“As for the children of men, they are but vanity;<\/em>
\nThe children of men are deceitful;<\/em>
\nUpon the weights they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.<\/em>” (Psalms 62:9 Coverdale Bible, 1535)<\/blockquote>\nThe Psalms contain poetry that is remarkably frank and vivid. Especially striking are its portrayals of godless living and its consequences. One such passage caught my attention a few days ago. In the distinctive diction of the 16th-century Coverdale Bible, Psalms 62:9 says concerning those who are deceitful: “Upon the weights<\/em> [scales] they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.<\/em>“<\/p>\n
In this verse, the Hebrew word translated “vanity” is “hebel<\/em>,” the same word famously used in Ecclesiastes. It means to be without substance. Like a vapor or wisp of smoke, vanity is worthless; it amounts to nothing. So to be “lighter than vanity itself<\/em>” is to be worth less than nothing. Such a person is worse than insignificant.<\/p>\n
No human being is inherently worthless, of course. Made in God’s image, we all have a built-in worth that no amount of bad behavior can entirely erase, at least in this life. We do well to keep that in mind before labeling anyone a “lost cause” (including ourselves).<\/p>\n
But if we can’t erase our God-given value completely, we can certainly waste it. By refusing to be what God created us to be, we can become children of the devil. To a certain group of hardened, hypocritical adversaries, Jesus put it bluntly: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it<\/em>” (John 8:44).<\/p>\n
My prayer, for you and for me, is that we will rise above such “nothingness.” May we say no to the pervasive pride and materialism that surrounds us. Tempted to live for immediate gratification in the here and now, we can, by the grace of our Heavenly Father, make better choices. We can become much more than “gilded dust.”<\/p>\n
The only “weight” that godless living imparts is the empty, onerous weight of pride – we become just another Belshazzar: “weighed in the balances, and found wanting<\/em>” (Daniel 5:27). True substance has only one source: the obedience of faith. So, in gratitude for God’s guidance, let’s be brave enough to heed the warnings of wisdom.<\/p>\n
“Light as vanity, heavy as regret” (Old Saying).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “As for the children of men, they are but vanity; The children of men are deceitful; Upon the weights they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.” (Psalms 62:9 Coverdale Bible, 1535) The Psalms contain poetry that is remarkably frank and vivid. Especially striking are its portrayals of godless living and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1866,1261],"class_list":["post-91253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-value","tag-vanity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27029,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-the-meaning-of-worthless-in-psalms-11937-and-psalms-1013\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":0},"title":"Can you explain the meaning of “worthless” in Psalms 119:37 and Psalms 101:3?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Psalms 119:37 the word \"worthless\" is used in the NKJV and the word \"vanity\" is used in the NASB. Also in Psalms 101:3, the NASB uses the word \"worthless\" and the NKJV uses \"wicked.\" Which is correct? Sometimes it seems wicked men are called worthless men, but could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27189,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-taking-care-of-your-appearance-stop-and-vanity-begin\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":1},"title":"Where does taking care of your appearance stop and vanity begin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A friend and I were talking about vanity. We know it's a sin, we just don't know when it stops being taking care of the appearance and when it starts being vanity. What is vanity? Answer: \"\"Vanity of vanities,\" says the Preacher; \"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity\"\" (Ecclesiastes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22191,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/make-me-know-my-end\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":2},"title":"Make Me Know My End","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Psalms 39 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Psalms 38-40 cover related themes regarding the problems caused by sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God has punished David because of his sin - Psalms 38:1-2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Between God\u2019s punishment and the burden of the sin itself, David feels overwhelmed - Psalms 38:3-8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even close friends and family avoid you when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17241,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-tattoos-or-plastic-surgery-sinful\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":3},"title":"Are tattoos or plastic surgery sinful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to have any kind of surgery like plastic surgery? Are tattoos sinful even if they don't represent anything bad? Answer: Under the Old Law, the Israelites were forbidden to imitate the idolatrous religions around them. One practice was to make marks on the body, either\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83003,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-animals-have-spirits\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":4},"title":"Don’t animals have spirits?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading the article, \"Doesn't Ecclesiastes 3:19 teach that there is no difference between men and animals?\" You said animals have no spirit. The very next passage says that they do have spirits. \"Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-ecclesiastes-226\/","url_meta":{"origin":91253,"position":5},"title":"Could you explain Ecclesiastes 2:26?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain Ecclesiastes 2:24-26? What is meant in verse 26 by \"... while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight ...\"? 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