The Limits of Earthly Wealth

John Wivell

Ecclesiastes • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Ecclesiastes 5:8–20

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Desire for wealth is as old as humanity itself. Nevertheless, earthly riches fail to satisfy in many ways.

Notes

Transcript

Scripture Reading

Ecclesiastes 5:8–20 NKJV

If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field. He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

I. Government is the problem - But needed

Now the biggest issue here is figuring out what Solomon is talking about. The Hebrew is a bit ambiguous, as the NKJV and most translations reflect - one official watches over another. Is this the source of oppression, or the solution? It’s hard to decide, but Solomon is probably saying that the bureaucracy creates this oppression. The more layers of government, the greater the possibility of corruption.

There are two ways Solomon could be explaining this.

Government officials tend to protect each other, instead of the people they are supposed to be serving, and in the shuffle justice and righteousness get lost. Ecclesiastes 5:8

Ecclesiastes 5:8 HCSB

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

The red tape gets in the way of justice and righteousness. Ecclesiastes 5:8

Ecclesiastes 5:8 NLT

Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.

That’s a little rich coming from Solomon. If Solomon wanted to look the government official most responsible for creating the biggest bureacracy in ancient Israel’s history in the face, he’d need a mirror.

In any case, the following verse provides a counterbalance to this gloomy observation. Again the Hebrew here is difficult. The ESV is very literal but borderline nonsensical. Either the verse is saying that even the king profits from the land (NKJV); or he is saying that the land profits from having a King over it. (Good News) Ecclesiastes 5:9

Ecclesiastes 5:9 ESV

But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

Well it’s certainly true that governments produce nothing themselves, so they can only get their money by taxing those who do produce things. But this seems to be a rather mundane point. Ecclesiastes 5:9

Ecclesiastes 5:9 GNB

Even a king depends on the harvest.

Here’s my take - the point is that though Government is sometimes part of the problem, yet a government provides a vital function without which not much profit is possible. Governments provide protection from threats internal (criminals) and external (war); without this protection, people lack the stability they need to produce goods. Ecclesiastes 5:9

Ecclesiastes 5:9 GW

Yet, a king is an advantage for a country with cultivated fields.

II. Love of Money

The first observation is that Solomon is saying that those who desire to enjoy the things money buys will never be rich, because they will inevitably spend more than they make. Prov 21:17

Proverbs 21:17 NKJV

He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

But more than that Solomon is also saying that those who desire to be rich, even if they are successful at building wealth, will never be satisfied with their wealth, because you quickly get used to whatever level of wealth you have, and then want more. Instead, being content with what you have means being satisfied with a minimal lifestyle 1 Tim 6:6-8

1 Timothy 6:6–8 NKJV

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

More than that, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil 1 Tim 6:10, and indeed, you cannot devote your life to acquiring money and also devote your life to God Matt 6:24.

1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Matthew 6:24 NKJV

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

III. Lifestyle Creep

Solomon’s observation that more goods means more expenses is what we today call a “first world problem,” despite living long before the industrialized era. He’s not talking about someone who doesn’t have enough food/clothing/shelter, then gets what he needs. He’s clearly talking about the difference between having enough and being rich.

He’s also not talking about people taking advantage of you. Rather, he’s observing that as your possessions increase, you need to bring more people in to take care of them, which costs to pay for those extra people, which causes you to get more goods to provide for them, which costs more, etc.

Bigger flocks and herds means more servants to tend them which means more food, which requires more flocks and herds to provide for them.

Big government projects vastly increases the government labor force, which means great expenses.

Same is still true today- more cars means more maintenance and repair; bigger houses means higher utilities and taxes; more expensive clothes, more money to maintain your wardrobe; better food, higher grocery bill.

The concept of “Lifestyle creep” is the idea that as your income increases, it’s easy to get used to the larger salary, which means you go and buy more things, those more things cost more, so your larger salary pretty soon feels not much different than when you had less. That’s exactly what he’s talking about. So what’s the solution? be satisfied with little, and be disciplined about living within your means. Make a budget, and stick to it; resist the urge to buy more things because you can. If you get more money, save more instead - if you don’t have much, pay off debt, build an emergency fund. If you have already done that, then learn to invest wisely, how much and in what depends on your stage in life.

IV. More Money, More Problems

More first world problems. He observes that the ordinary laboring man sleeps well, because of a comparative lack of care and also because his labor tires him out. Working hard allows you to sleep, whether you are poor (eats little) or middle class (eats much).

It’s natural to think that riches would insulate you from the cares of the ordinary person, but that’s not necessarily the case. Instead, more riches mean a bigger household, more responsibilities, and therefore greater risks. It also means a greater danger of losing your now lavish lifestyle, and so more worries about losing it.

Thus, trust in the Lord, not in your wealth, and you’ll be able to sleep since you’ll not be worrying about losing everything 1 Tim 6:17-19

V. Riches Perish

Up to this point we’ve been talking about behavior that prevents you from enjoying riches, even if you get them. Now Solomon goes into another case study. It seems he is observing a real case, but the original details are now lost. Job is a similar case, but he eventually got everything back. Solomon is thinking of someone who spends enormous effort getting rich, and actually succeeds in the task; however, then all of that wealth is lost in some misfortune. Thus, he spent all that time and effort on nothing. The only thing he got out of getting rich was the stress of building it. He doesn’t get to pass anything on to his son.

A second, closely related observation is that everyone leaves just as broke as they come Job 1:21 There’s no profit in striving to be wealthy, since getting rich is hard, and requires sacrifice, and in the end you don’t get to keep any of it. Matthew 6:19-21

Job 1:21 NKJV

And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Therefore your use of money in this life is all about faithfulness. True, Eternal riches will be yours, if you use your earthly wealth to serve the Lord - I don’t just mean giving to the church. I mean that all of your money, every last dollar, has some connection with a higher, eternal purpose. Luke 16:11-12

Luke 16:11–12 NKJV

Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

VI. How to Benefit from Wealth

The only good earthly riches can get you in this life is the enjoyment of them while you live. God does in fact want us to enjoy life. But remember, to enjoy it you’ve got to have the right perspective and character

Don’t make money your goal, instead be rich toward God and you’ll be able to enjoy earthly riches, too.

Don’t make possessions your goal, instead buy what you need to best serve God, and you’ll enjoy what you do have without your goods crushing you.

Don’t trust in uncertain riches, and you’ll be able to handle life’s upsets.

Contentment is possible regardless of wealth, if pleasing God is truly your aim.

If you do have your needs met, and perhaps a bit more besides, then practice an attitude of gratitude to God.

For New Testament Believers, however, we know about Eternity. Earthly wealth is inherently fading, but Eternal Riches last forever. If Eternity is your constant focus, then the value of earthly wealth will be a bit like the value of Monopoly money - if you want to win the game of Monopoly, then you need to know how to manage your Monopoly Money. But no one actually cares about Monopoly money outside of the game. It’s just a way to play. Earthly wealth is important for getting things done in this life. God expects us to meet our own needs - that takes money. God wants us to be grateful for his provisions. This doesn’t require any amount of money, but rather an attitude of gratitude for what he gives us. God does not want us to lose sight of the real goal. The money itself is not important. It’s how well you use it to accomplish the Will of God that matters.