The Vanity of Wealth

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

Do You Have Enough?

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 labourer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.[1]

A

lmost every Canadian has heard at some time that “money is the root of all evil.” That quotation must assuredly appear in the widely read, though little published, Book of Common Misquotes. Despite our general confidence that money is evil, and despite certainty that this is taught in the Bible, nowhere does this teaching actually appear. The Apostle Paul does in fact warn that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil [1 Timothy 6:10]. However, it is the love of money, and not the money itself, that creates conditions for evil. Money is a tool, an instrument that can either destroy the individual, or a means to build and strengthen others.

If wealth can bring happiness, then this must be the happiest generation since the creation of the world. We have more disposable income, more credit (and more debt), and more possessions (together with more worries) than any generation preceding us. I daresay that if you should interview any fifteen billionaires, you will find that thirteen of them are not happy. And if you hit all of them on the right day, you will find that none are satisfied. The obvious conclusion is that wealth cannot bring satisfaction.

Money can buy us tons of comfort, but not an ounce of contentment. The one who has a love affair with money is addicted to it and will never ever have enough. Chuck Swindoll writes perceptively, “Profits, dividends, investments, interest benefits, and capital gains only whet the appetite for more—like the pathetic person who stands at the slot machine and drops in one quarter after another. Even when the bells ring and the whistles scream and the gambler ‘strikes it rich’ as four hundred dollars’ worth of quarters plunge into his lap, that’s never enough. Those coins wind up back in the machine to go through another time. Never enough. When we’re financially strapped, we think other wise. We tell ourselves that we’ll be content, if only… But we’re not.”[2]

Contentment arises out of self-confidence and wholesome relationships. Contentment is the result of satisfying and fulfilling participation in the life of others. Either this is true, or contentment results only because of gross ignorance, much as the “Gammas,” the “Deltas” and the “Epsilons” described in Huxley’s “Brave New World” were content because they were ignorant of history, emptied of ambition through brainwashing, and because insipient depression was addressed chemically.

In our heart, each of us knows that we are not satisfied by the acquisition of “things,” or even through accumulation of money. Nevertheless, we are driven by external forces and by internal desires to accumulate and grab all we can. We assure ourselves that the next big purchase will make us happy, that the new toy we are getting will be enough, and we know that we are deceiving ourselves.

The dark words of Solomon confront us and compel us to ask ourselves if what we have is enough. Or is there something missing? Really, what is at issue is how we use what we have received. That is the message today. Join me in exploration of Solomon’s disturbing words found in Ecclesiastes 5:10-12.

The False Promise of Wealth — He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. The Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon. Her purpose was to witness his wisdom and to see his wealth with her own eyes. Her assessment of this man was that the half was not told me [1 Kings 10:2]. The gold that came into Solomon’s Kingdom in a single year was twenty-five tons [see 1 Kings 10:14 hcsb]! The nation enjoyed unprecedented wealth, to the point of being described as ostentatious. The writer comments that the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone [1 Kings 10:27]. Twenty-five tons of gold, when gold is valued at $560 USD per ounce, amounts to $448,000,000 USD. Allowing for inflation-adjusted value of a given medium of exchange, the income to the Kingdom Solomon ruled undoubtedly equalled, or more likely greatly excelled, the annual income received by the US Treasury!

Solomon knew something about money. He knew the consequences of having unimaginable wealth. His conclusion? Dissatisfaction. Disappointment. Disillusionment. Notice that Solomon does not write of someone who possesses money, he speaks of an individual who loves money. At this point, he is not speaking of those who have money, but of those who want money.

Joey Coyle could no doubt echo Solomon’s revelation about the dark side of wealth, if he were still alive.[3] For those who live in and around Philadelphia, Joey Coyle became a local legend—a dockworker who was embraced by a city of blue-collar toilers. Overnight, Coyle went from a nobody to a folk hero by not doing the right thing, an action (or lack thereof) of which everyone seemed to approve. After all, what would you do if driving down the road one day you came upon an unlocked metal box containing two unattended sacks of money containing 1.2 million dollars?

Ramon Menendez directed the movie “Money for Nothing” based on the story of Joey Coyle and two friends who were driving behind an armoured truck on February 26, 1981, when the back doors swung open and the sacks of money fell out. The money represented part of a night’s take for a casino. Coyle retrieved the unmarked bills and started spending them freely, handing out $100 bills all over his neighbourhood.

The loss of that kind of money caught the attention of the FBI, and the ensuing federal investigation into the disappearance of the money caused him to panic, and authorities picked him a few days later as he was trying to board a flight to Mexico. His boots were stuffed with $105,000 cash. In February of 1992, a jury found him innocent of theft by reason of temporary insanity.

What was it like for the then unemployed longshoreman to be unbelievably rich for a few days? “I wouldn’t put nobody in my situation,” Coyle said. “Everybody’s thinking: ‘That must have been great.’ Little do they know it was nothing but agony and despair. I musta’ [sic] aged in those six days twenty years. You have no idea what money does to you—especially that kind of money.”

There is a tragic, unfilmed epilogue to the Joey Coyle story that those outside of Philadelphia may be unaware of. Even as he claimed to be eagerly awaiting the release of this movie, Joey Coyle committed suicide.[4] Maybe money doesn’t actually satisfy, and certainly, money obtained illicitly cannot long satisfy.

How much is enough? I recall an occasion after my brother accompanied his class on a field trip to the Woolaroc Museum near Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Upon returning home, he told me he had seen a cheque, written by Mr. Frank Phillips, the founder of Phillips Petroleum Company, and that cheque was made out for $1,000,000. It seemed like a tall tale to me as young boy over fifty years ago.

Later, during my days of membership in the First Baptist Church of Dallas, I was informed that at least sixty millionaires held membership in that congregation. I knew some of those “millionaires,” and I can testify that they were for the most part godly men and women who endeavoured to honour God. Many were common people with rather pedestrian tastes. The thought of such wealth nevertheless beggared my imagination.

Today, millionaires are not all that rare. If an individual begins early to save a portion of each paycheque and invests regularly while applying sound investment principles, it should not be at all surprising for that individual to have a million dollars at or before retirement. However, what a million dollars can buy today compared to what a million dollars could buy fifty years ago is another story.

We think that if we only have more money, it will satisfy. But when we obtain what we so desperately want, it really doesn’t satisfy. Why is that? Why is what we have never quite enough? Money is never quite enough because life is changing. Inflation eats away at what we have, so that the goal of “enough” is always shifting. I recently went to a movie with Lynda and Rochelle. The cost of a matinee ticket was six dollars. I’m not that old, but the cost of a movie matinee when I was a boy was ten cents. At the movie we recently attended, popcorn and a soft drink, or bottled water, was $8.00. With the remainder of my quarter as a boy, I would have enjoyed a candy bar and a Coke® and had a nickel left, after paying admittance. I realise that it has been fifty years, but that is a significant increase in costs for entertainment.

Inflation eats away at what we think is enough, but really, the discontent is in our hearts. Dissatisfaction comes from our search for a “cheap” fix. There are several verses of Scripture that challenge us to reflect on the way in which our desires drive us to greed. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions [James 4:1-3].

Note that word passions. It is variously translated into English as cravings (hcsb), desires (niv), or as lusts (kjv). The Greek term James used is hedoné; we get our word “hedonism” from this Greek term. The word means pleasures, and is so translated in some English Bibles. Though the word can have a sexual connotation, it is far broader than that. Whatever creates within my life such intense pleasure that it shoves to the background every consideration of whether an action is pleasing to God or whether an action is right, is a “pleasure” that causes quarrels and that also causes fights among us.

As Christians, we are to be content with what we have. This means that we are to battle against our desires—a battle that is not often won because we are unaware that we are even engaged in conflict. The Apostle taught in his first letter to a young preacher, there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction [1 Timothy 6:6-9].

This instruction grew out of the Apostle’s own demanding experiences. In the letter to the Philippians, the Apostle confessed, I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need [Philippians 4:10b - 12]. Then, Paul penned those words that are memorised by so many Christians, and practised by so very few: I can do all things through him who strengthens me [Philippians 4:13].

For too many of us, money promises more than it can deliver. Money promises what we do not have—respect, power, deference. However, the respect that comes from money lasts only so long as we have the money. When the money is gone, we are nothing again. It is not the wealthy man that is admired, but his money and what people imagine it represents. Do you really think that the puerile pronouncements on American governmental policy by Harry Belafonte or Barbara Streisand really count for anything? Do you actually imagine that Michael Moore knows what he is talking about when he attempts to insinuate himself into Canadian political affairs? No one would listen for a moment to such people if they had no money. They are just lightweight hacks with second-rate ideas. They have notoriety, and their notoriety will soon pass off the scene.

Jimmy Johnson became the head coach of the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in 1989. Johnson earned over $1 million a year for his efforts and was known for his habit or carrying (and handling out) $100 bills like they were “ones.” He achieved recognition for his accomplishments, but his focus on money—and winning—cost him something. When he took over the Cowboys, Johnson divorced his wife of twenty-six years, explaining that he needed to focus completely on his job. His $50,000 speaking fee dissuaded any who might have desired his presence at a social function, and his drive to be the best almost completely alienated him from other meaningful relationships.

“I don’t want to make him sound shallow,” said son Brent, “but Dad has his work and then his private life. He doesn’t have a whole lot of interests. He’s got football, my brother Chad and me, and his girlfriend, Rhonda. He’s got a few friends—very few—and he’s got his fish. I like the fish, but not as much as he does. I guess, when you think about it, the fish are easy. They’re not demanding—not like a dog, say, that might need his time or that might want to be petted every now and then.”[5]

Jimmy Johnson had money and could scatter it as he wished. However, Jimmy Johnson lost the intimacy of a devoted wife, one who would share the hard times as well as the good times. Jimmy Johnson sacrificed his sons, losing the joy of sharing in the life of his children. Jimmy Johnson jettisoned his friends, surrendering the laughter that comes so easily during times shared with close friends. Jimmy Johnson even surrendered the joy of petting a dog. His life could be described by scads of money—but empty.

There is one thing more that marked Jimmy Johnson as impoverished and foolish. He did not have the joy of serving Christ. He did not have the joy of worshipping the Son of God together with a congregation that rejoices in the love of God. Many professed Christians are in a situation that is every bit as bad. They are chasing after the wind, thinking that if they spend a little more time at work, save just a few more dollars, make just a few more investments, they will have it made. This also is vanity.

The Burden of Wealth — When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Maybe those among us who are chasing the wind haven’t thought through the costs of gathering wealth. Wealth brings responsibilities that were likely unanticipated, in addition to creating disillusionment. Certainly, wealth seems never truly satisfying for those who acquire it, especially when they arise from out of a life marked by borderline poverty.

One need but think of a young man who skates well and handles a stick well. He suddenly emerges from a small town on the Prairies—everyone says he is big and fast. He can intimidate other hockey players and his weight and speed are used to the advantage of whatever team is willing to bid the highest price for those commodities. He becomes an “overnight success,” and the next time you see him he is riding in a stretch limo with four bodyguards and supporting a house full of people who hardly knew his name a few weeks earlier. Everything is great, until he tears a knee ligament.

You think of a young woman who grew up dirt poor, helping her mom by caring for her siblings and working at odd jobs to make ends meet; but can that kid sing! One day, she is “discovered,” and she is on the way to “instant success.” Soon, she has more people living off her income than she even knows by name. These are folks who eat the increase. More money, more people. More people, more worry. More worry, less sleep.

When an individual’s possessions increase, it seems there is a corresponding increase in the number of parasites who live off that person—management consultants, tax advisers, accountants, lawyers, household employees, governmental bureaucrats, and sponging relatives. Everyone wants to be the friend of the well to do, but the impoverished retire to life beneath the bridge all alone.

Solomon pegs the way the rich are used in Proverbs 19:4, 6, 7.

Wealth brings many new friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

…

Many seek the favour of a generous man,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

All a poor man’s brothers hate him;

how much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them.

I don’t mean to suggest that poverty is a blessing, but neither am I convinced that wealth is the unmitigated blessing we seem to imagine. Few of us have thought through the responsibilities that come with wealth. Few of us handle the responsibility of what we now possess, and we are utterly unprepared to have a fortune dropped into our lap. Perhaps we should give some thought to the responsibilities our present wealth imposes.

Christians are responsible to handle money honestly. The word teaches us to wisely set aside a sum to care for our family, to prepare for hard times that come into each life. In fact, men are responsible to love their wives as they love their own bodies, which would imply providing security. This is not permission to hoard wealth or to become miserly, but it is a caution to be balanced in handling what God entrusts to you.

Too seldom do we preachers speak of the responsibility that we bear as Christians to honour God with our income. It is God who blesses us and it God who gives us the ability to gather wealth. Therefore, it is right and proper that we remember Him in our worship. Christians should be generous in worshipping God through giving as He directs. This does include providing support for that church in which He has placed you, and it does mean showing generosity toward those in need.

If the hobby shop or the hockey rink blesses you, by all means give them your money. But if your church has ministered to you in your time of need and if you receive spiritual nourishment there, then you should honour God through worshipping with your goods there. Too often, we use our money as a weapon to punish the church through strategically redirecting our giving, or we engage in a futile effort to coerce God to do our will. If the government is needy, then by all means show generosity toward your MP or MLA. They will gladly spend your money, and it will always be for your benefit.

It goes without saying, however, that when hard times come—and hard times do come into every life—then you should plan to call your MP or your MLA to come visit you in hospital or to sit with you as you grieve. Perhaps your favourite hockey player will comfort you when in your day of sorrow, or your hobby may give you comfort in the storm. What blesses you indeed merits your support, but you must be consistent.

I recall a man who sent word from his hospital bed that he wished me to visit him. I did not know the gentleman at that time except by name, but I was happy to visit with him. However, upon entering the hospital room he began immediately to tell me that he watched a certain televangelist and sent him money each month. Turning on my heel, I said, “Call him. If he deserves your support in good times, undoubtedly he will support you in the hard times.”

Responsible generosity does not mean that we are to be gullible, nor does it mean that we are to see our giving as a means to personal enrichment. Giving is not an exchange between God and us. Giving is one way for the child of God to worship. It is difficult to imagine worshipping the Lord Christ without giving since we have richly received. This is Paul’s meaning when he reminds the Corinthians of God’s grace. The Apostle speaks of the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, referring to their generosity [2 Corinthians 8:1]. They generously received grace and they generously gave of their wealth. Paul then reminds his readers of the grace of Christ. 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 [2 Corinthians 8:9].

It is this goodness of God, this grace of Christ the Lord, that has enriched us, and that also imposes on each Christians responsibility to see all that is held is a stewardship. We are administrators of the grace of God, and even our income—to say nothing of the investments we hold and the houses in which we live and the vehicles we drive—are all alike evidence of the grace of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, we are responsible to use what we have to the praise of His glory. How much more is this true for us if we are entrusted with wealth and the goods of this dying world?

If you do not show generosity when you have little, you will not be generous when you have much. Perhaps that is why so few of us have been entrusted with wealth. Jesus said, everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more [Luke 12:48]. Again, Jesus challenges all who have received grace when He said, to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away [Matthew 13:12].

The only way I can truly enjoy what I have, then, is through wisely administering my wealth. This imposes on each of us responsibility to glorify God with our means, and thus we are responsible to worship Him through wisely using our wealth for His glory through advancing His Kingdom work and through caring for the needy. Begin now to glorify the Son of God through balanced use of what He has entrusted to your oversight.

The Benefits of Contentment — Sweet is the sleep of a labourer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. My father was a blacksmith. There were years that his gross income was less than $2500. Even in 1960, that did not exactly represent an embarrassment of riches. However, I don’t recall my dad ever suffering from insomnia nor being unable to enjoy a meal because of worry.

It was hard work sharpening ploughshares, filling sickles and shoeing horses throughout the spring and summer months; and in the fall he would fill the hours repairing farm wagons or mending broken cattle chutes. At the end of each day, he walked home to enjoy a simple meal with his two boys. After supper, we would read the Bible, and perhaps he would share some memorable poem from his favourite books of poetry. Then he would fall into restful sleep by ten p.m. I don’t recall my dad ever needing medication in order to sleep or even needing a glass of hot milk to fall asleep.

There wasn’t much anxiety connected with his lifestyle; there weren’t many folks to hassle him. He flipped the mask down and welded the broken metal, or he swung a hammer as he shaped hot steel—eight to ten hours a day, six days a week. High-pressure decisions didn’t keep him awake. That is not the way it is with too many of us, however. As the wise king said of the wealthy, the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Their lack of sleep is not because there is not enough food. The rich man has more than enough food. What is missing is peace of mind. He is forever preoccupied with pursuits that have financial entanglements—problems that won’t go away when he leaves the office way after dark or when he tries to drown those problems at a bar.

“It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.”[6] Those who have are pressured to get more, and the more they have, the faster they run. At one time, Ted Turner was one of the world’s wealthiest men. He amassed a personal fortune estimated to exceed $3 billion in the mid-80s. How did he arrive at this wealth?

Eighteen-year-old Turner enrolled in Brown University in the 1950s and majored in the classics, to his businessman father’s disgust. While he did well academically, he was eventually expelled and went to work for his father’s business, Turner Advertising in Charleston, South Carolina. He married for the first time in 1960 and divorced his wife while she was pregnant with their first child. Two years later, he married again. By this time, his parents had separated and, in 1963, his father (a millionaire himself by age fifty) committed suicide and left the family business to his son.

Strategically building his empire one block at a time, Turner never looked back—or so it seemed. But in 1982, in front of thousands of Georgetown University students, the man who appeared bullet-proof exposed a deep, deep heartbreak: “In the middle of a rip roaring speech about entrepreneurship, Ted pulled out a well-worn copy of Success magazine, the journal his father used to read to him in the car on those long trips to inspect their billboards. His own face was on the cover. His booming voice trickled to a whisper, and he stared up into the rafters: ‘Is this enough?’ he asked in a hoarse voice. ‘Is this enough for you, Dad?’”[7]

Perhaps “fire in the belly” can create a businessman that is admired by our world, but it can create a life that is unbalanced. Perhaps being driven by the love of money, mistaking deference toward wealth for respect and imagining that wealth equates to success, is admired by others, but the cost may be greater than one could ever imagine. However, peace of mind, satisfaction with a life than actually makes the world a better place, contentment with one’s lot in life—these mark a life that is truly valuable.

There is among the Proverbs a fascinating insight that is not widely believed. Agur, son of Jakeh, writes this gem of neglected wisdom.

Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is needful for me,

lest I be full and deny you

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

and profane the name of my God.

[Proverbs 30:7-9]

Give me neither poverty nor riches is not a sentiment often heard in our ranks today. “Let me be balanced as I seek to provide and as I determine how to use my wealth,” might be another way of saying the same thing. We want just a little bit more, and we watch the market reports, catch every tidbit of news concerning world oil prices, and worry about the latest government spending spree—all in hopes that we will have a little more to spend on ourselves. However, in all our planning, have we remembered God?

As a boy, I sometimes heard a song popularised in country and western circles. Later, that song was popularised by several contemporary singers and even by a couple of groups. Perhaps you recall that old song that stresses the value of a satisfied mind.

How many times have you heard someone say

If I had his money, I’d do things my way.

But little they know that it’s so hard to find

One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.

Money can’t buy back your youth when you’re old,

Or a friend when you’re lonely, or a heart that’s grown cold.

The wealthiest person is a pauper at times,

Compared to the man with a satisfied mind.[8]

This, then, should be the goal of all mankind—contentment, a satisfied mind. Christians are taught, keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, and the reason for this command is because the Lord our God has promised all who are His beloved children, I will never leave you nor forsake you [Hebrews 13:5]. Isn’t it true that our restless search for “more” demonstrates that we have not known Him who is sufficient for all our needs? Isn’t it true our sufficiency is from God [2 Corinthians 3:5]? Christ has comforted each Christian, each one who is loved by Him and called by His grace when He spoke to the Apostle, My grace is sufficient for you [2 Corinthians 12:9].

Are you content with what you have? Are you honouring God through a life of contentment? Or, are you “toiling for the wind?” Contentment is the promise of God to those who walk with Him. It is impossible to walk with Him if you have never been born into His family. The message concludes, as each true message of Christ must conclude, with a call for you to examine your heart to determine whether you have received the New Birth. The Word of God calls us to life in Christ, life that is promised to all who are born from above, life that is promised so that we may enjoy His peace—now.

The Word of God informs us that Christ died because of our sin and rose for our justification. Knowing this, we are called to confess Christ as Master of life and believe this Good News of His death because of our sin and His resurrection for our justification. Therefore, we call each individual hearing this message to life in Christ. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved… For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].

Be saved today. Believe this message of life and discover the contentment that God intended you to have. Amen.

----

[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Word, Waco, TX 1985) 163

[3] This illustration is suggested by the account provided by Ed Young, Been There. Done That. Now What? (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN 1994) 96-97

[4] James Berardinelli, Money for Nothing (a film review), http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/m/money_for.html, accessed January 24, 2006

[5] John Ed Bradley, “Jimmy Johnson Livin’ Large,” Esquire (September, 1993), quoted in Ed Young, op. cit. 97-98

[6] Rollo May, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/rollo_may.html, accessed 4 December 2005

[7] From Patricia Sellers, Ted Turner: Gone With the Wind, FORTUNE, May 12, 2003, http://newsmine.org/archive/cabal-elite/ted-turner-last-billion.txt, accessed 17 January 2006, and Ed Young, op. cit., 98-99