What the Hevel?

I recently, like several months ago, started reading the book of Ecclesiastes. For those unfamiliar with this biblical book, its the one that famously declares, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” The first impression of that statement is the modern-day interpretation of vanity, people bursting with pride and boasting about all the crap they have. People presenting themselves as gorgeous and much too good for everyone else. While that IS vanity, a YouTube video I watch totally changed my understanding of this whole book.

It turns out, the Hebrew word for vanity is Hevel. So, what is Hevel or what the Hevel, well Hevel is smoke or vapor. Vapor of vapors, all is vapors OR smoke of smoke, all is smoke. This revelation changed the entire meaning of the book. Many of the examples that the author describes, he says, are all pretty much vapor or fleeting. If you work all your life and make lots of money, when you die, all your hard work was pretty much fleeting. If you spend your entire life building a huge mansion, when you die it can fall into disrepair and all of that work was pretty much for nothing or a vapor.

As I read the book, with Hevel in mind, learning about all we do in life that is a waste of time, I reflect back on my life and all the things I wasted time on and realize well that I’ve wasted too much of my life on Hevel or vapor. I am now on the back side of life. The term over the hill makes so much sense now that it’s scary, but it’s nothing to mourn. While I wish I had learned this earlier in my life, I think I learned it in time to do something about it. When my time comes, I now realize that I don’t want my entire life to be Hevel. I want to make a mark, that isn’t so much based on things that will end up in an estate sale, at Goodwill, or in an antique store. I want to know that what I did made someone smile, made their day better, and otherwise improved humankind. Many years ago I heard Leo Buscaglia say, “it cost nothing to be nice…” My goal is to live by those words, not just say them. This all came about because I decided to read a book in the Bible. Whether you’re religious or not, you may be surprised what this collection of books can teach you. If it’s not your cup of tea, well maybe this post was enlightening and prevents you from investing too much of your time on Hevel. Cheers.