Money and Meaning

Good morning once again everyone. This morning we are pushing on in Ecclesiastes, everyone’s favorite book of the Bible. Last week I had mentioned that we weren’t going to look at the end of chapter 5, but I had a change of mind! So if you have your Bible’s, let’s turn to Ecclesiastes 5, read it, then we will go to God in prayer and ask him to be our teacher this morning.

Ecclesiastes 5:10–20 NIV

10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep. 13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, 14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. 15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. 16 This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? 17 All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. 18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

Prayer

Engage

The story is told about a pilot who always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians when the plane passed overhead. One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?” The pilot replied, “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

We have mentioned already throughout Ecclesiastes that money and possessions don’t provide meaning for us. But yet, it doesn’t matter how often you hear that, it is hard to not want more and more in life when it comes to wealth and possessions. Chances are, you have had a similar experience in life as the pilot from that illustration. You desired to have something in life when you were younger, or just a few years ago, and as time goes on you were able to get it. But now you either long for something else or wish that you could be back where you were.

Finding contentment in life is a difficult thing. It’s a task that probably not many people are able to accomplish. Contentment is hard because we always have something pulling us away from being content. We have commercials, new products, all kinds of new things, that we’re told are new and improved, and our hearts desire them. In our passages this morning, Solomon exposes that it is foolishness to seek meaning and satisfaction in money. So what does Solomon want from us? To be content and find joy in what we do have, which we will see ultimately through Christ.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Solomon has already shown us that possessions don’t bring meaning to life, because of the experiment he conducted to try to find meaning. If someone were able to find satisfaction and meaning in wealth, he would know better than anyone. He has also mentioned how if you refuse to work at all, you are just as foolish as the one who pursues meaning in wealth. So Solomon has spoken against being a workaholic as well as being idle. Instead of doing either of those things he challenged his readers to be content with what you have. In chapter 5, Solomon goes into more detail on this topic in order to try to show that the idea that money and possessions can bring satisfaction is absurd. In chapter 5 we are given 7 reasons why money and possessions won’t be the answer to what we seek in life.

You’ll Never Have Enough (v10)

Starting at verse 10, we find our first reason why money won’t be the answer to what we seek in life. Those who love money will never be satisfied with what they have. Solomon here isn’t talking specifically about those who are wealthy. This problem can be applied to anyone who loves money. His statement deals with the condition of your heart. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot or if you have very little, it is possible for both the rich and the poor person to love money. The sinfulness in our heart tells us that what we have, not matter what it is, is not enough for us. That we should want more and desire more for ourselves. You see this play out if you walk through a casino. People who win big on a slot machine are very likely to continue playing even though they have won already. Why? Because there is always the chance of winning more. There was a reporter one time who asked Rockefeller, who was the richest man in the world at the time, what million that he earned was his favorite? Our of all the millions of dollars you have, which one was your favorite to make? And Rockefeller’s answer was, “My next million.”

If you love money, no amount of it will ever be good enough. No amount of salary will ever be enough to satisfy your heart and you will end up in a meaningless life if that is what you pursue. Solomon’s statement is difficult for us though because so much of our culture and our life tells us the opposite. We’re always told that more money will grant us more happiness. A bigger house, nicer things, all of that will provide contentment for us. Even when we know that money won’t provide contentment, we convince ourselves that we would be the exception to the rule. We believe that if we had more money, unlike other wealthy people, we would be able to find satisfaction. But our experiences in life tell us that isn’t true. We have all wanted something desperately, thought it would satisfy our hearts, but shortly after we get it we desire something else. We are not naturally content with what we have. Solomon’s point is that since you won’t ever have enough, stop making money and possessions your goal in life.

You’ll Attract Others and Won’t Sleep Well

Verses 11-12 warn us of two more reasons wealth and a love for money doesn’t ultimately help us find meaning. Verse 11 says that as you increase, so will the people who want to have some of what you have. The more you have the more people will want a piece of what you have. It might be friends and family who want it, it definitely will include the IRS, but the more you have the more people will want from you. This goes back a few years, but one former NFL star, Bernie Kosar realized this fact for himself. Bernie was a great player who made millions throughout his career. He made just as much from his business deals after he retired from football, but yet in 2009 he filed for bankruptcy with nothing more than $44 in his bank account. A reporter asked him at one time about what happened, and he told the reporter that he had been paying for a lot of other people’s things. At one point he was paying for 60 cell phone plans. Now, this isn’t the only thing that made him go bankrupt, but he recognized that when he had this money, more people came to him to him for loans or to help pay for things.

Verse 12 tells us that the regular average worker sleeps well but the rich person is not able to sleep. The rich person’s desire for more and more will always be a source of worry and anxiety to them. Will this next investment pay off? Will this job pay for itself? When you love money your thoughts are consumed by it. Whether you consider yourself rich or not, a love for money will cause anxiety and worry and will keep you awake at night.

You’ll Hurt Yourself and Never Be Secure

Solomon then says in verses 13-14 that those who hoard wealth actually harm themselves. Hoarding wealth does not help you, it harms you. When you become so focused on saving a dollar and growing your bank account, it is easy to become a workaholic. You work so much that you never have time for friends and family and when you do you can’t enjoy it because you are always thinking about your money. Then verse 14 illustrates how you can lose wealth to circumstances that are even beyond your control. You can do everything right with your money, have it in the best accounts earning interest, you can have it in the best investments, but life happens. A recession hits, the economy tanks, a bad business deal happens, and you lose everything. If that money was where your hope was, now what do you do? Even if you thought you were building up your bank accounts for your children, it can all disappear in an instant and your children will get none of it. If that is the legacy you are hoping to leave your children, what happens if it all goes away from a recession? If you’re a workaholic and never spend time with your family but you justify it by what you think you can provide, how do you respond when something takes the money away from you?

You’ll Leave It Behind

But, let’s pretend that doesn’t happen to you. You work hard, make great financial moves, what do you gain in the end? Verses 15-16 tell us that you will leave this world just as you entered into it. You were born naked and that is how you will depart from it. All of the wealth you accumulated over your long life won’t matter to you when your heart stops beating. Even if your plan is to leave it for your family to enjoy, statistics show that wealth doesn’t stick around in a family for a long time. One study showed that 60% of families will waste away the wealth left to them by the second generation. And by the end of the third generation, 90% of families have little or nothing left of what was passed down by their grandparents.

You’ll Be A Miserable Person

Our sinful hearts tell us that more money will bring happiness, meaning, security, all of these good things to our lives. But the last reason Solomon gives us to think twice about money comes from verse 17. “All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction, and anger.” A love of money will not give you a happy life, it will give you a miserable existence. Your life will be full of anxiety, worry, frustration, and anger if you love money and pursue it above everything else.

Contentment In What God Has Given You

The end of chapter 5 contains what Solomon believes to be good in life. Once again, he tells us to eat, drink, find satisfaction in your work in the life that God has given to you. The key to contentment in life is not found in how much or how little you have, it is found in how you view what you have. The idea the Solomon presents is that no matter what you have, enjoy what God has given to you instead of always wanting more and more. Enjoy the place you live, the job you have, the food you eat, the relationships you have. If you cannot enjoy the things that you already have, what makes you believe that you will be able to enjoy new things?

Inspiration

John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet, in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic. One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley’s heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn’t even have a bed. Yet, he was an unusually happy person, filled with gratitude to God. Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man’s misfortunes. “And what else do you thank God for?” he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, “I thank Him that He has given me a life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all a constant desire to serve Him!” Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness.

Communion

2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

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