The reality of life is this: No matter how much or how little you attain, it will eventually be sold at an estate sale. Cheap. What doesn’t sell will be taken to a landfill.

Estate sales show the meaninglessness of a life of working hard to achieve things. 

Everyone is looking for meaning, and trying to find their purpose. Along the way, you accumulate junk that will be stored in a garage and forgotten. What you have worked for will not define you when you are gone.

At least someone might want some of the stuff. The possessions are just possessions. They won’t define you when your life is done, so maybe we should not let them define us while we live.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.” .. Ecclesiastes 1:2

So, what then is the purpose of life? Why are we here? I don’t have the answer, but what we have is our life and we can do what we want with that for the most part. Maybe that is the purpose — to enjoy the life we have been given. Some say God has a plan for your life, but what if there is no overall plan for our lives? Maybe we were put here to create the life we want and to enjoy it. Despite what people say, it can be done.

12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil — this is the gift of God. .. Ecclesiastes 3:12–13

Even if you do that, your stuff will probably end up at an estate sale. This is where your possessions are auctioned off. Many items go amazingly cheap. The older stuff — what could be called antique — usually goes for more, but still not much. Sometimes the house itself is auctioned at a low price.

Some attend estate sales to find bargains for themselves. Then there are the antique dealers, and I was once one of them. Antique dealers follow estate sales like lawyers follow ambulances. The sadness of estate sales finally got to me, and it stopped being fun.

Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless. .. Ecclesiastes 5:10

There was one in particular that got my attention. An elderly man was selling off all his possessions and getting ready to go into an assisted living facility. He was liquidating what he had spent his life obtaining. He probably should not have gone to the sale, because he saw his things being picked over, squeezed, and banged. He also saw them sell dirt cheap.

A few times I saw him shaking his head and almost crying. “I paid $3,000 for that,” he said as he watched a very nice China cabinet sell for $300. I knew the dealer who bought it, and he probably sold it the next week at a bargain price of $1,000. That’s how it goes at estate sales.

5 Some say it is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing,
 because you will starve to death.
6 Maybe so, but I say it is better to be content
 with what little you have.
Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more,
 and that is like chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:5–6

More often than not, the estate sale comes after the death of the elderly person. The children don’t want the stuff. They have picked through and got what they wanted. They are getting rid of the rest and are not that concerned about how much things sell for.

You can’t fault the dealers, they are just in business. It is better than the stuff being thrown away. The people who buy antiques from dealers usually get a pretty good deal too, so in a sense, it is a win-win for everyone. The survivors get a little money too. 

Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, and be happy in their toil — this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. Ecclesiastes 5:19–20

But here is the thing.

Our culture tells us we must work hard to get the things we want. We are also told what we want through a constant bombardment of advertising. We are told these things will bring us happiness. We are told we “deserve to have” these things. Maybe they do bring joy for a time. Often these things end up in the garage or the attic and are forgotten.

No matter what you obtain. No matter how much money and how nice of a home you have, in the end, it will be sold at an estate sale. It is a sobering thought. Everything you have worked for will one day be sold at a fraction of its value. Almost to add insult to injury, the buyer may make a quick buck off having bought your stuff on the cheap.

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. … Ecclesiastes 12:13

I have come to take comfort in Ecclesiastes. “All is meaningless, a mere striving with the wind.” In a way it is sad. But in another way, it is freeing. It is the ride that matters more than anything else. Don’t keep score because no one wins the game.

Conclusion: A better hope

The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote about this life only, and from that standpoint, the best thing to do is respect God and enjoy your life as much as possible.

But then Jesus came and gave us hope for another life beyond the grave. While we may have things here that will fade, we should have our hopes set on things above. What we have here will be sold cheaply at an estate sale. What we have in heaven will be forever.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ………….Matthew 6:19–21

What do you think? Is it a counter-cultural idea to not seek meaning and significance? What would it look like to store up treasures in Heaven instead of on Earth?