In the lead up to these verses, Solomon
had shown how empty it can be for one to just live for money. He highlighted
two problems in Ecclesiastes 5:11-12 saying that firstly, others will want to
pry away the money that one has. And secondly, those who are rich would lose
sleep worrying about how to keep their money safe or how to make more. Here in
verses 13-14 we see a third problem with money i.e. that money is a transient
thing.
One cannot hold on to his money forever.
Here the preacher calls it “a grievous evil.” In verses 13-14, he tells the
tale of a rich and wealthy man who is unable to hoard the wealth he had amassed,
by losing it through risky investment. As a father, he hopes to leave behind a larger
legacy for his son. So, he tries to create more wealth by taking risk in his
investment. Sadly, in the process he loses what he has and has nothing left for
his son. Responsible living demands that we be prudent with our wealth. While
we hope to leave more behind for our children, we need to be wise in financial
planning. We must not make getting more money our primary focus. To do so may
cause one to fall for all kinds of get-rich schemes. Counting on money to keep
our children going is folly. The best legacy we can leave behind for our
children is a godly heritage of loving and trusting God all our life.
There is yet one more problem with
counting on money for a meaningful life. This is found in verses 15-16. The
preacher insists that none can take what he has along with him in death. No
matter how much one has, he is incapable of bringing them along with him when
he passes on. Here we are told that, “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. 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?” Isn’t this the very same thing that Job says? In
Job 1:21, this patriarch said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Paul in the New Testament
also echoed these words. In 1 Timothy 6:7 he said, “We brought nothing
into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” When death
beckons, nothing we gain will follow us to our after-life. It is vanity to keep
our focus on it. Since we will ultimately have to forsake wealth, why make it
the primary focus in life? Here’s one good advice: Don’t get addicted to money.
As we
hear these stories of how one’s perspective concerning money can be a bane rather
than a gain, we are left to ask the question, what then shall we do with what
we have? There surely must be a much
better way to live life? We must, of course, not put our hope on the
uncertainty of wealth. In the concluding verses of Ecclesiastes 5, we are
guided and directed to put our hope in God who has given us all things in life
to enjoy. So, Solomon summed it all up by saying, “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. 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. For he will
not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy
in his heart.” Unless we focus on God, life will always be meaningless and
miserable. As we place God at the centre of our life we can enjoy all that we
have, even our money. We turn what we have into a blessing and live out Paul’s
advice to the Ephesian Elders given in Acts 20:35. He said, “In all things
I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
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