Food, drink and money

A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. Ecclesiastes 10:19

Solomon is saying that some people think the only thing in life is money, food and drink. A simple equation to explain this is money equals laughter and food and drink.

Warren Wiersbe in Be Satisfied says, “This verse declares the personal philosophy of the foolish officers (verses 16-17)… They are totally indifferent to the responsibilities of their office or the needs of the people.”

This sounds a lot like Luke 12:19-21  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

There is nothing wrong with money but when we love money more than anything else the Bible tells us to watch out!

 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1Timothy 6:10

Let’s not fall into the trap that “money is everything”. Money is good when used rightly but it is not the “be all and end all”. 

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Pitfall of Money

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
 
Solomon,the richest man in the world during his time, would know about the pitfall of money. He knew money did not bring satisfaction. He repeats the same theme from Ecclesiastes 5:10-16.
"He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver;..."
Solomon tells us this is common among men, one receives riches, wealth and honor and he needs nothing or so he thinks. He obtains "everything" yet never gets to enjoy what he has. Solomon calls it an evil disease.

This week, after saving for this trip for many years, my husband and I are traveling. We are enjoying the beautiful sights of our country. During our travels we saw mansions of the very rich and shacks of the very poor. I do not know the hearts of either but I do know what Gods says, the more one has the more he wants. The more one has the more he needs to protect all he owns, it is a vicious circle.

When my son was young he had a paper route. His route was in a very affluent part of town, security gates and cameras surrounded the properties which bordered the ocean. One day as my son got into the car after delivering the paper to a wealthy family he said, "Mom, we are richer than the ___  because we have Jesus." Out of the mouth of babes (Matthew 21:16)

Are we concerned about our riches and station in this life? What would your attitude be if you lost everything? Do we realize that we are richer than the ____?

My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). It is not about how much money we can accumulate but how much Jesus accumulates of us.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Money does not satisfy

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a abored man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. 13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath abored for the wind? Ecclesiastes 5:10-16

Many people trust in their bank accounts to get them through life. The more they have the more they want. A rich man is never satisfied with what he, he is always wanting more; a bigger home, nicer cars or fancier clothes. Some people get obsessed with what they have and what they want.

Reading this made me sad especially to realize this is how our world is today. Everything in society is based on materialism. The ones who do not have much wish they were rich. The rich are usually not satisfied or happy with what they have.

The more I thought of this I realized that many Christians usually fit into this mold also. Everything is centered on them, not around the Lord. The last verse of this section sums it up with: … in all points as he came, so shall he go... We can’t take it with us. The only thing we can take with us is what we have done for God. (I Corinthians 3:12-15)

Make money your god; it will plague you like the devil. ~ Henry Fielding

Our incomes are like our shoes; if too shall, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.  ~ Caleb Colton

Don’t get caught up in this materialist world. Yes, we need money and some “things” to live but we need to see the whole picture, where is our main focal point? What do we do with the money we have?

Let’s pray and ask the Lord to show us how to use our incomes wisely.

Have a blessed day, 

Donna