The following was a wedding homily, which I’ve adapted here for written and public format.

“Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 9:9

Marriage is vanity.

What do I mean by this?

The Message of Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes describes everything in life as vanity. The book’s “preacher” sets out on an exploration to determine what is good for humans to pursue with the short lives we’ve been given (2:3). And after his exhaustive search, he concludes that it’s all vanity. “Vanity of vanities,” says the preacher. “All is vanity” (1:2).

In other words, nothing of ultimate value is to be gained in these things (2:11). He pursues wealth. But it’s not guaranteed; it can be lost. Moreover, it can’t ultimately satisfy anyways (5:10-17). He pursues pleasure. But the need for more never ends (2:1-11). He pursues knowledge and wisdom. But the fate of the wise is the same as the fool (2:12-17). He considers government. Maybe politics is the solution. But what he finds is bureaucracy, corruption, and oppression (Ecc 5:8). Maybe religiosity is the solution. But it leaves him exhausted (7:16). He dives into his work. But in the end, no matter what is gained in this life, it will come to an end when this life does, and amount to absolutely nothing (2:18-23).