Ecclesiastes 5:10-12) For the Love of Money, Part 1

¹⁰ Whoever loves money never has enough;
    whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
    This too is meaningless.

¹¹ As goods increase,
    so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
    except to feast their eyes on them?

¹² The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
    whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
    permits them no sleep.


I admit, I have had many moments where I've thought things like, "Well, if we could just become wealthy somehow, all our problems would go away."  It is so easy to get caught in the trap that money fixes everything!  We think if we become "wealthy" that we'd have a much better life.  And wealth does serve one great purpose: you would have enough that you don't have to worry about your needs (your real needs, I mean, not our perceived "needs").  But that it truly the only problem it fixes.  In fact, as I have seen in the lives of some of my loved ones, wealth can cause the same amount of problems, just different ones!

Here in Verse 10, we see that loving money puts us in a Catch-22 -- it's wanting something that will never satisfy.  We will never have enough.  I mean, really, have you ever heard someone tell his boss that he doesn't need another raise ever again because he already has plenty?  Or a woman say that she makes $100,000 now and doesn't want to make a cent more?  No!  Even when we reach a financial goal, the satisfaction only remains for a short time...then we want more.  Once you have tasted what its like to have some money, you will want more.  So, don't be fooled by it.  It will not satisfy.

Verse 11 tells us that as we make more money and have more stuff, so increases the people who want to be "a part" of our lives.  Haven't you heard of wealthy people who went bankrupt and also lost all their "friends" because their friends were just around for what they could get?  The great news is that when you don't have lots of money, if someone likes you, it just for who you really are.  Now THAT is something to be thankful for!

And finally, sleep.  If you think you're having a hard time sleeping because of your lack of money, Solomon is telling us here that sleep is even worse for those who have it!  Wealth becomes a major distraction -- constantly checking stocks, moving around investments, always watching your back to make sure no one steals from you, making sure you're constantly making more money so they won't come and take away your playthings.  Do you think this guy can just sit and enjoy a glass of lemonade on the back porch?  I doubt it. Wealth does not generally give rest.

I wonder, have we ever considered that one of God's greatest mercies to us is when He restricts the amount of money we make? 



Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (Ears Open, Mouth Shut)

5 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. ² Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.

³ Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
⁴ When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. ⁵ It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. ⁶ Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
⁷ Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.


<sup>I remember the day well.  I could smell the meaty sauce she was stirring as I entered through the garage, and before I even saw her face, I was eagerly telling Mom what I wanted, and therefore, what I was going to do that evening with my friends.  I concluded my monologue with, "So I need twenty bucks."


She reminded me that I had not even greeted her yet, to which I'm sure I said a very non-heartfelt "hi," and then she let me know that we would discuss it.  In my teenage narcissism, I began to raise my voice in annoyance and pride to let Mom know that I sure was going to do what I wanted to do.  She quickly and firmly reminded me to "Watch your tone of voice, Molly."  As I should have.

She is the one in control of me.  At that time, she was in control of my schedule.  She has much more authority than I did as a mere sixteen-year-old.  And I should never have approached her that way, especially the part about not even saying "hi" first before I so confidently rattled off what I wanted and what I was going to do.

And that's what Solomon is saying here.  When you approach God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.  Don't go in listing all the things you want and telling Him all the things you are going to do.  Instead, listen.  And learn.  He is holy, invisible, exalted, and supreme.  I am just a person among billions that live on this earth and can't even get my cat to obey me.

And then we when we do finally speak, we need to watch our words.  We shouldn't make promises to Him that we can't keep, and we shouldn't come at Him pointing our fingers.  He is God.  I am not.

Does that mean that we can't be honest with Him?  Absolutely not.  When my mom died, I can remember a conversation I had with God...well, more like at God, complete with mental finger-pointing.  And yes, He can absolutely handle it, and I think He wants to hear how we're really feeling.  But if I find that whenever I approach Him, I do so with a completed agenda and never allow time to listen for His voice and ask Him if I'm anywhere near where He wants me, then I probably need to, as they say, "check myself before I wreck myself." 

Sometimes I still act like that teenager.  Sometimes I come to the One who loves me and demand what I want without ever considering that He might have a different plan for me.  I spout off all that I am going to do, and consequently, what I need Him to do for me to ensure that plan, without taking into account that He is more concerned about my eternal well-being</sup> than my spur-of-the-moment plans for some fun.

<sup>As I approach God this week,  I want to listen more and talk less. 




Molly Monroe</sup> 

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 (Lonely)

⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

 My neighbors moved here from Ohio a few years ago to take a job.  They brought their two kids, three dogs, two cats, and a handful of snakes with them (I haven't ever asked the actual number of pet snakes next door, because I really don't want to know the truth).

They are nice people, always saying hi when we're getting our mail or passing on the road.  But I've noticed that they don't have many visitors -- I'd expect that their friends and family are still in Ohio.

This past fall, the husband's brother (and best friend) died in a car accident suddenly.  I tried to offer to bring food or help take care of their pets while they went back to Ohio (and if they'd said yes, I would be hiring someone to feed those snakes).  But they said "No, thank you. We are fine."  

Then winter came, and in Indiana you don't see your neighbors much because everyone stays indoors until about mid-March.  So, yesterday, I just saw the wife for the first time really since late November.  And she did not look well.   Even through her car window, I could tell that her eyes were tired, her skin looked older, and she'd let her gray hair grow in rather than get her usual color.

My heart ached for them.  They are grieving still, and they are pretty much all alone except for the four of them.  I was wondering at that moment if maybe they were wishing they hadn't taken this job and that they were back in Ohio...I don't know.

⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

 

Here's a guy who is working so hard, but he doesn't have anyone to share his life with because he doesn't have any relationships.  I'm sure at his work place people might say hi to him, they might ask him how his weekend was or if he watched the game last night...but that's as deep as it goes.  He's like an Ebenezer Scrooge, with or without the grumpiness.  He has no one, but there is still no end to his labor.  He has sacrificed relationship for riches and it's not what he thought it would be.

How many people have shortchanged time with their families for an extra $10,000 a year?  Or how many young consultants don't have relationships because they travel all the time and their only "friend" is a hotel TV?

Ty Cobb, the great Detroit Tiger whose harshness constantly pushed people away, said, "If I had to do it over, I'd make more friends."  Money and fame weren't enough.

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Solomon reminds us that life is met better with two people rather than just one.  If one's having a hard day, the other will encourage him.  Working together, two will accomplish more than just one.  And two can keep warm together, which we could say has some deep metaphorical meaning, but I'm telling you: nothing gets my cold feet warmer at bedtime than sticking them between Josh's calves (sorry, Josh).  Life is just better with two -- and it doesn't have to mean a spouse.  Life is buddies.  Life is pals.  Life is friends and relationships.  Life = PEOPLE.

Even though I enjoy my husband tremendously, there are times that I just need "my girls."  We'll go for a walk and talk about the college days, or we'll stroll through a store and discuss how the chevron pattern really would go better in my bedroom than the paisley -- you know, very important things.

Solomon is asking us, "What's the use of accumulating money if you have no one with whom to spend it?"  Really, that's a great question!

To quote the author of a book I'm reading: "Life is not just making a living or performing a function. It is experiencing the delight of people. Cultivate and protect your friends.  Develop friendships with willful acts of enjoyment. Protect your friends by constant acts of courtesy and sensitivity. Make sure you stay in touch with people [especially the ones you want to keep].

When it's all said and done, the only thin you'll have with you at your funeral will be your friends and family.  The people who made money from your work won't be there, but your friends will.  And they will be crying" [brackets mine].

Are you lonely today?  Don't be lonely by design.  Choose to be a loving, giving, kind, servant-hearted friend (notice those were all about the other person, not about what you can get).  Please don't wait for people to reach out to you, because they may not.  If you desire true friends, tell God about it.  Then, go invite someone to go out for a cup of coffee and be prepared to ASK a lot of questions (no one wants to be a friend to someone who does all the talking), and be prepared to share a little bit of yourself with that person -- be real.

It takes time to develop friendships that are pure and deep.  But it's worth it.  Solomon and I agree that when it comes to true friends, there is absolutely nothing more valuable.

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiates 4:4-7 (Some)

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ Fools fold their hands
    and ruin themselves.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil
    and chasing after the wind

I had the opportunity to visit a local church other than my home church last week while I was nannying (also the reason I haven't posted for a little while).  The pastor was kicking off a sermon series on "Surviving Success."  He said how churches so often talk about all the bad things going on in our lives and how to live for Christ in the midst of those difficult things (which is an important topic for sure), but how we rarely talk about what to do when we are successful!  He reminded us that often we do better when we are failing yet relying on God than when we're succeeding and thinking that we can do this thing without Him.

For much of his kick-off sermon for this topic, he talked about work.  As we will have seen in Ecclesiastes.  Remember Chapter 2?...

²⁴ A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God...

Again in Chapter 3...

¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.
And again: ²² So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot.

Finding satisfaction in our work is part of the plan.  Work is part of His plan for us. 

But it's not the whole plan.  Work was still never meant to become our "ultimate".  To keep our work in its proper place, we must remember that we are doing it for God.  Our jobs, our volunteer activities, our chores at home...in all work we do, we honor Him.

Solomon reminds us in today's verses that most men are motivated to succeed because of their envy.  

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

We want to compete with our friends and neighbors and the stranger who lives in the huge house down the street.  But if that's the reason we do our work, the only product we will produce is more envy.  There will be no satisfaction.  It will be meaningless.  Because even if you are able to buy that big house someday, you will quickly find that the big house doesn't fill the hole you thought it would.  Yes, I'd say that's meaningless!

Then he reminds us about the other side of the coin.  The man who looks at all these people running around and working so hard and striving for achievement and success, and he says, Look at all of them running around like that!  What a waste of energy.  They probably won't even get what they want anyway.  Why would I ever do that?  I'd much prefer to sit on my couch and watch T.V.  To this man, Solomon says,

⁵ Fools fold their hands
    and ruin themselves.

Let us not swing the pendulum too far, my friends!  We don't want to just sit back and "wait" for something to come to us either.  This hits home for me -- I'm not one who is a natural go-getter.  I mean, I made my sister sell my girl scout cookies for me for heaven's sake!

So I'm not a sales woman.  That's okay!  There is other work I can do -- work that I do enjoy much more than selling things.  But I'm still learning that I can't just sit back and wait for things.  That's not being selfish -- that's what we're called to do!  Or we will come to ruin.  Being a "sluggard" is a slow suicide.

So just to make sure the "All or Nothing" types heard him, Solomon says it one more time:

⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil
    and chasing after the wind

One handful.  Some.  Some will bring you peace.  We don't need all, and we aren't meant to be okay with nothing if we're able to work. 

Knowing I put in a good day's work is a wonderful feeling.  Being completely wiped out at the end of the day because I tried to do it ALL -- that leads to more stress.

So I'm going to do what I can to enjoy my work.  I'll work hard.  But I do not want to try to do it all, and I don't need to have it all.  I just want some.  And what I do and what I may earn, I want to remember the Source.  He is my motivation.  He is the reason I do what I do.



Molly Monroe