THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISDOM
The Book of Ecclesiastes is a good book to help us ponder over our life and what we are doing on earth. It was written by Solomon, the king of Israel. Solomon started out brightly as one blessed of the Lord. He was bestowed wisdom and honour, far exceeding anyone before him, so much so that there was none after him. Yet for, all his wisdom and glory and honour, he had erred in the ways of the Lord. His wives and concubines and turned his heart away from the Lord (1Kings 11:3-6). Thus, it is most likely that at the end of his days, Solomon did a reflection of his life. With that he penned the words of Ecclesiastes as instruction for others that they should not follow his folly.
In this beginning passage, Solomon expressed the vanity of human wisdom (Eccl. 1:13-14). This is the testimony of one of the wisest human beings on earth. We read from the Bible how that God has put Solomon in place of his father David to reign over Israel. God gave Solomon a wish. Solomon did not wish for wealth or health. Instead, he asked God for wisdom so that he could be a good king. God was pleased with Solomon’s request and gave him wisdom as he had asked for. On top of that, God also bestowed upon him riches, honour and power. Solomon’s wisdom was well known. Yet, in spite of all his human wisdom, Solomon concluded that all the human wisdom is vanity. What does Solomon mean by the pursue of wisdom is vanity?
Human wisdom is vain if it is not done to the glory of God. Solomon’s primary thesis is that there is no point in human labour and wisdom, as these amount to nothing as these are temporal and eventually amount to nothing to account for eternity. The temporal things of the world can never change what is permanent in life.
In verse 3, he asks what is the profit of such labour? He explained that generations upon generations will come and go, but the earth still remains. The sun will continue to rise and the winds will continue to blow and swirl in this world. The rivers flow into the sea without ever filling the sea. He concluded, “All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (Eccl. 1:8). Is there anything new under the sun? And at the end of all the labour, when we have to depart this world to enter into eternity, what is left of our labour and wisdom? Is there any remembrance of them? What is its value and how is it going to help you to live in eternity?
God has created this world as temporal means to test us in our faith. Whatever that is in this world, will remain in this world. We cannot bring them with us unto eternity. All these are merely meant for our temporal living on earth and of no eternal value. All we can bring along with us is our spiritual
being, the inward man in us. Hence, Solomon pointed out clearly that it is vain to think that by banking on our labour and wisdom, we can create something that is eternal and far-reaching.
In our generation today, we have advanced much in human wisdom. Today, if you are hungry, you do not need to spend a huge amount of time just to start a fire to cook. By human wisdom, we have invented what is called the microwave oven. Just turn on the power button and within a few minutes, your noodles are ready for consumption. We no longer need to use our legs to walk. Instead, we invented cars to take us from one place to another. We let the machinery do all the work. In fact, in years to come, you do not even need to drive. Automated vehicles will have the AI built in to do all the driving and navigation for you.
In today’s technology, the next leap is into Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI requires a big data system as the base of its learning. Google, Facebook, and whatever apps which you are using, are constantly collecting data on you. With that, they are able to profile you based merely on your internet presence. Tik Tok uses AI greatly to always push to you the content based on your profile. AI is used in more and more technology. And now, you do not even need to think as AI will do all the thinking for you. Human wisdom has created AI which will do all the hard thinking for us. What happens? We no longer need to use our brains. We have robots doing all the work for us. We no longer need to use our body. Then, what is the purpose of the existence of human beings in this world? They will no longer be relevant. The world will be controlled by robots with AI built-in. That will be the end of humankind, right?
Technology will continue to advance with human wisdom. Today, with Covid-19, the world has moved on at a rapid pace of e-payment where no cash is physically transferred from a person’s hands to another to avoid transmission. Bio-chips are being implanted into the hands to ensure the security of such payments. This marks the beginning of the End Times. The Bible mentions about the mark of the beast, where the Antichrist will use such a technology to control the e-commerce of the world and to destroy the believers. So, we have to ask ourselves – what is so good about such wisdom which eventually leads to our demise?
Now, I am not saying that all human wisdom and its inventions are bad. We must learn to thank God for giving us a clear mind to acquire knowledge and wisdom in our lives. Whatever wisdom and knowledge that we have acquired, we must learn to use them to glorify God. Do not use it to exalt men. Our lives are temporal and transient. It will soon pass away. Whatever ability and wisdom which God has given us, do not waste it but let it be done for the glory of God. HCL.
