The Vanity of Wealth

Call to Worship: Revelation 5:11-14 // Prayer

Adoration: Worthy are you, O God, who was and is and is to come—dwelling in eternity unbounded by time: worthy are you to receive blessing and honor and glory and might. Worthy are you, O Son of God, our Passover Lamb, for you were slain, and by your blood you have ransomed people for God from every tribe and tongue and nation, and you have made us into a kingdom of priests to our God. You are worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!

Confession: And yet, this past week, so often our thoughts and words and actions have betrayed you rather than praising you. In bitterness and lust, in pride and selfishness, in unbelief and idolatry, we have sinned against you. Forgive us, Lord, for all these things.

Thanksgiving: But you have saved all who call on your name: Lamb of God, you have cleansed us by your blood. You have removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. We have received this salvation by looking to you in faith, and so we also rejoice in you.

Supp: And we ask for our music team as they help us to rejoice in song: please bless them with every spiritual blessing: guard their lives, so that their holiness, faith, and joy increase; give them endurance in the work of preparing and practicing and then guiding our voices as we sing; give them joy in the very act of worship itself, that their own hearts might be poured out before you as an offering of praise, redeemed voices and fingers whose music is acceptable in your sight because Christ has made it clean; may their hope always be in your gospel, and their eyes on your glory. And may the music that we lift up together give glory to you and shape our own hearts into the likeness of Christ // and we ask this also for Saving Grace Church in Milwaukie: may their singing be acceptable in your sight, and fill their hearts with joyful worship, and encourage them for the mission you’ve given // and we asked for an unnamed, secret congregation in the United Arab Emirates: we ask that you would guide them in truth and wisdom, unite them around your gospel, and give them courage and spiritual power in witnessing to their neighbors // and as we consider that mission that all your people have, we ask that, through the efforts of your people, you would dismantle the cults, and bring their members into your Kingdom, and we ask that you would prepare Scholls for any role you would have for us in that // and now, as we open your Word, we ask that you would increase our wisdom and shape our hearts for your glory...

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Benediction

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 ESV

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Sermon

Read: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Intro

What does God think about your money and your stuff?

A lot of believers have tried to figure that out down through the years; and, it is a hard question. It’s easy to get it wrong. Many Christians have gotten to the point of rejecting stuff, saying, “wealth is evil”—and so they choose poverty instead. Many other Christians have gone the opposite direction: “If you just follow the right method,” they say, “God will make you rich, and that’s the life God wants you to have.” But neither of these viewpoints is quite right.

Or maybe you’ve asked a different question about money and stuff. Looking at all the poverty and wealth, all the money and misery in the world, you’ve asked, “How can these problems be fixed?”

If so, you’re not alone. As it turns out, Karl Marx, about 150 years ago, asked the same question. And he came to think that the world was headed in a definite direction, and what he thought was that the struggle of the poor was going to be solved by a series of revolutions against the rich—revolutions which were simply bound to happen everywhere as time moved forward. History has proven him wrong, but his thinking is still very influential. A lot of folks today are looking for some kind of revolution to solve these problems. Less well know than Marx was Ayn Rand. She looked at the same set of problems and said that the solution is to pursue your own happiness by being realistic, smart, and hard-working. That’s how to solve these issues. And many today also try something like that. But is that it? Can either of these things fix the world?

As we will learn from Solomon today, it is simply not true that the world’s problems—or the problems in your own life—are about who has money and stuff, and who doesn’t. Money can’t shield you from crookedness of the world.

And so, Solomon is going to start, in our passage this morning, by showing us that wealth doesn’t solve the problems of the poor. And then he’s going to show that it doesn’t solve the problems of the rich either. But then, right when we might expect him condemn wealth, he’s going to turn around and show us that whatever wealth you do have—small or great—is good, IF God gives your heart the power to enjoy it.

Now, thinking back on the first four chapters of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has been teaching us the same basic thing the whole time: there is no way for man to gain anything in this age.

And as we saw, by the word “gain,” Solomon means some kind of permanent gain. Straightening out the world’s crookedness. Finding some kind of lasting satisfaction in the things of this age. Because the world has fallen from its original goodness, it is now a crooked place, Solomon says, and none of us can change that. None of us can straighten it out.

And that’s a bitter truth, right? It’s hard. And so, often, our hearts rebel against it. We want to convince ourselves that, if we can reach some goal, our lives will be fixed and our hearts satisfied. Or, someone convinces us that if we can just get the right politician or social program into place, we can fix the society around us. But Solomon has already shown us that this is vain: achievement is vain, time is vain, lonely independence is vain; and even that worship—when we use it to try to get things from God—is vain. That’s what we’ve seen so far.

And when Solomon calls all these things “vain” he doesn’t mean that they are “evil” or “completely meaningless.” But instead, he means that they can’t be grasped or controlled. They are vapor. They cannot bring us the gain we seek. And so, this morning, Solomon will continue by showing us that wealth, also, is vapor. But once again, his point is not to make us miserable, but wise. The bitter truth that wealth is vain is actually what will allow to enjoy whatever money and stuff that God chooses to give us. It is a bitter path of wisdom, but it leads to joy.

And so this morning, we will see that Wealth is vain, but God-given enjoyment is good.

No Gain in Money

So Solomon starts by showing that wealth cannot solve the problem of poverty. Listen to 5:8-9:

Ecclesiastes 5:8–9 ESV

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

So, in verse 8, you have this pattern. The poor are oppressed by government officials, and all those oppressive officials are watching each other—which probably means, watching out for each other. The officials all have each other’s backs, as they oppress the poor. And so any wealth that the poor might gain from their small plots of farmland and their small herds is taken away by those in power, who then pay off the ones above them, and so on

Now, I need to pause and explain something here. This is one of those rare places in the OT where the meaning of a verse is uncertain in the original language. I hesitate to say that, because I don’t want to give you the false impression that you can’t trust your English Bible. You certainly can! But, every once in a while, there’s a verse which is difficult to translate.

For verse 9 here, there are two good options: The ESV—the translation I teach from—has taken the option which basically says, “It’s good to have a king who—unlike these unjust officials—is committed to these poor farmers. He’ll keep the injustice in check.”

The other option sounds something like this: “The gain from the land is taken by all (meaning, the unjust officials), the gain from cultivated fields is taken by the king.”

Either option is a fair translation—the Hebrew is difficult—but the second option fits the context better, and so it’s probably the right one. And so, the whole point of these verses is to show this picture where the poor are burdened and even exploited by those in power over them, all the way up to the king.

And why is Solomon saying this? Vs. 8, “Do not be amazed.” In other words don’t be surprised and outraged when you see this happening: when you see corrupt officials, oppressive bureaucracies, and unrighteous governments. It’s part of the world’s crookedness: oppressive tax burdens; extortion by local drug lords… and everything in between.

And he’s not saying that we should do nothing. It is good to work against injustice. But he is saying this: to one extent or another, the world will always be like this in this age. Folks will always be taking advantage of the poor, and you’ll always find people violating justice and righteousness.

Now, I’m going to get political for a second. It is a mistake to put politics at the center of a church’s identity. But, it is also a mistake to never apply biblical wisdom to the political scene. Scripture is the foundation for the whole Christian life.

So: in some sense, this reality of injustice is what Karl Marx didn’t understand: he wanted to completely eliminate injustice by giving power to the poor. But, in a very real way, he was trying to straighten out something which is beyond human power to fix—he wasn’t just trying to work against injustice; he was trying to completely eliminate it.

And so revolutions which have taken place based on his philosophy have tried to do that. But what they’ve actually done is just replace one set of corrupt oppressors with another—no real gain for the poor. And Solomon calls this kind of thing, “chasing after wind,” and tells us that it usually makes things worse.

And of course, it’s easy to pick on Marx. But the lesson for us here is see that any political rhetoric which tries to claim your vote by promising to fix the world is foolish. It will do more harm than good. And since you have a duty to love your neighbor with your vote, part of Christian wisdom is to recognize that foolishness when you see it.

And by the way, if you are wise enough to understand these limitations on how much can be accomplished by politics, you’ll also be more likely to keep the gospel at the center of your hope:

Injustice will some day be abolished, and problem of poverty dealt with forever—but that will done by Christ, when he returns to make all things new.

But now as you consider that, you might be thinking: well then, if that’s how things are, I want to make sure I’m rich—or at least, middle class—so that I can avoid these issues in my own life. Well, look at what Solomon says next:

Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Notice, it’s an all-inclusive statement: whether you are rich or poor or anywhere in between, no amount of money can satisfy you, or preserve you from the crookedness of this world. Wealth is vain. And Solomon will now give us two reasons for this. First, wealth doesn’t bring rest.

Ecclesiastes 5:11–12 ESV

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.

So if you become wealthy, you also become responsible for other people. Once you were poor, but now you own three businesses. Great. But by the time you’re finished paying your employees and their benefits, sometimes there’s only just enough left to feed your family. So you own all this stuff, and all this money passes through your hands… but most of it just passes in front of your eyes and right back out the door.

But not only that: now, you’ve got to make sure you can actually pay all these folks each month, alongside all the other things you have to spend money on, just to keep the business going. And of course, in Solomon’s day it would have been a little different—but the same basic thing would be in play.

So now you’re rich, but sometimes you wish you could go back to the days when you were poor. Sometimes it was tough, just getting food on the table. But at least you could sleep in peace—you didn’t have this hamster wheel of crushing financial responsibilities hanging around your neck while you’re just trying to fall asleep at night.

Wealth won’t bring you rest—and often even works against it.

So that’s the first reason. Here’s a second: become as rich as you like, you can still fall into poverty in a very short amount of time.

Ecclesiastes 5:13–15 ESV

There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.

Wealth can’t shield you from the crookedness of the world you live in.

Here was a guy who got rich, but suffered in three ways: first, he kept his riches to his own hurt. He clung to them, and it poisoned his soul. Second, he lost those riches in a bad business decision. So now, he has nothing to pass on to his own son. And third, even if he’d remained rich to the day of his death, he still wouldn’t have been able to take any of it with him. He still would have died, and left it all behind.

So here, Ayn Rand’s philosophy is put to the test. What happens if you are smart, work hard, and pursue your own happiness? Will you escape the crookedness of the world? No.

That bonus, that promotion you’ve been working for

That better job you’re aiming at, or that increase in sales

All the education you’re going through to break into your dream career field… none of it can bring you lasting gain, or straighten out what’s crooked about the world.

And again, Solomon isn’t opposed to hard work and to being smart. In fact, those things can be good. But his goal is to show us the extreme limits of them. Wealth is vain.

Now, why is all of this so important for us to understand? Here’s why: it’s not just that Wealth is vain, and can’t save you. It’s that when you look to wealth for salvation, your heart will be poisoned, and robbed of joy. Verses 15-16, speaking of the man who lost all his wealth, say:

Ecclesiastes 5:16–17 ESV

This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

So what happened to this man? He devoted all his heart and soul and energy toward getting rich. Or, to use Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, this man chose wealth as his master. But he was just chasing wind; his master failed him. The riches were suddenly gone.

And what did that do to him? Solomon’s picture is deeply tragic: the man sits there, eating his food, with a heart full of darkness. His soul is full of anger and frustration. He’s deep in a pit of bitterness and anger, and nothing can pull him out. He still has food, but because of the sickness of his heart, he cannot enjoy it. It was all vain.

And God wrote this for you through Solomon to save you that kind of heartache.

This foolishness of chasing wealth and trusting in wealth is an echo of that first sin, committed by Adam. What temptation did the snake offer him? To have more than what God had provided. So he turned away from trusting God, and his reward was bitter.

So also, if you trust in wealth, you are choosing it as your master, instead of God. Instead of being content with what God’s given you, you are grasping for more. And whether you keep your wealth or not, in one way or another, it will fail you. And you will have turned away from the Lord.

But in contrast to this, consider the life of Jesus:

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

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 by his poverty might become rich.

He who was rich beyond all splendor, for our salvation, humbled himself and became poor. He traded the glory of heaven for the extreme poverty of growing up in a Jewish peasant family. And in the end, he died a humiliating death, hung on a cross like a common thief.

But he did these things so that all who turn from sin and trust in him might inherit the glories of the New Creation. And so if you have trusted in him, that is actually your destiny—the riches of the new heavens and the new earth: seeing God, and every other blessing besides.

God’s Gift of Enjoyment

***If you’ve trusted in Christ, in that sense, you are rich. God’s grace has rescued you and destined you for glory. But that still leaves you with a problem: How should you treat money and stuff, in this life?***

***As I mentioned earlier, we might expect Solomon to reject money and to reject stuff, and to tell us it’s all worthless, and we should stay away from it. But he doesn’t do that.***

Ecclesiastes 5:18 ESV

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

[If you’ve been with us for most of Ecclesiastes so far, that probably sounds very familiar] It’s something Solomon always comes back to: you can’t fix the crookedness of the world. But you can still enjoy the good things of the world, and so you should.

So, enjoy good food and drink with family and friends.

And also: enjoy your work. You can’t fix the world. But you can still do your work with energy and joy.

And these things apply equally to you if you’re poor or rich or anywhere in between: accepting and enjoying whatever it is that God has given you.

But here’s the problem: to have this kind of joy, you have to accept the lot that God has given to you. And not everyone does. Listen to verse 19:

Ecclesiastes 5:19 ESV

Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

So food and drink and work are gifts from God.

But did you see what else God must give you, for you to follow this advice? “Power to enjoy them.” What does that mean? A heart attitude of accepting your lot and rejoicing in your toil.

So in order for you to enjoy these things, God himself must give you a heart able to enjoy them.

Another way to say this is that you need a wise heart, capable of enjoying the gifts God gives you. And how to you get a heart like that? What should you do if you find you’ve been chasing wealth or trusting in money?

James 1:5 ESV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

If you ask him, God will grow your faith so that you learn to trust him more, and accept the lot that he gives you as he cares for your needs in this life.

And the result of this kind of wisdom is that you’ll be free from the bitterness and exhaustion of striving after wind, trying to find your salvation in wealth. Wealth is vain, and yet God-given enjoyment of it is good.

Case Study: The Wretched Rich Man

And now, Solomon’s going to apply this with another story:

Ecclesiastes 6:1–2 ESV

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.

So, once again, a heart of wisdom from God is necessary to enjoy his gifts in a way that doesn’t lead to bitterness.

And Solomon says, what a tragedy to see someone who has all those things but can’t even enjoy them. It is a grievous evil. How grievous?

Listen to the weighty words that Solomon uses here:

Ecclesiastes 6:3–6 ESV

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

Those are heavy words.

But Solomon wants to convey to us just how utterly tragic it is to pass your life in that kind of misery—surrounded by good things, but with a heart too foolish and bitter to enjoy them.

And so, once again, it’s a plea: if you find that you are surrounded by good things—and I feel safe in saying, we all are, even though our incomes and properties may be different—if you are surrounded by good things, but find yourself unable to enjoy them, cry out to God for a heart of wisdom and faith.

Do not let the tragedy of bitterness and foolishness rule your heart any longer, but turn to God in faith, and give thanks for what you have from him. Wealth is vain, but God-given enjoyment of it is good.

Conclusion: It’s Better to See Good

Solomon brings this section on wealth to an end with vs. 7-9. Verses 7 and 8 are a reminder that there’s no permanent gain in this life: fill your stomach today, and it will be empty tomorrow. And wisdom and good conduct might gain you a temporary advantage in life—but in the end, rich and poor, wise and foolish, good and bad all remain trapped within the crookedness of life in this age. And so, Solomon concludes:

Ecclesiastes 6:9 ESV

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Better is the sight of the eyes—that basically means, better to see and enjoy what you have. Your appetite can wonder. You heart can get fixated on money or possessions, thinking, “If only I had a bit more, then my life would be fixed and I’d be satisfied.” But in the end, it’s all like trying to catch the wind. It never satisfies.

Far better to trust in the Lord. If he’s gone so far as to give his Son to redeem us, can’t we trust him also to care for us in this life? Remembering that, enjoy the good things that he’s set right in front of you: eat and drink in fellowship, and pursue your work with joy. Wealth is vain, but God-given enjoyment of it is good.