age finally discovers that he is insignificant. He was the most powerful man in all the earth at the time. He was the wisest man that ever lived. He had achieved great fame. But when he came to the end of his life, he looked back on it all and concluded, “All is vanity.” Life is meaningless. There is no lasting significance to anything anyone does “under the sun.”

So how does a person find significance in life? How does a person find purpose and meaning in a world devoid of purpose? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ecclesiastes 1, Ecclesiastes 1, where Solomon begins talking about finding significance in an insignificant existence.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity (ESV).

That’s the thesis of this book, which contains five sermons. That’s why Solomon calls himself “the preacher” here. He stands before his audience with a significant message about the insignificance of life.

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Literally, all is but a breath or vapor. There is no substance to anything anyone does. There is no lasting value or significance.

A few years ago (2016), the New Scientist magazine attempted to answer the question, “What is the meaning of life?” The problem is they tried to answer the question from a strictly scientific point of view, which led them to the harsh answer, “Life has no meaning.

Graham Lawton, the author of the article, wrote, “Your life may feel like a big deal to you, but it’s actually a random blip of matter and energy in an uncaring and impersonal universe. When it ends, a few people will remember you for a while, but they will die too. Even if you make the history books, your contribution will soon be forgotten. Humans will go extinct; Earth and the sun will be destroyed. Eventually the universe itself will end. Against this appalling reality, how can a human life have any real meaning?” (Graham Lawton, “What Is the Meaning of Life?” New Scientist, 9-3-16; www.PreachingToday.com)

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Solomon uses the word “vanity” five times in this verse and 28 times throughout the book. Sadly, after living his life with 100’s of achievements, Solomon concludes that it was all for nothing.

Then he asks the key question of the book.

Ecclesiastes 1:3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? (ESV)

Literally, after all the hard, painful work, what is left over? What remains of lasting value? And the answer is “Nothing.” There is no profit when you strive to find significance “under the sun.”

Solomon uses the phrase, “under the sun,” 30 times in this book to describe merely an earthly perspective of life without God. You see, when you exclude God from your life, you remove all meaning to life. When you live your life merely under the sun, you limit your perspective only to this world, which contains nothing to satisfy you ultimately.