For who is there knowing what good a man has in life for the number of the days of his vain life, when he spends them like a shadow? For who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?”​—Eccl. 6:11, 12.

The fact that life is so brief, ‘passing like a shadow,’ only adds to the aggravation. There is no way to regain time and redirect one’s efforts toward another goal. Furthermore, because there is no way of determining what will happen after a person’s death, pursuing materialistic goals in behalf of children and grandchildren, to the exclusion of spiritual things, does not lead to real satisfaction either.