10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.
There is no such thing as a glorious corpse.
No one can look at a dead body and be impressed with the power that person has, because there is no power.
I can imagine watching Alexander the Great being buried. He was put in a gold sarcophagus (which was stolen and eventually replaced with a glass one for the sake of coin making) but he surely looked like no pompous king. Some say a visitor accidentally knocked off his nose. The man who felt he owned the world laid still, limp, and stinky. Where was his greatness now? He couldn't even overcome death. His cold, dead body could defy no one; his worthless mind could rule nothing. Alexander the Great's glory is limited to historical memory. (And his kingdom quickly went into shambles after he died.)
So how vain it is to chase after our own glory!
A gorgeous bayfront home cannot be your dwelling place forever.
A toned, beautiful body will not be your body forever.
At one point you will be left with what you came to the world with, no matter how successful and/or self-made you are.
This reality has at least 2 major applications:
1) Seek what comes after death. It's inevitable, so find out everything you can about your options. Most people are more informed about car insurance than eternity.
2) Trust in the Man whose glory remains forever. He died but did not remain a corpse. He resurrected and has all power, all wisdom, all authority, all glory, FOREVER.
