Vanity of vanities…all our labors and efforts will one day amount to nothing. Now this assertion by Qoheleth, the  Preacher, can come across as a very negative and pessimistic approach to our lives here on earth. In labeling all human effort as vanity (a waste), the author of the book argues against the delusion of finding any lasting value in the passing things of this life: money, fame, pleasures, as well as the possessions men and women spend their energies to acquire. Men and women will always be restless as they labor away, yet the fruits of their labors will amount to nothing (vanity), asserts the  Preacher. Even though the  Preacher might have drawn his conclusions from experience, not everybody will agree with his assertions. There are those who will out-rightly disagree with the pessimistic tone of the assertions. Those who disagree with the  Preacherwill also point to experience and say that all is not vanity. They do not disagree with the  Preacher on the fact that sometimes nothing results from people’s hard work. However, they choose to stay optimistic. They say that it is the hope for a better tomorrow that keeps men and women from giving up on life. It is the knowledge that hard work will ultimately bear fruit that empowers men and women to labor day and night. 
Despite the pessimistic tone of the the passage, it is safe to assume that the  Preacher is not a prophet of pessimism. As one reads through book, one will come across the  Preacher’s prescriptions for leading a happy and fulfilled life in a world full of vanities. Tucked inside what comes across as total pessimism is a beautiful message. And I think that hidden message comes out clearly in today’s Gospel Reading. In response to the one who approached him with a request to arbitrate an inheritance squabble, Jesus proposes to the crowd the parable of the Rich Fool. The unnamed rich man in the parable had labored hard on his land and was rewarded with a bountiful return at harvest time. From the parable, it appears that the man’s hard work was rewarded more than he had anticipated. After a short deliberation, the man decides to use the surplus as his security for tomorrow. Relieved from worrying about tomorrow, the man was now free to relax and enjoy the fruits of his hard work, a proposal that was not itself a sin or a bad idea. However, as the parable suggests, in his deliberations, the man forgot about God. 
In his plans to build bigger barns and storage units, the rich man had forgotten about the one who was the source of his strength and sustainer of his life. He was not wrong to work hard on his land. He was not wrong to make plans for his future. But his plans did not involve God. And it is this that made him a fool, turning all the work hard he had done into vanity. Had he included God in his deliberations, perhaps God would have opened his eyes to the knowledge that the only security that we need for our tomorrows is God. Had he taken time to consult God by reading the Scriptures, perhaps he would have heard the prophets telling him that as thanksgiving to God who is the giver of all good gifts, he needed to share his surplus with the poor and the hungry. But because he didn’t consult God, greed got the better side of him. Greed blinded him from the knowledge that when all is said and done, of the only three things will remain - faith, hope, and love- the greatest is love/charity (cf. I Corinthians 13:13).
Greed is a sin against the commandment of love, a sin against the virtue of charity. It is a sin against the values that serve to set apart followers of Jesus (by your love they will know that you are my disciples…cf. John 13:35). Greed implicitly makes a false claim that material possession is the most basic human need, something without which life cannot possibly be. It can be an obstacle in one’s path of self-realization because of its tendency to want to be the only focus. The individual who approached Jesus with the request was preoccupied with material possession so much so that he found it impossible to listen to the words of life that Jesus was speaking. All that he could think about was the inheritance of which his brother wanted to deprive him. In his response, Jesus reminded him to realize that there are other things more important that material wealth. Being in the presence of Jesus and listening to his words of life was certainly of greater importance than thinking about his inheritance (cf. Luke 10:41-42). Had he been paying close attention to Jesus, perhaps he might have learnt of the best way to settle the issue with his brother in a manner that prioritized their relationship. 
Maybe this is the point that Qoheleth wanted to pass across as he pointed to the vanity of the things of this world. Maybe it is true that our labors and hard work might not profit us personally. Maybe it is true that even as we toil and break our backs under the sun we will still live in grief and anxiety even when we are supposed to rest. But this in itself does not make what we do to be vanity or a mere waste of our precious time. Our labors, efforts, skills, and knowledge become vanities when we exclude God from our lives. For without God to guide and direct us, we will fail to rejoice and make merry with the fruit of our labor. Without God to show us the right way, we will spend our lives asking ourselves what we are to do with the fruits of our labor. Without God to assure us that all will be well whenever we are beset by problems of this world, all our efforts will appear as mere vanity, and anxiety and worries will never part from us. It is the hope and trust we have in God that will become the difference at the end.