MEANINGLESS (PART 7)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

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

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 have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.

Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

Ecclesiastes 5:10-17, 6:1-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There are plenty of topics that will spur debate among Christians but none perhaps will result in a more impassioned discussion than the matter of money and possessions. Look at our world and it is at the center of everyone’s life. Some have too much, some have too little, some are in between but everyone is connected to money and possessions in some way.

It’s not a new matter. For as we look at today’s final devotion in the “Meaningless” series, we find Solomon addressing the matter of wealth and possessions. Look at his words from the 5th and 6th chapters of Ecclesiastes:

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

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

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 have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit.

Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. This too is a grievous evil: As everyone comes, so they depart, and what do they gain, since they toil for the wind? All their days they eat in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.

A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?  Ecclesiastes 5:10-17, 6:1-6

The core message here comes in the opening verses. Anyone who directs their love toward money will never find themselves satisfied. They will never have enough and their life’s pursuit of more and more prosperity becomes a life that is meaningless in nature. Obsessed with getting more and more and more, they often have no time to enjoy what they have. The old saying goes like this: Be careful or your possessions might possess you.

And when life is over, where do accumulated riches get anyone? Does it allow them to purchase a ticket to eternal life? No, they went the way of everyone at death, into the ground with their possessions left behind for someone else.

It really is folly, is it not?

Now, before any of my readers get worked up in a lather over this, let me make an important point about the things we are able to have.

God does bless us with things He wants us to have, things that sustain us, things to enjoy, and things to give to others. He grants us money and possessions to use to His glory and as long as we seek His will and way in using the things He gives us, we can ensure we’re not living sinfully when it comes to the matter of possessions and money.

Given this truth, that God does provide us blessings to use to His glory, I hope you will see the key contrast in comparing how possessions and money could be handled. It all comes down to the object of our love and desire.

If we love money and possessions, then we are placing our focus in the wrong place and risk falling into the trap of serving money more than the God who granted it to us. This why Jesus warned us with these words:

“No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

The bottom line is that we must make God the object of all our desire so much so that His desires become our own, so much so that His will and way become ours. When we do this, we will always be ensured that we will do right with everything that God provides us and will be led to a place where we live self-sacrificially and not self-centered just as God’s only son Jesus lived.

So where is your focus today? Is it on your money and possessions or on God, your Giver, Provider, and Sustainer?

Only God can give you a life full of meaning, not just in the here and now, but also for eternity through the salvation He grants through His Son Jesus. I pray that you will accept that offer of new life today if you have not yet done so, shifting the master you serve from meaningless money to a God who brings nothing but meaning and satisfaction and joy and love.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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