Having Lots of Money Won't Satisfy You!

True Story from a Time.com article from May, 2014… (Show picture)

At the time of the writing of the article, Danielle Shea was a 22-year-old woman who failed to mention to her parents that she’d dropped out of Quinnipiac University. Problem was her mom was continuing to send her thousands of dollars to fund her education. She had not been attending school the entire year and graduation was upon her.

To cover up her deceit, about 20 minutes before the graduation ceremony was to begin, she panicked and called in two bomb threats to try and cancel the graduation commencement ceremonies.

Police say that she called the university’s public safety department to report a “bomb in the library”. Then she called again to say “Several bombs are on campus,” adding, “You haven’t cleared out graduation. That’s not a good idea.”

Police soon managed to trace the calls back to Shea, who was then charged with first degree threatening and falsely reporting an incident. She was held on $20,000 bond and had to appear in court.

The university’s commencement ceremony was delayed for an hour and a half as a result of the bomb threats.

Danielle Shea allowed her love of money to motivate her to deceive her parents and go to extreme depths to cover her sin…in her pursuit of that which she thought would satisfy her, her actions not only made life much more difficult for her, her actions also negatively impacted others…

To what lengths will you “travel”; to what “depths” would you sink to grab the lifestyle of the rich and famous?

Would the events, energies, and expectations of your life reveal you worship money more than you worship God?

That question may anger you…it may shock you…it may offend you to the point that you want to close your ears and tune me out…some of you may even be considering getting up and walking out right now… (pause for effect)

It is a question that needs to be asked...

Last week Pastor Matthew walked us through 5:1-9 and challenged us to consider the way we worship with the challenge to make sure our worship is out of reverence for God…

I know that seems like a no-brainer, but sadly in our time, we need to deal with the way we worship and who or what we worship...

The reason is that believers tend to fill their lives with so much “stuff” (everyone has a different definition of “stuff”) that many believers will sit in worship services today more out of obligation than love for the Lord…Worship can become something we do, instead of who we are.

For some, being with God’s people in a place of worship has become more of task to begin the week, instead of a privileged and joyous gathering with His people to ascribe the value we place upon our Creator and Savior and to encourage one another.

We become so distracted by the world’s allurements that we forget from where we came…God called us out of a world of darkness and corruption to a kingdom of light and righteousness...

Solomon has been dealing with those distractions trying to tell us that nothing we pursue “under the sun” has any eternal value…that includes our pursuit of wealth.

Those distractions negatively impact our worship to the point that we need to do an honest evaluation of our worship...

Solomon had to address it in his day…I think it is even more critical we address it in our day!

Worship is not just what you do on Sunday! It is the very way you choose to live your life under the sun!

Solomon continually warns us about all those things that distract us from our worship of God…our fear of God is displayed in our worship…are we worshipping the creation more than the Creator?

Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 actually form a larger unit dealing with the folly of pursuing wealth hoping to find our satisfaction in wealth instead of our relationship with God…worship of money versus our worship of God.

In this wisdom literature from Solomon he wants to wake us up to the folly of pursuing everything except our relationship with God.

Please turn to Eccles 5:10-20 if you haven’t already…if you are a guest with us, we have been walking through this book as is our custom of expository preaching…so if your mindset is “here they go, talking about money again”… this is the next section of the text…

Here is what Solomon is saying to us from the text...

Main Point: Don’t Waste Your Life Pursuing Wealth!

Eccl 5:10 “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”

Solomon identifies the purpose of this section of the text…and it is interesting to note that it comes on the heels of his treatment of worship.

So in this verse, he draws our attention to the stupidity, the foolishness of thinking that the accumulation of wealth will provide the satisfaction our heart longs for!

If we are going to pursue wealth more than God, then we are guilty of worshipping the creation…the object…instead of our Creator…and Solomon says that is shear stupidity.

He who loves money…money itself is not the problem…it is our love for money……loving money leads us down a dangerous and destructive path!

Those who love money will never be satisfied by money...

He is not talking about your tax bracket…he is talking about your heart.

You can love money and have a lot and you can love money have barely any…the issue is not how much you have, the issue is your heart…a failure to be content with what you have.

The sinfulness of our heart causes us to see what we have right now as not enough.

Rockefeller (at one time was the richest man in the world) was asked by a reporter “which million that you have earned was your favorite?”

He answered, “My next million”.

Nothing is ever good enough…Solomon’s point is hard for most of us to believe because we think if we had more money we would be the exception…we think we will be satisfied with what we had.

Paul reminds us of this truth in 1 Tim 6:9-10 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Do you love money more than you love God?...

before you answer that question it would be good to take an honest inventory of the amount of time you spend pursuing that which enriches your life under the sun compared to that which enriches your life with the Son!

In other words, if you spend more time and energy pursuing the allurements of the world more than you pursue that which leads to righteousness you are wasting your life.

This is the age old proverb that no matter how much money people have, they will never be satisfied…there is always a thirst for more...

This is a lifelong struggle…and don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because you fought off that temptation for more money before that you are now immune to its allurement…until you find your satisfaction with God, you will always be searching for something else…in this case, it is more money.

Did you know that there now exists a malaise called “affluenza?”… the following is from Merriam Webster Dictionary.

Affluenza

the unhealthy and unwelcome psychological and social effects of affluence regarded especially as a widespread societal problem: such as

a: feelings of guilt, lack of motivation, and social isolation experienced by wealthy people b: extreme materialism and consumerism associated with the pursuit of wealth and success and resulting in a life of chronic dissatisfaction, debt, overwork, stress, and impaired relationships

Long before man “discovered” this truth, God already warned us against it...rather than craving more, Solomon invites us to be happy with less because we are satisfied with God.

In the rest of the text, Solomon provides some insight into why we should avoid coming down with a bad case of “affluenza”.

Reason #1 — Other People Will Try to Take It From Us.

Eccl 5:11 “When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?”

The phrase “those who consume them” refers to people who consume our wealth...

It might be our children or other dependents, the IRS (who operate on the philosophy of “the more you make the more they take), creditors...

you often see when people win the lottery other “long lost relatives” come out of the proverbial woodwork to get a piece…people you didn’t know were family are now interested in you and your family… when in reality they are only concerned with you newly acquired wealth.

…in every culture and in every period of time there has been and always will be freeloaders, spongers, etc…no matter who they are, the more we have, the more other people try to get it.

Solomon knew this well..he was the richest person in the world…he knew first hand what this was like.

The more we have, the more people want what we have…if they succeed at getting it, it is gone before we ever get the chance to enjoy it and use it…Solomon says all we get to do is watch it disappear.

Exalting Jesus in Ecclesiastes You’ll Attract Leeches (5:11)

One tragic story that shows the truth of this statement involves Bernie Kosar, who used to be a star quarterback in the NFL. Kosar made tens of millions of dollars in his playing career. And he also made at least that much, if not more, as a businessman after his playing days. And yet he had to file for bankruptcy. A reporter asked him about this, and he revealed that there was a time in his life when he was paying 60 cell phone plans. He told the reporter that he only used one cell phone, but he was paying for 60 plans (Brennan, “Athletes”). In addition to this, an ex-wife, attorneys, the IRS, former teammates who needed thousands to get out of debt, the economic recession, and foolish financial advisors mooched millions off of him. Now we might think we would be different if we had as much money as he had, but Solomon says we are kidding ourselves!

Reason #2 — Having More Money Keeps You Up at Night

Eccl 5:12 “The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.”

Solomon points this out by drawing a contrast…as a general rule, people who work hard all day, especially if they work with their hands, are ready to hit the sack!

The laborer experiences a calm and peaceful sleep regardless of whether their stomach is full or empty…he is content with what he has.

The hard work of labor wears them out so that sleep is not a problem.

The idle rich person does not enjoy that luxury...

The abundance of riches brings with it the cares and worries which make it difficult to sleep...Fears of loss or theft…anxious thoughts about how to make more...concern over all the mitigating factors that impact the bottom line…in our present culture thoughts about bank collapses.

Having a lot of money can be very unhealthy…not just spiritually, but also physically.

Reason #3 — Hoarding it Hurts You.

Eccl 5 13 “There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.”

Solomon calls this a “grievous evil” — literally means, makes him sick to even think about it.

Then he gives us a case study to explain why.

A wealthy man hoarded his wealth and it hurt him…being stingy with what you have can destroy your family because of your workaholism....you don’t sleep well, and it can harm your character.

Exalting Jesus in Ecclesiastes You’ll Hurt Yourself (5:13)

An interesting article, written by a non-Christian, called “What Wealth Does to Your Soul,” argues that making lots of money makes you selfish, unhappy, and dishonest (Lewis). The article cites studies that revealed the richer people are the more likely they are to cut off other drivers, not give pedestrians the right of way, and take candy from children

The Bible is clear that the joyful life is the generous life, not the stingy, selfish life.

Reason #4 — You Can Lose It All

Eccl 5 14 “When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.”

This wealthy man loses his wealth in a bad venture…we don’t know exactly how.

Worse part is, he had nothing to give his son! Even if he did, Solomon stated back in Eccl 2:18-19 that leaving a legacy to your family is also a risky proposition because more than likely, they will squander it...

Statistics tells us that 60% of families waste away their wealth by the end of the second generation. By the end of the third generation, 90% of families have little or nothing left of money received from grandparents…(Voorhees, “Why Most Families Lose Their Wealth

Prov 23:4-5 “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.”

Reason #5 — We Can’t Take It With Us

Eccles 5:15-16 “As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. This also is a grievous evil—exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?”

Wouldn’t it be great mommas, if your child come out of the womb with handfuls of cash to pay those hospital bills…never going to happen..

both Job and Paul confirm this to be true...

Job 1:21 “He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.””

Paul told Timothy the same thing…1 Tim 6:7 “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”

Regardless of how you make your money, and regardless of how much money you acquire, none of it goes with you when you die.

Steve Jobs had a net worth of $10.2 billion when he died…and not a penny went with him.

The key is learning to look around at what God has given us and conclude this is for our enjoyment for the time being, or perhaps even use it for His kingdom, remembering you can’t take it with you.

Kids — all those toys you have…you leave them here.

Teens — all those video games, all those clothes, all your technology, all your music, it stays behind

Mom’s/Dads — all our homes, all our cars, everything we amass here stays here.

We are headed for eternity, so travel light!

Randy Alcorn in his book The Treasure Principle sums up what Solomon says here...

The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it.

The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good.

The more you have, the more you have to worry about.

The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.

The more you have, the more you have to lose.

The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind.

Reason #6 — It Makes You a Miserable Person

Eccl 5:17 “Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger.”

Notice in the word “miserable” is the word “miser”....definition of a miser is a person who hoards wealth and spends as little as possible...

Word miserable means — wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable.

The rich man eats in darkness…with sorrow and anger and no enjoyment in life…he is lonely and has no one with whom to share his wealth.

This is the pathetic picture of where greed will lead us…if money is your pursuit, then your journey will end in misery...

There is a spiritual darkness that comes with neglecting your relationship with God to pursue your wildest dreams.

There is vexation in your spirit from all the anxiety a pursuit of riches brings with it.

The ungodly pursuit of riches leaves you poor in health, angry, and bitter..

People who live for money try to hold on to as much of it as they can, but when they have to let it go, and you will have to let it go, it makes them angry with everyone and everything.

Solution — Find Your Joy and Satisfaction in God

Eccl 5:18-20 “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.”

Paul would remind Timothy of this truth in 1 Tim 6:17 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”

Solomon is bringing life into balance here…

You can find joy in the things of this life, (including money), but only if you focus on God who empowers you to do it.

Recognize that this short life on earth is a gift…the key is not how much or how little you have…it is how you view what you have...

Whatever enjoyment Solomon found, he attributes it to God…notice where the power comes from..

Both having things and enjoying things are gifts from God…it is a gift of God’s grace for you to find enjoyment in what you already have.

God created a world full of many rich gifts, but the power to enjoy them does not lie in the gifts themselves…we cannot worship the gifts, we must worship the Giver...

Why should God grant you more of that which you are not content with anyway?

The person who finds the greatest enjoyment in life is the one who knows God and has a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Phil 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Applications:

The life transformed by the Gospel recovers God’s design for money…we are no longer stingy and miserly, rather we are content and generous.

Learn to deeply enjoy what God has given you finding your satisfaction in Christ.

You’ll never out give God, so be generous to others.