Wayward Wealth
Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9
Do you have any symptoms? Have you experienced any of the signs of the virus? Do you know anyone who has been infected? How has this sickness impacted your life? Do you have… affluenza? Long before Covid-19 infiltrated the American landscape, affluenza was far more pervasive and sinister, blinding people and leading them to ruin. Affluenza may be defined as the unhealthy and unwelcome psychological and social effects of affluence regarded especially as a widespread societal problem: such as feelings of guilt, lack of motivation, and social isolation experienced by wealthy people or extreme materialism and consumerism associated with the pursuit of wealth and success and resulting in a life of chronic dissatisfaction, debt, overwork, stress, and impaired relationships.[1]
Do you have any symptoms of affluenza? A basic lack of empathy? A feeling of entitlement to special treatment because of your financial portfolio? A lack of true inner peace or joy? Possibly spending money on things, you don’t need in order you can feel happy. Looking down on upon others who have less financial security and wealth as you? A desire to accumulate more so others will think well of you? We may have affluenza and appear asymptomatic or you may have an unhealthy relationship with wealth that hasn’t manifested itself in dramatic way yet. Regardless, we all need to check if we have any of the beginning signs of the virus. The Lord Jesus spoke more about the dangers of money and wealth than he did about heaven or hell. How we view and use money is a spiritual barometer. It reveals what is happening in the heart and provides insight into our walk with the Lord.
I hope, with the help of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes, to help us discover if we are showing symptoms of an unhealthy view of wealth and to lead us to find ultimate joy and peace not in the things under the sun, but in one who rules over the sun. Our section of Scripture for this message begins in the middle of Chapter 5 and stretches to almost the end of chapter 6. Western communication is typically linear in that it begins in one point and builds towards the climax of the argument. Solomon, on the other hand, uses a common Hebrew form of communication in arranging this material with a pyramid approach or a chiastic structure. He takes two steps up the pyramid offers the climax or conclusion and then takes two similar steps down off the pyramid. We are going to look at the text with our Western eyes by climbing up the pyramid from both directions so we will look at each step as we work towards the conclusion. Let us climb to the climax by asking ourselves some diagnostic questions to see if we have been infected with affluenza.
Are you Satisfied with Wealth? (5:8-12; 6:7-9)
The first step up the pyramid is to look at those who are not satisfied with wealth. Solomon begins by making an observation of the oppression and injustice on the poor in a society. Ecclesiastes 5:8–12,
[8] If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. [9] But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.
It should not be surprising that those who are in power look out primarily for themselves at the expense of others. They do not show empathy for the poor but exploit them. We have seen this throughout history and throughout different forms of government, from Communism to Capitalism, to Socialism and Anarchy. There was oppression by the tax collectors during the days of the early church in the Roman empire, there was oppression by rich landowners during the Antebellum era of in the American south, there was oppression by Marxist communism at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia, and there is and will be oppression of the poor now and throughout history in all countries throughout the world until the return of Christ. We should not be surprised because we understand the depravity of the human heart. We all struggle with the sickness of self; too often putting our needs before others. If we can see that in our hearts, we should not be surprised when we see it in the hearts of leaders of governments and organizations.
Leaders who are not satisfied with their wealth strive to attain more and more at the expense of those underneath them. Although there are several possible interpretations of “is watched by”, I believe Solomon is showing how officials are not concerned with overseeing justice and limiting corruption but looking out for their peers to keep the status quo. As Christians with a biblical worldview, this should not surprise us because we understand the pervasive effects of the Fall and the sinful, selfish leanings of the human heart. As an aside, with all the issues going on in our world, let me plead with you to approach all of them with a thoroughly biblical worldview, submitting all ideas and philosophy to the Scriptures and in light of the grand metanarrative of the Creation, Fall, Redemption and Re-Creation. Let us stand on and in the truth. Let us continue to ask, “What does the Bible say?”
Solomon observes what is testified throughout Scripture that the one who loves money will not be ultimately satisfied. Ecclesiastes 5:10-12,
[10] He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. [11] When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? [12] Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
And Ecclesiastes 6:7–9,
[7] All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. [8] For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? [9] Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The lover of money is like the one whose appetite is never satisfied. He eats and eats and then is full…for a little while and then he needs to eat and eat again and again. This is the picture of the lover of money. They slave away laboring for more and more but as soon as the barns are full, they want to build bigger barns. Jesus warned about this unhealthy craving for wealth that is reveals that one’s soul is not right with God and in eternal danger.
Solomon sees the reality that the more one has the more people want to take from them. He also sees that those who have an abundance and a full stomach are those who cannot sleep while those who labor and work hard have no trouble sleeping through the night. Hard physical labor is one of the keys to a good night’s rest. How many times have you said after helping a friend move 2 big truckloads into the house, “I am going sleep good tonight?” A life of ease does not always bring a life of sleep. Sleep is not merely a picture of physical rest but peaceful sleep often means a peaceful soul. Restless sleep may mean a restless soul. Our restlessness may be a symptom of our discontentedness in what God has given us.
Solomon says, “better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite.” Do you see and appreciate what you have or are you always looking for what is coming next? Are you living in the present or are you longing to be in the future? Are you looking forward to the next stage of life, to the bigger house, to the next tax bracket, to the new car, to the nicer kitchen, the newer golf clubs, the better vacation? Or do you see the blessings God has given you today, for better is the sight of the eyes today than the wandering appetite of the future? Are you satisfied with your wealth? And I don’t merely mean your bank account. Are you satisfied with who God has made you to be? Satisfied with who and what God has brought into your life? Are satisfied with the church family God has given you? Are you satisfied with what you have or are you chasing that which by God’s good providence he has chosen not to give? Your lack of satisfaction may reveal a discontented, unsatisfied heart.
Are you Sick from Wealth? (5:13-17; 6:1-6)
Solomon moves on to observe examples of those who have fallen sick from wealth. They are, as a pastor friend of mine has said, cautionary tales, warning us not to fall ill from the subtle allure of riches. Beloved, there are few things that I worry about more than your souls becoming seduced by the world. You hear me pray almost every Sunday that the Word of God would fall on fertile soil that it may reap a harvest of thirty, to sixty, to hundredfold what is sown. I desire you to hear the word and accept it and bear fruit. And yet, my fear is that the Word would be sown among the thorns as Jesus says in Mark 4:18-19,
[18] And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, [19] but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
Beloved, you are hearing word today, but will the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires of other things over Christ enter in your life and choke out the word of God and the Spirit’s work in your life? On the Day of Christ, I want to be proud that you held fast to the word of life and that you did fall to this crooked and twisted generation and that I did not run or labor in vain. I do not want you to be like Demas, who being love with the world, walked away from Christ. Pay attention to these cautionary tales as warnings for your soul. Take them as blessings given to you from God and shepherd who loves you.
Are you sick from wealth specifically and are you sick from the world generally? Let us learn from these examples. Ecclesiastes 5:13–17
[13] There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, [14] and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. [15] As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. [16] This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? [17] Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.
First, we see the cautionary tale of the Selfish Saver. Solomon shares the story of an owner who kept his riches for himself. We do not know how or why he kept back his money, but we know that he did not use it to bless others rather to bless himself. He ended up losing his money in a bad venture and had nothing to give to his son. In the ancient world, a father who left nothing to his family was one who as looked upon as shameful. It was and is the responsibility of fathers to leave an inheritance for their children. This man lost it all and gave nothing to his son. We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. We do not want to chase after the wind by holding on to all our money for ourselves rather we want to be content with less so that we can give more and be a blessing to others. We do not want to be a selfish saver who loses all but a generous giver who stores up treasure in heaven. Beloved, hear the urgency of Paul’s plea to Timothy from 1 Timothy 6:6–19, it is a long passage, but vital for us to hear, accept and bear fruit in,
[6] But godliness with contentment is great gain, [7] for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. [8] But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. [9] 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. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
[11] But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. [12] Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [13] I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, [14] to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, [16] who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
[17] As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. [18] They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, [19] thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Do not set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches but on God, which richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Would you rather be known as rich or rich in good works? Rich now and poor later or satisfied now and rich later? Do not be quick to gloss over this. Take inventory of your life.
Friend, if you have yet to trust in Christ as your Savior, your wealth will not save you and it will not last. Your health will not save you and it will not last. Our discontent and love of money are only two ways that our sin shows itself in our lives. There are many others. We all have sinned and are separated from God because of our sin. And without a Savior, we have no hope on the day of judgment. Friend, do not trust in your riches. Do not say, “Soul you have an abundance of goods laid for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry.” For God will one day say, “This night, your soul is required of you, and your wealth and stuff, whose will they be?” Friend, be rich towards God in turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For 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.” Jesus became poor like us, born as a humble poor baby, lived as a humble poor man, so he could die a humble poor death. Jesus died in poverty for our poverty so that we could become rich towards God. He died for our sins and God raised him from the dead on the third day declaring to the world that all who are poor in spirit can become heirs of kingdom of God by submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Friend, be rich towards God and have in the generous free gift of salvation he offers us in Christ.
Heed the cautionary tale of the Selfish Saver but also the Restless Rich. Ecclesiastes 6:1–6,
[1] There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: [2] a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. [3] If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. [4] For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. [5] Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. [6] Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?
The Preacher gives us two examples for us to avoid… both have abundance but cannot enjoy what they have received. They are rich but they are restless, i.e., they have no peace. The first man has it all with all wealth, all possessions and all honor so that he has all that he desires, yet he has no peace. He does not really have it all. He cannot enjoy what he has been given. Do not be jealous of those who have it all for they may have less than you. Most people want to be rich and yet more often than not, the rich are restless and unhappy. Listen to a few of the richest of the rich:
The rich may appear to have everything but that does not mean they have it all. They may have less than you.
The second example is like the first, except this man’s wealth is not in material goods but family and a long life. The picture of this man is that he has an abundance of God’s gifts in children and years to enjoy but he is not satisfied with him. How sad is this? A father who has the gift of children and yet never sees them. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite. This man dies and no one is there to bury him because he has not loved and cared for his children in life, so no one cares for him in death. A person without a burial was a shameful thing in ancient world. Solomon even provides a graphic picture comparing this man to a stillborn child. The child who never sees the light of day has more peace and rest than the man who lives 2,000 years and does not enjoy God. Those who have experienced the intense and tragic pain of a miscarriage or a stillborn child can take small degree of comfort that their child was spared the pain of this fallen world. The stillborn child never has to see suffering or struggle against sin or experience broken relationships, they are ushered into God’s rest and peace. As one pastor notes, “The child is the first to die and therefore the first to find its eternal rest.”[3]
Ecclesiastes does not pull the blinds down over the harshest reality of life. It is an honest book. It is trying to help us by warning us to look at the fallenness of life under the sun so that we would turn to God; the one who rules over the sun. Beloved, are you sick from wealth? Do you love money?
Randy Alcorn quotes this passage and provides his own paraphrase in his little book, The Treasure Principle, helping us to see that chasing after wealth is merely chasing after the wind. It does not bring rest, but trouble. He writes,
• “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want.
• “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied.
• “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it.
• “And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good.
• “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about.
• “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.
• “Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v. 14). The more you have, the more you have to lose.
• “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (v. 15). The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind.[4]
I pray you will not experience the sickness of chasing after the wind but will see and savor what God has given you.
Are you Savoring Wealth? (5:18-20)
When you savor something, you taste it and enjoy it completely. If we enjoy what is in our life but stop short of giving thanks to God in it and for it, we are not savoring it because we are not enjoying it completely. To savor our wealth and our gifts is to experience them from the hand of God. To savor life in the power of the Lord Jesus is to enjoy all our wealth and resources as gifts from his hand and tools for his glory. Ecclesiastes 5:18–20
[18] Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. [19] Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. [20] For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
There are several “enjoyment” passages through Ecclesiastes that are like rays of sunshine through a dark cloud. They are meant to help us look through the darkness of this world to find hope and joy in God. There are three specific things I want you to notice from this passage. First, is how the Preacher is focusing on God gifts and his giving. He mentions God giving three different times once in verse 18 and twice in 19. It is a helpful reminder that everything we have in this life has been given to us by God. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” Beloved, all we have is a gift from his hand. Let us respond in humility knowing that all we have has been given from God’s hand.
Second, he urges us to twice accept our lot from the Lord. In verse 18, “for this is his lot,” and verse 19, “to accept his lot.” Our lot, or the collection of things in our lives (our health, our body type, our family, our intelligence, our children, our bank account, our jobs, our trials, etc). Our lot is what the Lord has given us. We have to accept the Lord’s lot for our life regardless of what it is. Accepting our lot from the Lord is the essence of contentment and trust in God’s goodness and providence. The inability to accept the Lord’s providence in life is what causes so much of our anxiety and dissatisfaction with life. How much different would your life be if you accepted God’s lot for your life? How different would your life be if you looked at all your trials as tools in God’s hands to refine you and purify your life? God is good and he knows what is best for his people. Nothing can thwart his purposes. Trust him. Accept your lot.
Lastly, Solomon offers us a choice, one I will conclude with today. You have two ways to live. You can either chase after worldly wealth, building bigger barns, striving to find satisfaction in the next purchase and in striving to find ultimate security in a bigger savings account or you can find joy in God through Jesus Christ who was rich yet for your sake became poor so that by his poverty you may be truly rich. Riches are a mirage and the quest for them leads to ruin only God can keep us occupied with joy in our heart. Jesus said,
[24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
[24] “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! [25] For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24-25)
[15] And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
[36] For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)
If you chase riches, you will be empty, but if you chase Jesus, you will find riches beyond compare. You will find contentment and rest for your weary soul. Beloved, keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for in the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Jesus is worth far more than anything in this world. Jesus offers you life in abundance. Never-ending joy. Forgiveness from sin. Eternal life. His presence forever. Compare both offers. Chasing riches that lead to ruin or savoring the Savior that leads to life everlasting?
Enjoy the gifts God has given. Accept your lot. Savor Jesus Christ and let joy occupy your heart.
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affluenza accessed 7.2.20
[2] Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle: Unlcoking the Secret of Joyful Giving. 52-53
[3] Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
[4] Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 135). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
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