Given the current state of our nation and world, I believe this question has more relevance now than in recent memory. For those who place a high priority on achievement, acquiring possessions and power, needless to say, worlds have been rocked of late. Even Christians struggle with the idea that their “worth” is based on performance and tangible results.
When considering the question: “What is the chief good?” the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible deals with that question like no other. First of all it was presumably written by a man who had acquired more in the way of power and possessions than anyone who ever lived—before or since. Of course, I am referring to none other that King Solomon.
So back to the question—what is the chief good, and is there more than one? For now, here are a few things that it isn’t. It is not excess or acquiring possessions. Solomon knew that. In fact, there was nothing in this life in the way of material possessions that he could not have (2:10). Ecclesiastes gives much space to discussing what the chief good is not. It calls all those material things and pleasure seeking as “vanity”. The Hebrew word translated vanity does not mean, “pride”, but “vapor”—a metaphor suggesting that life is both fleeting and futile. In other words, like a vapor, life is quickly passing. Many people have translated “all is vanity” to mean, “all is meaningless”, but I don’t think that is what Ecclesiastes is saying. The book does not deny the meaning of life, but really has more to do with what is quickly passing. If we are to understand that the message of “the Preacher”, as Solomon referred to himself, is that life is a fleeting thing that needs to be savored as a gift from God, we are on the right track. That is why there can only be one chief good, the answer to my first question. With that said, I was wondering what others might think is the "chief good"?
