Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 35 – September 1988

 

Wealth: The Various Options

 

Sermon by Rev. J. Haverland on Eccles. 5:10-6:6

Reading: Luke 12:13-21, 1Tim 6:3-19

 

THEME: Wealth in and by itself cannot satisfy unless it is connected with God.

 

Brothers and sisters in the Lord,

It is quite clear to most of us that we live in a very materialistic culture.  By this we mean that the people around us are very concerned with material things.  Whether they are relatively wealthy or relatively poor, people are all taken up with money and the things money can buy.

Francis Schaeffer said that the western world is basically concerned about personal peace and personal affluence.  That is quite a sound assessment.  It is obvious to us that this is a materialistic culture.  But it is equally obvious to all of us that this does not make people happy!  Wealth does not satisfy.  We know this for ourselves.  We can have all the wealth in the world but it still won't make us content.  But although we all know this, we still need to be reminded of this.  Because the pressure of our materialistic culture is very strong.

As Christians we are tempted to think as the world thinks, act as the world acts, spend as the world spends, buy as the world buys.  So we need to remind ourselves again of what God has to say about our use of wealth.  Today we want to examine the various options that The Preacher gives us concerning our use of wealth.  He presents us with five of these.

1.  Wealth without satisfaction vs.10-11

A good deal of Ecclesiastes is made up of proverbs.  Observations on human life.  Generalisations about human experience.  The Preacher begins this section on wealth with this profound observation in vs.10...

People who want to achieve happiness through riches will never be satisfied.

There is always something else to get: a bigger house, a later model car, a more powerful computer.  Another appliance for the kitchen or tool for the garage.  Each time we tell ourselves that when we get that then we will be satisfied and content.  But when we get it we find that satisfaction has escaped us again.  Trying to find satisfaction in wealth is an elusive and futile search.  Because what happens is that as you get more and more other things also increase.

a.  Your standard of living increases.

I'm sure you have noticed this.  You used to live quite comfortably on a certain wage, but now if you were earning the same amount you would never make ends meet because your standard of living has gone up.

b.  Your liabilities also increase.

James Dobson has a great description of this in his film series "Focus on the Family".  He describes how he bought his children a slide and swing set, thinking that this would give them hours of entertainment.  On reading the instructions carefully he found that to maintain it safely he had to check and tighten every bolt and screw every month.  The thing became a liability for him – something that enslaved him Saturday after Saturday.  But we have that with every new thing we buy and every extra gadget we accumulate around us.  It becomes another liability.  Another thing to take up our time.

c.  Our responsibilities increase.

In the society in which the Preacher was living, those who became wealthy found that they were burdened with extra hangers-on.  They had to have servants.  People came asking for favours.  A nephew didn't have a job and wondered if you had something.  A great aunt comes to live with you since you've got a big house.  Your second cousin twice removed is hard up for cash and wants a loan!

In our society things are done a little differently.  The more you earn the more taxes you pay and the more you contribute to the welfare state.  So indirectly you support more and more hangers-on in society.  But the point is that such wealth does not satisfy.  What increases is not your satisfaction, but rather your standard of living, your liabilities and your responsibilities.  We need to remember this.

The second option is

2.  Wealth without Contentment vs.12.

Here the Preacher gives us an actual case study.  He does this a lot in this section.  It is easier to prove his point by giving us illustrations.

a.  He pictures for us a working man.

This fellow works hard during the day, comes home contented after his day's work and sleeps well.  You know the feeling.  When you have done a good day's work, completed your projects, ticked them all off the list your wife made up for you, you feel satisfied.  You sleep well.

b.  But there is a rich man who tosses and turns all night.  His sleep is disturbed by restless dreams.  (The NASB tells us that it is his full stomach which keeps him from sleeping – he has overeaten.  The word could well refer to that).  The word literally is 'plenty' or 'abundance'.  This could (also) refer to all his worries.  He has so much that he lies awake at night thinking about how he can keep it all, how he can increase it, or who might take it from him.  Like the discontented people you see on 'soaps' like Dallas.  You see, wealth does not make you a contented person.  Quite the opposite often!  It produces people who are dissatisfied and worried.  So the preacher examines a third option.

3.  Wealth without security vs.13-17.

Again he gives us a case study.  And again we are looking at a very wealthy man.  But as this fellow thinks about what has happened to him it makes him feel sick in his stomach.  The word grievous in vs.13 can be translated as 'sickening' or 'painful'.  You see, this man was very wealthy.  He carefully hoarded his wealth, looked after it, after it, accumulated it.  But then something happened - it's not clear exactly what – but he lost the whole lot!  It all disappeared!

You see there is no security in wealth!  It can be here today and gone tomorrow.  It is transitory.  It doesn't last.  You cannot count on it.  It offers no security.  We all need to remind ourselves of this in our materialistic world.  All that we have can be lost overnight.

But we need to go one step further here.  Wealth offers us no material security.  But it also offers no eternal security.  The Preacher throws this whole matter of wealth against the background of life and death.

We are born naked into the world, and when we die we leave naked.  You may have gained the whole world but you die without it.  It is of no profit eternally.  "You fool!", God said to the rich soul, "This night your is required of you!"  What is important eternally is not your wealth but your relationship with God through Jesus.  "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul", warns Jesus.  Wealth offers no security.

This brings us to the fourth option:

4.  Wealth without Happiness (6:1-6, 5:17).

Let's look at a 20th century case study before we look at the one the Preacher gives us.

Elvis Presley said that he had three great ambitions in life: To be rich, to be famous, and to be happy.  A journalist was talking to him in the last months of his life.  "Elvis" he said, "You have become rich, you are famous, but are you happy?" And the tragic answer to that question was, "No".  For all his wealth and fame he was terribly unhappy.

So too in the case of the man about whom the Preacher speaks.  Vs.2: A man to whom God had given riches and wealth and honour, but he wasn't happy.  In this way this man without happiness is the same as the man without security.  Go back to vs.17 and look at the words used to describe his life:

Darkness refers to the misery and gloom of his life.  He has always been preoccupied with his wealth.  That was all he ever thought about.  But it was a dark life!

Vexation/frustration refers to all the anxieties and worries and cares that he had while accumulating his fortune.

Sickness/affliction refers to the physical strain of being so engrossed in his money.  It took its toll on him emotionally and physically.

And anger refers to the times when things did not go his way, when he could not get what he wanted, when other people crossed him.  It was not a happy life!

Of course the Preacher is giving us extreme cases once again.  There are people who have money who seem to be quite happy.  But the Preacher wants to draw out the logical end of the secularist's position.  He wants everyone who is tempted to live for wealth to think it through to its logical end.  To live for wealth will not give you satisfaction, contentment, security or happiness.  But, thankfully, there is one more option.  Sandwiched in the middle of all these options of the unbeliever is the option of the believer.  The perspective that the believer has on wealth, because he has God in the picture.

5.  It is wealth with God (vs.18-20).

The believer knows three things:

a.  Wealth is to be enjoyed.

"It is good and fitting," says the Preacher in verse 18.  It is a good and fine thing to be able to enjoy the wealth God gives us.  Eating and drinking in the O.T. are always signs of companionship and joy and festivity!  You eat and drink with your friends!  You celebrate!  And so we can and so we should as believers.  This is why God made such a beautiful world.  Everything in it is to be enjoyed.

Paul reminds Timothy of this: "For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude." 1Tim.4:4

So we may and should enjoy the good things that God gives us.  We may enjoy being creative.  We can rejoice in the fruit of our labours because this is what God intended for us.

b.  Wealth is a gift from God.

This is stressed twice in vs.18 and 19.  All that we have is a gift of God.  Being able to enjoy it all is a gift of God.  It is easy to forget this.  How often do we take the gifts for granted?  How often do we forget about the Giver?  How often do we forget to be thankful in prosperity?  The believer is always conscious that all that we have is a gift of God.

c.  Wealth is to be used.

The believer uses all that God has given him in the service of Christ and His Kingdom.  This is how the Preacher concludes the discussion in vs.20:  The believer is a busy person.  Jesus keeps us occupied in His service.  Believers find that the days and the weeks and the years fly by because they are serving the Lord in His Kingdom!  And if time is dragging past you, it may be that you are not busy serving the Lord Jesus as you ought to be.

The service of the Lord in His Church and Kingdom should keep you fully occupied.  There is more than enough work to do for your Lord and your neighbour.  And the believer does this with gladness of heart.  We do this because we are serving our Saviour.  We do this out of gratitude for all He has done for us.  We take all of God's gifts to us and we give them back to Him in His service!

We do this with gladness and joy!  We do this out of thankfulness to our Lord!  May God give each one of us this attitude to our wealth.  May we all be occupied for our Lord Jesus.  And may the Holy Spirit give us gladness of heart in His service.

Amen