The love of money

Hello, welcome to our devotion for today! I’m excited to dive into our text today with you because we will be touching on a desire that all of us experience, that is not easily overcome. I have entitled this devotion, “the love of wealth.” You might be thinking of short sayings found in Proverbs about the love of money, but today we are going to go to a different wisdom book of the Bible: Ecclesiastes. Our passage for today is found in Ecclesiastes 5:10-12. Let’s start with reading it together.

Ecclesiastes 5:10–12 ESV

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, there are two speakers, Qoheleth, and the teacher/preacher. The teacher is encountered prominently in the epilogue to this book, but anytime that there is a first person perspective, Qoheleth himself speaks.

Qoheleth is on this journey of testing wisdom in the real world, and here he observes that wealth and riches, despite their seeming ability to bring happiness, actually bring the opposite. So he observes that those who love money are never satisfied. Wealth does not give peace or rest, but rather only adds in the long run to a person’s sorrow.

He also makes an interesting note: Verse 11 says:

Ecclesiastes 5:11 ESV

When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

One commentary says this: “riches have a knack of disappearing down a drain of increased responsibilities. An ‘extended family’ will extend a bit further with each increment; the wage-earner will see the goods but no more.” - Tyndale. This notes reminds me of how “friends” can be quickly gained when one has money, yet just as easily lost when one doesn’t. Wealth does not usually breed true friendship.

Ok, so Qohelth observes this, and says that loving wealth and striving for it is vanity. So what? Don’t bother working, because hey! the Bible says not to love money! On the contrary, this passage exposes the folly of a heart in love with money, more than God. It is a generalized statement: “Loving wealth is vanity,” and “More wealth brings more responsibility.” This is Qoheleth’s observation. He sees people who chase and strive after money and material gain and observes that in the long run, it does them little good. In verse 12 he says,

Ecclesiastes 5:12 ESV

Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Qoheleth observes that he who does not have much may be more happy than the one who has plenty. A labourer, someone who does a days work and gets paid for it, (even if it isn’t much) could be happier then the CEO exec who makes a six figure salary? Yep, quite possible. Why? Because money also bring responsibility, complication, and is not a firm foundation on which to base one’s life.

Where then do we turn to for joy, for comfort, and so that what we chase after might not be “vanity?” The answer lies in Christ. 1 Peter 1:4 says:

1 Peter 1:4 ESV

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

As Christians, our inheritance is imperishable, and unfading. It is sure. Our inheritance - knowing God, spending eternity with Christ, being fulfilled in Christ, is worth far more than 20s. I hope we now can understand both what Qoheleth observed - that chasing after material wealth is vanity - but also that the answer for where we place our priorities is in Christ. We find our peace, our assurance, in Christ. Pursuing Christ, and His will for our lives, never has and never will be vanity.

So as we leave today, I have two questions for you:

Why is chasing after wealth and material gain vanity to Qoheleth?

Where do you place your priorities and efforts?

Pray