There’s so much wisdom in Ecclesiastes. This morning I was reflecting upon Ecclesiastes 1:9. Solomon writes, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

The Hebrew term for this is hebel. Its close equivalent in English is vapor, mist, or breath. In some English translations, it is translated as “vanity.” Have you ever tried to rope the wind? That’s the image. It’s vanity to pursue such a thing.

The irony was so piercing. I had just checked the headlines in today’s news. They were what you might expect–more spectacles from Washington D.C.; more promises about the war in Iran; more violence in Detroit and Chicago; more outlandish sports bloopers. On and on they went. Another day’s headlines, another day’s drivel. Garbage in, garbage out, as the saying goes. In 30 seconds, most readers have forgotten what they read, and just drive on without giving it so much as a nod.

That’s what Solomon was teaching in Ecclesiastes. Today’s headlines are just that–temporary, fleeting, hebel.

In looking at my calendar I have two funerals already for this week. We come, we spend our days, and someone presides over us as we’re either laid in a coffin or put in an urn. Hebel. Our boots are filled by another before we’re even cold. This reality should humble the wise in order that we might invest ourselves in the immortal things–the souls of men. This is why truth matters–because it will endure when all else fades.