Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 Legacy

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

10Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is vanishing vapor.

11When goods increase, so do those who eat them. What profit, then, does the owner get, except to see these things with his eyes?

12The worker’s sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person’s abundant possessions allow him no sleep.

13I have seen a sickening evil under the sun—wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm, 14or wealth that is lost in a bad investment. Or a man fathers a son, but he has nothing left in his hand to give him. 15As he came out from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came. From his hard work he can pick up nothing that he can carry away in his hand. 16This too is a sickening evil: Just as he came, so he will go. So what does he gain, he who works for the wind? 17Besides this, during all his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger.

18So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person’s hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward. 19Likewise, for everyone to whom God has given wealth and riches, if God has also given him ability to eat from it, to enjoy his reward, and to rejoice in the results of his hard work—this is a gift of God, 20for the man seldom reflects on the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy in his heart.

Legacy

I.

It must be nice to be among the ultra-rich. They don’t have to ask questions about cost. While they might not want to over-pay, there’s no question about whether they can afford the private 747 jet, or the megayacht, complete with helipad, they just put in an order to have it done. Regular people chafe at weddings that cost thousands or tens of thousands, the ultra-rich think nothing of spending millions on a wedding.

Solomon was one of those. Long before he wrote these words in Ecclesiastes, he had become king, succeeding his father, King David. God came to Solomon in a dream and said: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5, EHV). Solomon admitted that he was young and inexperienced. It was a challenging thing to be made king over God’s people. He concluded his answer to God by saying: “Give to your servant a perceptive heart to judge your people, to distinguish between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:9, EHV). Solomon asked for wisdom to carry out his vocation as King of Israel. God said: “Yes, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you before you, nor will anyone like you rise up after you. 13In addition, I will give you what you have not asked for: such riches and honor that there will not be anyone like you among the other kings throughout all your days” (1 Kings 3:12-13, EHV).

So it was that Solomon became one of those ultra-rich. Far beyond wondering where his next meal was coming from, Solomon could have anything he wanted that was available in his time. He lived the good life. He built houses and cities. He built a fortune that was unheard of. He imported exotic animals and goods from far-off countries. He had many wives and concubines.

It’s people like Solomon who can leave a lasting legacy, right? The ultra-rich. Around the Grand Rapids area you can see hospitals and stadiums plastered with the names of the rich families who donated to make those things happen. Names from the past are still remembered, long after most remember their original professions or work. John Harvard and Elihu Yale established universities. Names like Carnegie and Rockefeller live on because of the philanthropical foundations they established. Many wealthy people continue to establish foundations to continue a legacy that will bear their name long after they are gone.

“When goods increase, so do those who eat them” (Ecclesiastes 5:11, EHV). Solomon found that when someone has lots of stuff, people come out of the woodwork looking for a piece. Athletes and lottery winners learn this quickly. Let a few people know you won the $1.8 billion lottery a few weeks ago, and all kinds of people you barely knew will show up, looking for you to be the one to give to their pet project. Sign that multi-million dollar deal as an athlete and lots of people are willing to roll with you, as long as you pick up the tab.

II.

“Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, EHV). Greed is not a problem confined to the ultra-rich. A person who wants to have “just a little more” can have a heart filled with greed.

“The worker’s sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person’s abundant possessions allow him no sleep. 13I have seen a sickening evil under the sun—wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm, 14or wealth that is lost in a bad investment” (Ecclesiastes 5:12-14, EHV). Living paycheck to paycheck certainly comes with its own set of stresses, but so does accumulating wealth. The wealthy lose sleep over wealth, constantly watching their investment portfolio. Perhaps someone who came out of the woodwork when they accumulated wealth convinces them of the investment opportunity of a lifetime, and most, or all, of it is lost in an instant. It is a sickening evil; clinging to wealth can become such an all-consuming passion that it can affect your health, says Solomon.

In today’s Second Reading Paul says it goes even farther than that. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils. By striving for money, some have wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.” (1 Timothy 6:10, EHV). Focusing your time and attention on money can easily rob a person of faith. The numbers in your bank account become the entire focus of your life. Or, perhaps, the things you can buy with that wealth, or the experiences you can have with that wealth, become more important than God. Many people slip away from God. It doesn’t start that way, at first. They just miss church a few times because this or that event is going on. But pretty soon it becomes easier and easier to do that other thing. Listening to God becomes less and less of a priority. They wander from the faith to pursue other things. They pierce themselves with many pains. Much of the suffering in this life that is endured by lovers of money is self-inflicted.

Their legacy becomes the things they buy and the experiences they have. “The one with the most toys wins.” So goes the saying. Paul said in today’s Second Reading: “We brought nothing into the world, and we certainly cannot take anything out” (1 Timothy 6:7, EHV). He was alluding to Solomon’s words: “As he came out from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came. From his hard work he can pick up nothing that he can carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15, EHV). Death is the great equalizer. A person can commission a mausoleum or a pyramid or a huge monument for a headstone, but none of them conceal the fact that no one can carry any of the things one works so hard for beyond this life. The rich individual and the pauper both go into eternity the way they came into the world—with nothing.

“This too is vanishing vapor” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, EHV). A legacy of things really isn’t meaningful in the end. Your name might be remembered, for good or ill, depending on what you have done with your life. But it’s all vanishing vapor. Monuments crumble and fall. Buildings are destroyed. The foundation created by the ultra-rich to carry on their legacy gets changed by the heirs; everything gets rewritten when the founder is no longer there to give the chosen direction.

III.

So how can you have a real legacy?

In the last three verses of this reading, the last three verses of the chapter, God is the focus. Real legacy comes from having peace with God.

How does one get peace with God? Too many think it is earned. Two weeks ago, Moses reminded the people that it was God himself who purified people’s hearts (Deuteronomy 30:6). Last week, Hosea told us the people would find spiritual relief “afterward,” after God delivered it to them by sending Jesus to be their Savior (Hosea 3:5, EHV).

Peace with God, in other words, comes because your sins have been paid for by the Lord Jesus. That includes your sins of looking to your things as your legacy; the sins of greedy desires for more than God has blessed you with; the sins of hoarding your wealth; the sins of worrying about whether you have enough wealth. Those sins are all forgiven by Jesus’ blood shed for you and all people on the cross.

Your personal peace with God means you can leave the most important lasting legacy: the legacy of being a Christian. When people give you that hashtag, it has eternal implications. Your most important possession has been, is, and will be for all eternity, your relationship with Jesus. Your legacy is #Christian. You reinforce #Christian when you show by example how important it is to hear God’s Word again and again; how important it is to be a baptized and confirmed child of God, how important it is to be strengthened again and again by the tangible preaching of the gospel: receiving Jesus’ body and blood, given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.

“So then, here is what I have seen to be good... 19this is a gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, EHV). God is good. God’s gifts are good. The greatest gift God gives—salvation—is better than any other gift. It gives you the peace with God that is your real legacy as a #Christian. That’s what enables you to see everything you are and everything you have as gifts from God.

IV.

Now you also enjoy the legacy of God’s other gifts to you.

“So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person’s hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward” (Ecclesiastes 5:18, EHV). Look for the good in all your hard work. You don’t have to be a pastor or a Christian school teacher to find value in your work. Paul says: “Everything you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17, EHV). Your vocation, whatever it is, do it to the glory of God. In everything in life, give thanks to God for the salvation he has given you—and everything else you have, besides.

“Likewise, for everyone to whom God has given wealth and riches, if God has also given him ability to eat from it, to enjoy his reward, and to rejoice in the results of his hard work—this is a gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19, EHV). Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Remember, of course, that the ability to work and produce wealth are also gifts from God. In thanksgiving, remembering the Giver above the gifts, enjoy what you have been given.

“The man seldom reflects on the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy in his heart” (Ecclesiastes 5:20, EHV). God has even blessed you with busy-ness. Look back and reflect on the days of your life—the experiences you have had, and the people you konw. These things, too, are God-given to bring joy to your heart.

One could probably go back to some of Solomon’s first words in our text: “This too is vanishing vapor” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, EHV). Even enjoying your hard work and the rewards it brings is not your real legacy.

Your legacy is the life you lived for the Lord. Remember to return a portion of the gifts with which he has blessed you to him for the work of his Kingdom. Even those offerings are a gift from God; he gives you the privilege of participating in the work of spreading the gospel. Give generously during your lifetime to his work, both in your financial offerings and using your talents in the mission of the church. Support the work of God’s Kingdom past your years on earth by leaving a legacy to the Lord in your will. The WELS Christian Giving Counselor can help with this.

Your legacy is that of having lived as a Christian. When the time comes, your lasting legacy will be that others can say of you: “He/she died as a Christian.” Amen.