Hymns, #1080 speaks of the vanity of human life. Regardless of the circumstances, man has a strong sense that things are vain if he is without God. The chorus of this hymn says, “Vanity! Vanity! / Vanity! Vanity! / ’Tis chasing the wind, / It’s all vanity!” Even when people consider their parents, husbands, wives, and children, they have a sense of vanity. In such cases the hymn can be changed to say, “Parents are vain! / Children are vain! / Husbands are vain! / Wives are vain! / ’Tis chasing the wind, / It’s all vanity!” This sense of vanity also covers teachers, students, schools, and work, so the hymn also could say, “Teachers are vain! / Students are vain! / Schools are vain! / Work is vain! / ’Tis chasing the wind, / It’s all vanity!”
At some point in our human life, we all have a sense of the vanity of human life: work is vain, adults are vain, children are vain, houses are vain, buying and selling are vain, and riches are vain. Everyone and everything are vain: you are vain, I am vain, clothing is vain, food is vain, staying at home is vain, traveling is vain, east is vain, west is vain, south is vain, north is vain, ancient times are vain, and modern times are vain. Everything in human life eventually causes people to sense the vanity of human existence without God. The Chinese are fond of speaking about blessings, wealth, longevity, and happiness. In fact, blessings are vain, wealth is vain, longevity is vain, and happiness is vain. It is not a coincidence that newspapers and magazines often have stories about successful people who have committed suicide. This shows the uncertainty of everything and that efforts to find something certain is like chasing the wind.
Are our husbands, wives, riches, positions, houses, and knowledge dependable? Even if we depend on these things, they can be gone in the twinkling of an eye. Today’s happiness often is the source of tomorrow’s grief. Nothing and no one on earth are reliable. The preceding message spoke of God’s existence, whereas this message speaks of the vanity of man’s existence. In regard to man the only word is vanity. Man experiences vanity because he is full of vanity and not satisfied inwardly. Instead, he is hungry, thirsty, and empty. He is full of anguish rather than rest, sorrow rather than joy. Some may say that they are too busy to feel empty but after many years everyone senses the tediousness of human life.
Given this sense of vanity, it is very important to know the meaning of human life. This seems like a simple matter, but in general people have no answer about the meaning of human life. There is a saying in northern China that a man’s life consists of “three fillings and one lying every day.” This refers to a person eating three meals a day and sleeping at night. According to this saying, a person’s life consists of being filled with food in the morning, being filled with food at noon, being filled with food in the evening, and then lying down to sleep. When morning comes, his stomach is empty, and he needs to be filled again. In brief, his life involves eating three times a day and sleeping once a day. This is true for adults, children, those with an education, those with no education, common people, and even emperors. It is true for everyone. By the time I was twenty-one years old, after eating and sleeping for more than twenty years, I felt that life was meaningless, mundane, and dull. I even asked myself, “Is this all that man is living for?”
Sixteen years ago I received the calling to go to Shanghai for the Lord’s work. When I was riding in a car on Nanking Road, I saw trams, automobiles, foreign cars, and bicycles passing by from all directions. A policeman was directing traffic with red and green lights. When he signaled red, everyone had to stop in one direction, and when he signaled green, everyone could move in the other direction. All the people in the vehicles were watching the traffic lights. They were staring straight ahead with their full attention on the policeman. I cried out in my heart, “You run here and there every day, but what is it for after all?”
People run continually every day. Many are running non-stop in Taiwan. Ten years of running will turn into twenty years, and twenty years will turn into forty years. Even after sixty years, many will still be running. Even though so many are running, they are running mainly to just eat and sleep.
Those who run well live in nice houses and ride in automobiles; those who run poorly live in shelters and travel on foot. Students also run daily. They run to be admitted to a school, but if they are not admitted to a school, they still run every day. After finishing kindergarten, they run to elementary school; after finishing elementary school, they run to high school; after finishing high school, they run to the university; they run continuously to eat and sleep better in the future. A person who is a bureau chief will run to be an agency head, and a cabinet member will run to be the president. Everything is for eating and sleeping, but is the meaning of human life merely eating and sleeping? If this were the case, life would be pitiful. Those who work in companies say that they are serving society, and those who work in government offices say that they are serving the country. Actually, they are only eating and sleeping. They run from place to place and toil simply so that they can eat and sleep. Is this the meaning of human life?