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