What Money Can't Buy

Lead Vocalist (Phoebe)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike L)

Good morning family!

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Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 34:8–10 )

Prayer of Praise (Sandra Lindell)

Lovingkindness

Be Thou My Vision

Prayer of Confession (Bud Proctor), Greed

Assurance of Pardon (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Come As You Are

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

Scripture Reading (Eccl. 5:8-6:9)—page _________ in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Mike L)

Prayer for PBC—Help us to be sacrificial givers

Prayer for kingdom partner—Temple Baptist Church (Wes Taylor)

Prayer for US—Against addiction

Prayer for the world—Belarus

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

***MONEY IS DANGEROUS (BARBARA’S BIBLE) In 1973, the O’Jays released one of their biggest hits of all time, called For the Love of Money. The lyrics go like this...

For the love of money (People will steal from their mother)

For the love of money (People will rob their own brother)

For the love of money (People can't even walk the street)

Because they never know who in the world they're gonna meet

For that mean, oh mean

Mean green, almighty dollar, cash money

For the love of money (People will lie, rob, they will cheat)

For the love of money (People don't care who they hurt or beat)

For the love of money (A woman will sell her precious body)

For a small piece of paper, it carries a lot of weight [1]

The O’Jays were right. The love of money leads people to do all manner of evil.

The Apostle Paul put it like this...

1 Timothy 6:10a— “… the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils…”

It might be uncomfortable to talk about money in church, but the Bible won’t let us avoid this topic.

The Bible has more than 2,350 verses devoted to money—more than on faith and prayer combined! [2]

Did you know that Jesus talked more about money than heaven and hell combined? [3]

That’s not because money is more important than heaven, but because your attitude about money could keep you from going there.

Perhaps you’re hearing all this and thinking, “I don’t love money. That’s ridiculous!”

But loving money doesn’t mean you’re like Scrooge McDuck, diving into a warehouse filled with coins. Or Huell Babineaux laying on a pile of cash. Or Ebenezer Scrooge, counting your coins by candlelight. Or virtually every rapper with a music video, throwing money in the air.

Most people don't have an emotional attachment with the crumpled up bills in your purse or wallet. The reality is money in itself is worth nothing. You can't eat money, plow a field with it, or use it to build a house. It's impractical and unsanitary as clothing. It's uncomfortable as a mattress.

Money is only worth something because we say it is. The value of money is in its ability to buy us the things that we really want. In other words, we love money because it has the ability to give us the things we want.

John Piper explains the love of money this way: “The heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer.” [4]

Is that you?

You probably aren’t pinning your hopes on literal $100 bills. But if you’re honest, you are regularly tempted to pin your hopes on something those $100 bills can get you.

If your heart is ever tempted to pin its hopes, pursue its pleasures, or put its trust in what money can buy, you need to hear what God has to say to us from Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9.

Because the truth is, money can buy a lot of things, but it can’t buy everything.

You cannot buy an enjoyable life.

If you want to enjoy your life, don’t love money—learn contentment.

That’s the Big idea we’re going to unearth from our text this morning.

But before we begin, let me say a few words about the structure of our text.

Most scholars believe the Preacher is employing an ancient poetic device called a chiasm.

In this type of poetry a passage would be organized like a sandwich. The ideas on the outer edges would be similar, but in the middle is the meat. Whatever is in the middle is what the author is highlighting.

In 5:8-5:17 we learn some of the problems with loving money. In 5:18-20, we see a picture of contentment. Then again in 6:1-9 we learn more problems with loving money.

So the two ends of our passage (5:8-17, 6:1-9) are like the bread on a sandwich. They tell us Why We Shouldn’t Love Money.

And the middle of our passage (5:18-20) is like the meat on the sandwich. Here the Preacher shows us How We Can Learn Contentment.

With God’s help that will be our outline this morning.

Let’s begin by considering…

1) Why We Shouldn’t Love MONEY:

In our passage, the Preacher gives us five reasons why we shouldn’t love money.

Five reasons why money overpromises and underdelivers.

Before we begin, would you stop for just a moment and ask God to use these verses to loosen any grip that money has on your soul?

Alright, let’s begin. You shouldn’t love money because…

A) The love of money HURTS PEOPLE.

Ecclesiastes 5:8—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.

At first glance these verses don’t appear to be about money at all.

The Preacher sees government officials oppressing the poor and says, “Don’t be surprised by that. We live in a fallen world where people are victimized and oppressed every day.”

Meanwhile, the government officials have higher government officials watching their backs.

And why are they doing this? Presumably because everybody has their hand in the till. Everybody is getting a piece of the pie.

It’s the love of money that often drives government officials to oppress the weak and the poor.

It might be tempting to think that the right response to unjust and evil governments is to overthrow them and start over. But Solomon reminds us that even a bad government is better than no government at all.

Ecclesiastes 5:9—But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

Thankfully human governments aren’t as bad as they could be.

Regardless of your political party—Americans are blessed to experience a level of freedom from our government that most people in world history could never have even dreamed!

But the bottom line remains: the love of money is not a victimless crime.

It truly is “a root of all kinds of evils.” It could lead you to steal from your mother and rob your own brother.

If left unchecked, it could lead you to make decisions that will hurt the people around you.

So don’t love money because the love of money hurts people. Also, you shouldn’t love money because…

B) More money creates MORE PROBLEMS.

Or, in the words of Biggie Smalls, “Mo Money, Mo Problems.”

Ecclesiastes 5:10–12—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.

Why does the Preacher say we can never be satisfied with money?

Because more money means more expenses.

“When goods increase, they increase who eat them.”

The more you have, the more you have to take care of. And the more people you have looking for a handout.

Years ago, when Holly and I were looking to buy our first house, a wise man told us when you buy a house you're committing yourself to much more than four walls and a roof. You're entering into a new world of mortgage payments and escrow, cleaning gutters and mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges and changing air filters, painting walls and patching holes, changing light bulbs and buying furniture and replacing blinds, fixing busted pipes and broken dryers, exterminating mice and spiders and termites, dealing with insurance claims and property taxes and the list goes on and on.

The railroad tycoon W.H. Vanderbilt, who died the richest man in America once said, "The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone." [5]

The reality is, most people increase their standard of living along with their income, so they end up just as cash poor as they were when they had a lot less money.

Another problem created by more money is less rest.

“The full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”

Maybe he can’t sleep because he’s so worried about his boat and his vacation home and his convertible and his stock options.

Or maybe he can’t sleep because he has indigestion from the Wagyu steak he ate for dinner.

Either way, having a lot of money cannot guarantee you’ll sleep any better than the poor man in Haiti living on $5 a day.

Getting more money may be a blessing, but it can also be a curse. It might mean your expenses increase. Or it might mean you have way more stuff to worry about than you used to.

So don’t love money because money creates more problems. Also, you shouldn’t love money because…

C) Money doesn’t LAST FOREVER.

Ecclesiastes 5:13–17—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. 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.

The Preacher tells us about a man who became wealthy, then lost everything in a bad business deal.

By the way, the word “bad” here isn’t offering a moral judgment on this man’s business. The venture could have been perfectly legitimate; it simply didn’t work out.

Like the investors who trusted Bernie Madoff with all their money, only to lose everything overnight.

You can do everything right with your money, and still lose everything.

And even if you keep your wealth until your deathbed, you’ll still lose it then.

John D. Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived. After he died someone asked his accountant, "How much money did he leave?" His accountant replied, "All of it."[6]

So don’t love money because money doesn’t last forever. Also, you shouldn’t love money because…

D) Money can’t buy ENJOYMENT.

Alright, now we’re going to skip the Preacher’s main point (the meat in 5:18-20) and go to the other half of the sandwich beginning in…

Ecclesiastes 6:1–6—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. 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?

These are sobering verses.

The Preacher is not trying to minimize the pain of losing a child.

Given the infant mortality rates in Solomon’s day, it’s quite possible he personally faced this pain himself.

What Solomon’s doing is speaking openly and honestly about the tragedy of a life lived in pursuit of money. It’s not worth living!

The goal here is not to give up on life, but to give up on money as the purpose of life! To admit there has to be something more than just living for more and more stuff!

If you’re living life for what you can get, you’ll eventually become like the man in verse 2 who is unable to enjoy what he has. You’ll become numb to everything.

You’ll be like Marie Antoinette, who despite a life of incredible luxury reportedly said “nothing tastes.”

Or like John Jacob Astor—one of the richest men in the world in his day. Before his death on board the Titanic, he reportedly said "I am the most miserable man on earth." [7]

Or like Andrew Carnegie—whose Carnegie Steel Company sold for $480 million in 1901—who said, "Millionaires seldom smile." [8]

So don’t love money because money can’t buy enjoyment. Finally, you shouldn’t love money because…

E) Money can’t buy SATISFACTION.

Even IF you are able to find some measure of enjoyment through your money and possessions, the truth is it won’t last. You won’t ultimately be satisfied by anything under the sun.

That’s the Preacher’s point beginning in…

Ecclesiastes 6:7–9— All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

If you love money, no matter how much you have, you’ll always have an appetite for more. Like chasing after wind, a wandering appetite is never satisfied.

Why is that? Why is it that we cannot find satisfaction under the sun, no matter how much we have?

C.S. Lewis famously put it this way, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. . . . If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” [9]

The reason why you cannot find satisfaction under the sun—even if you have everything money can buy—is because satisfaction cannot be found under the sun! You were made for another world!

If you want to enjoy your life, don’t love money—because it hurts people, it creates more problems, it doesn’t last forever, it can’t buy enjoyment, and it can’t buy satisfaction. So instead of loving money, learn contentment.

2) How We Can Learn CONTENTMENT:

Now we get to the Preacher’s main point, the meat of the sandwich.

And this may be a surprise to you, given some of the depressing themes in Ecclesiastes, but his main point is all about joy.

Remember, he’s been taking us on a dark path to deep joy. He’s not trying to depress you, he’s trying to strip away all the things you’re trusting in that won’t actually make you happy so he can point you to the place where true happiness is found.

Let’s look at the center of our passage...

Ecclesiastes 5:18–20—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. 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. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

So based on these verses, how can we learn contentment?

First, you must learn to…

A) Look for the GOOD in what you have.

Look at all the good things the Preacher mentions in these verses: eating, drinking, toil, wealth, possessions, and the power to enjoy them.

What does he want us to do with these things? He wants us to ENJOY them and REJOICE in them.

Isn’t that interesting? Those who love money are unable to even enjoy the gifts they’ve received.

But those who have learned the art of contentment are able to enjoy these gifts.

Here’s what we typically do. We typically seek to find joy in what we have by comparing ourselves to someone that has less than us.

“Yeah, I know my life is a dumpster fire, but at least I’m not homeless like Hank. At least I don’t have cancer like Cindy.”

But here’s the thing: the Bible NEVER tells us to think about life in this way.

Biblically, gratitude is always directed upward to God, not outward by comparison to others. Remembering those with less than us should stir compassion and generosity—not serve as the ground of our thanksgiving.

What the Scriptures call you to do is to actually take inventory of the good you have received and thank God for it.

If today you have an appetite to eat, food available to you, and taste buds to enjoy it, you have been given an incredible gift! Rejoice in the good that you have received and are able to enjoy.

William A. Ward— “The more we count the blessings we have, the less we crave the luxuries we haven’t.” [10]

Regardless of what you’re going through, there is good in your life. The path to enjoying life, the path to contentment, begins with you recognizing the good you have received.

But that’s not enough. If we truly want to learn contentment we must…

B) Look to the GOD who gave it to you.

Notice how much the Preacher hammers this point home...

v. 18—God has given him;

v. 19—God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them;

v. 19—this is the gift of God.

Whatever good you have received in this life is a gift from the Almighty God of the universe who loves you.

J.I. Packer—"The only person in this world who enjoys complete contentment is the person who knows that the only worthwhile and satisfying life is to be a means, however humble, to God’s chief end—His own glory and praise.” [11]

You were created for relationship with God.

Because of our sin—because we have loved the gift more than the Giver—we have been cast out of His presence.

But God loved the world so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to live a sinless life and die a sinner’s death in our place.

He rose from death on the third day so that whoever believes in Him can have everlasting life.

Have you done that, friend? You’ll never find complete contentment until you do.

If you have done that, you still need to fight for contentment.

The other day I was driving down Rens Road with my son and I saw a beautiful house on the water. I was caught rubbernecking at the house, and I said out loud, “Wow that’s a beautiful house.”

My 15-year-old son, Jonah, promptly reminded me that it wasn’t really that nice and he had seen houses much nicer.

And as annoying as that comment was in the moment, he was right. There are much nicer houses than that one.

And if I lived in that nice house, I would eventually want one bigger and better.

Because contentment doesn’t come by having more, but by rejoicing in what you already have and the God who gave it to you.

Here’s one practical step some of you may need to take to grow in your contentment: give more of what you have away.

One simple way to loosen the grip that money and possessions has on you is to let some of it go.

Are you giving faithfully to your local church? Are you giving sacrificially? Does it cost you something to give?

Let’s conclude with these words from...

1 Timothy 6:17–19—As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

If you want to enjoy your life, don’t love money—learn contentment.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Blessed Be Your Name

Benediction (Hebrews 13:5)