Ecclesiastes 1:2 (Darby)
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.

If you’ve ever been to a fair, you’d know how difficult it is to leave after you’ve spent carefree and fun times going on exciting rides, hair-raising activities with twinkling lights, eating sugar-saturated goods and junk food.
As fun-filled and exciting as the fairground is, it costs a fortune and afterwards, the filling of regret at the expenses with no returns and the emotional and physical crash can be very disappointing.
Our text says vanity of vanities, which could be translated to the vanity of vanities! The emptiness of emptiness.
True, substantial good is not to be found in anything liable to change and corruption and the fairground is no place to find substantial goods, everything there is temporal, for a few hours, day or until the fair moves along.
Life is like a fairground, we are all in it for a duration, not our choice but the Lord’s.
Vanity in the scripture usually refers to foolish pride, and the emptiness of the final life apart from God. We are all born, when Adam sinned, all of humanity was also subjected to futility according to Romans 8:20-22, to toil, to suffer, to experience some transitory joy, which is nothing with regards to eternity, to leave it all, and to eventually die.
Vanity fair is the vein and frivolous lifestyle so many of us lead as according to Proverbs 31:30, life is brief and transitory and not be squandered away on unprofitable living.
Solomon summarized the earthly pursuits so many of us run after as trying to find fulfilment in anything the world has to offer is like chasing the wind in Ecclesiastes 1:14. No matter how hard and fast we chase after it, it always escapes us and no matter how fast we run, we will never catch it.
Look around you and you’ll see evil, unrighteousness and wickedness in plain sight, where years ago, such things were hidden; the name of a restaurant, “7sins” caught my attention the other day, I drew close to peak at their menu board on the sidewalk and to my amazement, it read like this; 7sins takeaway or delivery: pride, wrath, gluttony, greed, lust, envy, and sloth. These are not commendable characters or personalities in anyone anywhere in the world but to think that nobody in their right mind will want to associate with someone with any of these characters yet may purchase and consume food with such names tells us how comfortable we are in vanity fair around us.
We have become a generation of seeing the good in evil, condoning it, accepting it and worse celebrating evil. Why?
Remember what Romans 12:2 tell us, especially believers? Our minds are to be constantly renewed by the word of God because the days are evil according to Ephesians 5:16.
We purchase luxury goods with disturbing names with images such as guilty pleasure, poison, toxic waste and think nothing of it but what effect do they have on our lives, our homes, our environment?
Everything is futile, empty, vain-vanity is meaningless, your fairground experience might give you a temporal euphoria but leave you with an empty pocket or expensive bill to pay and stomachaches. Vanity fair has no lasting and meaningful impact on life just as a life without Christ has no place in eternity. Vanity fair is all vanity.
Shalom