Ecclesiastes reveals that all human striving “under the sun” is ultimately a fleeting vapor that cannot sustain our need for meaning or satisfy the soul. Because earthly achievements are transient and eventually forgotten, attempting to center our lives upon them is futile idolatry. True purpose is found only in the resurrected Christ, who transcends the world’s vanity and makes all things new, allowing us to enjoy God’s gifts with proper perspective rather than enslaving ourselves to their temporary shadows.