Wealth

​Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! 

People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep. 

There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. 

And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry. 

Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past. – Ecclesiastes 5:10‭-‬20 NLT

The premise — “what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! ”

Is followed by supporting arguments:

1) Hard work pays greater unseen riches than physical wealth can offer. (Verse 12)

2) Hoarding riches places one’s security in a failing, untrustworthy, and worldly financial system instead of in our faithful, true, righteous and just God. (Verses 13-15)

3) Many people spend their lives working hard to accumulate wealth and “financial security” instead of working to make a difference in this world and leave it a better place for future generations. (Verses 16-17)

4) It is good to accept our lot in life and enjoy it. (Verses 18-20)

LORD, open our eyes to the truth of the Word of God! Open our eyes to where true riches are found. Amen.