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Vanity of Vanities

Vanity of Vanities

Last updated on: July 9, 2015 at 7:00 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Vanity of Vanities 2015-07-08T23:41:00-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

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Gym slogans are prose written by devils to tempt me to cynicism. These are the falsehoods like: “Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” I am pretty sure this is false as yellow fever did not kill Teddy Roosevelt, but it left him permanently weaker and who am I to argue with the Bull Moose?

Perhaps my least favorite is being urged to “Do What Matters.” I am pretty sure that nothing I do matters in the sense they mean. Christians get accused of living for Heaven, but this is actually a good idea. Nothing we do now matters at all.

If tempted to doubt this fact: read Ecclesiastes and don’t cheat by softening the conclusion. If I run around doing “meaningful things,” as if the world will be a better place, I am less likely to be Martin Luther King and more likely to be irritating.

I am not saying we should not do our duty and fight the good fight, to the contrary. I am saying that worrying about the judgment of history is foolish because history is not a person. It judges no man. Today’s virtues are likely to be tomorrow’s vices and I suspect that our libertine American age will give way to a new Victorianism ashamed of great-grandfather and mother.

What we do is vanity, meaningless in itself. In fact, everything I do really doesn’t matter much. If there is no eternity, no God keeping score, then even living for pleasure makes a man jaded and avoiding pain is either impossible or makes one a coward. But even then: who cares?

Of the writing of blogs there is no end. When I am finished tonight, I will have to write again tomorrow. If you are reading this, know this: we are together trying to love God and find eternity. Nothing else matters. Love God. See Him. Find him. Meanwhile, I am convinced that while it is needful to opine, tell the truth about what reason seems to indicate, one must also:

Do as little harm as possible.

I hate hurting people. Sometimes I have through inattention, sometimes through bad things I have done, and sometimes because bad people need justice. And yet I know I am rarely called to apply justice. People matter because they are eternal. God matters because He is the ground of that being. God’s law, written in our hearts by grace, is the Way to unite our image of eternity (longing in our hearts) to Him.

Look! Babylon I have built!

Avoid pride and embrace wonder.

What if I am wrong? I write my opinions, but have dear friends who disagree with me on something. I have enough friends that somebody disagrees with everything I say. This leads me to caution.

When I thought about Mormonism, for example, I did not start by thinking: “This is surely false.” I thought: “My friend believes this.” I considered it. I still reject it as an error, a very grave error, but I know I could be wrong.

I wonder.

And that can be wonderful.

Love the Eternal, God and souls, more than any human creation.

Only in the light of the judgment will my life count and in that moment every life will count and every deed will be revealed. I don’t live to please the Supreme Court, the bishops, or even my family. I must live to please God. If I do, then I will obey the law (as I can), follow the bishops (as I can), and love my family, my enemies, and all God’s children.

I will recall:

Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

There are many times I do what I wish I did not. I do not love as I should, act as I should. I cannot defeat this by doing more Meaningful Things. I cannot even defeat it by buying into “correctness” on either the left or right. Approval from the temporary consensus cannot satisfy. Instead, I seek God best I can.

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