LOVE IT, AND WATCH IT GO AWAY

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

¹⁰ Someone who loves money will never be satisfied with the money he has, nor someone who loves wealth with his current income. This fact testifies to the impermanence of money. ¹¹ The more things you get, the more consumers there will be to eat them up, and what good is this for the owner? He just watches the process. ¹² A hard worker sleeps well, no matter how much he eats, but the full stomach of the rich man will not allow him to sleep.

money misery

The collector had organised and sponsored and supervised numerous work projects. He spent many sleepless nights worrying about meeting deadlines and accomplishing his goals. He had all the money he could ever want, but it was never enough to fill the void itself. Ironically, he envied those workers who essentially had nothing, but slept soundly every night from a hard day’s work.

Now, as an old man, he reflects on the misery that all that money brought him. He reveals that wealth had been a stress causer rather than a stress reliever. Even when he had it all, most of his time was spent watching it go away.

LORD, show us how to set our sights on something more permanent than that which can fit in our pockets.