The Truth About Friends, Work, and Money
Tom Shrader walks through Ecclesiastes 4–5, examining Solomon's diagnosis that labor driven by envy, greed, or ambition for prestige is ultimately meaningless. He explores the genuine but limited advantages of companionship and teamwork before turning to the futility of accumulating wealth, showing that the love of money only multiplies desire rather than satisfying it. Drawing on contemporary statistics about consumer debt, spending habits, and social breakdown, Shrader calls listeners to examine their lives, simplify their appetites, and find true satisfaction only in right relationship with God.
“The only way to break this cycle is supernatural intervention — the more you make, the more you spend, it's never enough.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Ecclesiastes
Recorded: 2008 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 53 min
Themes: money, work, friendship, envy, greed, contentment, ambition, simplicity, struggling with debt, chasing success, feeling empty, young professional, spouse, new believer, overwhelmed by work, middle age
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2, Ecclesiastes 4:4-16, Ecclesiastes 5:1-2, Ecclesiastes 5:10-18, 1 Timothy 6:10, 2 Timothy 2:4, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalm 119
Theological Themes: vanity, wisdom literature, covetousness, sanctification, becoming holy, biblical stewardship, imago dei, common grace
Full Transcript
Introduction
Open your Bibles to the Book of Ecclesiastes. If you didn't bring a Bible, there should be a pew Bible in the pew in front of you — page 477 should get you close.
What's Happening This Week at East Valley Bible Church
Several years ago, we listened to many of you, and what we heard was that summer is a time when some of our small groups shut down, and you asked whether there was something we could do during those months. Our response was Hot Summer Nights — an opportunity for us to come together around a topic each week through the month.
This week's Hot Summer Night will address a reality that is becoming more and more real for us. We sit here on this campus, and if you go three or four miles in one direction, you're in a barrio. Go another direction and you're in one of the most dangerous zip codes in the county. Yet another direction takes you into a very middle-class to upper-middle-class neighborhood. The second largest town with a Black population in the area is Chandler. We live in a very diverse culture, and the church is beginning — and I am grateful for this — beginning to represent that culture.
That brings some interesting things into the mix as we worship God and study His Word. Will Gantz is going to join me this Tuesday night, so come and join us as we talk about this world and this culture we live in, and some of the issues we face culturally, ethnically, and across all sorts of diversity and challenge. I checked — American Idol isn't on, there's no Dancing with the Stars — so get here a little early, grab a sandwich, and we'll be over in the Commons at 7 o'clock.
One of the other things we heard was that people would love to get together sometime just for fun — no worship, no teaching, just fun. We said that would be great. Last year at the marriage retreat we had Tim Hawkins with us, and he was a lot of fun, so we made arrangements for Tim to come back. This Saturday there are a couple of shows with him, designed to be absolutely fun. If you have people in the neighborhood or a small group looking for something to do, come and join us. Tickets are available in the office.
Reflections on Sacrifice and Freedom
I was not here last week — I was at Forest Home, a Christian conference center over near Redlands, up in the mountains about fifteen miles. I ended up working harder than I had anticipated. I took a bunch of books to read and didn't get through much of what I had planned, spending more time than usual with people who simply wanted to talk. There was a lot of hurt and a lot of pain, and that time may have been representative of what many are experiencing in life right now.
I had no internet, no cell phone, no television, and no air conditioning, with an outside temperature of 97 degrees. While I was there, I went through the DVDs of the HBO series on John Adams, and a number of things came together in my mind reminding me that we are a little bit wimpy, and that our forefathers paid an enormous price so that we could get together on the Fourth of July and have hot dogs and hamburgers. When you listen and look and read and study, it is remarkable. During the Revolutionary War, in an eight-year period, George Washington spent just one day at Mount Vernon — one day at home.
These people paid a huge price, and it would probably do us well to understand that. I met a gentleman this morning who is about to be deployed this Thursday, heading back overseas again. People like him are all around us, making a tremendous sacrifice so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy. I think it is important that we remember that, and remember something of what those founding fathers had in mind as they were willing to give their lives and suffer greatly so that we could be here and celebrate. It feels heavy to me recently, for probably a variety of reasons.
Welcome to Ecclesiastes 4
Speaking of heavy — welcome to the Book of Ecclesiastes and the fourth chapter.
Let me remind you of our reference point. Solomon is on a quest to experience all the pleasure he can in life, and he denies himself nothing. He gives us the finding of his research at the very beginning of the book, in chapter 1, verse 2: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What advantage does a man have in all his work, which he does under the sun?" He is saying that life is literally meaningless under the sun — and that phrase, "under the sun," means life without God, life without Christ.
What you need to understand is that Solomon is not a loser — he is a winner. He got what he set out to achieve, and he says it is empty. If he wanted to live this life apart from God, no matter what he pursued, it amounted to nothing. At the same time, Solomon tells us that to enjoy life, to be satisfied with our life and our work, is a gift from God. God has designed it so that we can find a sense of satisfaction and even a sense of contentment in this life — but it needs to be within its proper perspective.
people respond to this by throwing their hands up. The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. He says, you know what, I'm not going to play that game. I refuse to compete. And then he says in verse 6, one hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving. There's a balance here. There's a middle way. Don't be consumed by the rivalry, but don't be so disengaged that you fold your hands and do nothing.
The Motive of Greed
Then Solomon shifts in verses 7 through 12 to the second motive for work, and that is greed. He says, then I looked again at vanity under the sun. There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches. And he never asked, for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure? This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. He's describing someone who works and accumulates and has no one to share it with, no one to leave it to, and never stops to ask why. The eyes are never satisfied. That's a picture of greed. There is always more to get, always another level to reach, and yet it never fills the emptiness.
This is where Solomon inserts what might seem like a brief detour, but it belongs right here in the context of work and greed. He begins talking about the advantage of companionship, of doing life and work together. Verse 9 says, two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. Verse 10, for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Verse 11, furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? Verse 12, and if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Solomon is making a practical case for companionship and teamwork. Two people working together get a better return than one working alone. If one falls, the other can help him up. If it is cold, two can keep each other warm. If there is an enemy, two can stand against him. These are not just spiritual metaphors. These are practical realities. And then he ends with the cord of three strands, which most of us recognize as a picture of God woven into the relationship, whether that is a marriage, a friendship, or a working partnership.
Think about how countercultural this is in the context of what he has just said about greed. The greedy man of verses 7 and 8 is entirely alone. He has no son, no brother, no companion. He works and accumulates in isolation and never stops to ask why. Solomon's answer, implicitly, is that we were not made to do this alone. We were made for relationship, for partnership, for community. Greed isolates. Generosity and companionship connect.
The Motive of Prestige
Then in verses 13 through 16, Solomon addresses the third motive for work, and that is prestige, ambition, the desire for advancement and recognition. He tells a story. A poor but wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction. For he has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. I have seen all the living throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him. There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them. Surely those who will come later will not be happy with him. So this too is vanity and striving after the wind.
He is describing someone who rises from nothing, from poverty, even from prison, to become king. And the crowds flock to him. Everyone loves him. He is the new thing, the rising star. And then Solomon says, but give it time. Those same crowds will move on to the next person. The applause fades. The adoration shifts. The prestige you worked so hard to achieve turns out to be as fleeting as the wind. This is the vanity of living for advancement and recognition. You can claw your way to the top and find that by the time you get there, people are already looking past you to whoever is coming up next.
This is a sobering word for anyone whose primary motivation in work is to be seen, to be known, to be respected, to have their name mean something. Solomon has watched it play out. He has seen the crowds and he knows how quickly they move. The man who builds his entire working life around the pursuit of prestige will find himself holding nothing. It is vanity. It is striving after the wind.
The Futility of Accumulating Stuff
Solomon moves into chapter 5, and now he shifts from work to the subject of stuff, of wealth and possessions, and the futility of accumulating them. But before he gets there, he makes what might seem like an unexpected stop. He talks about worship. He talks about coming before God. Verse 1 says, guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know they are doing evil. Verse 2, do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth. Therefore let your words be few.
Why does he stop here, in the middle of a discussion about work and money, to talk about how we approach God in worship? Because it is all connected. The way you approach God reflects whether you actually understand who He is and who you are. The person who has been driven by envy, by greed, by the pursuit of prestige, comes into God's presence with that same self-centered orientation. They talk too much. They make promises they do not keep. They come to be seen rather than to listen. Solomon says, slow down. Guard your steps. Draw near to listen.
He continues in verse 4, when you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow. Verse 5, it is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Verse 6, do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? Verse 7, for in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.
The point is integrity in your relationship with God. Do not make promises you do not intend to keep. Do not come before Him with careless words and impulsive vows and then later try to walk them back. Fear God. That phrase, fear God, is not about being terrified of Him. It is about having a right and accurate understanding of who He is, His holiness, His greatness, His authority over your life. That reverence shapes everything, including how you handle your work and your money.
The Emptiness of Wealth Without God
Now Solomon gets to the heart of the matter in verses 8 through 20. He is talking directly about wealth, about the accumulation of stuff, and why it ultimately does not satisfy. Verse 10, he who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. Verse 11, when good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? Verse 12, the sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.
This is one of the sharpest observations in the whole passage. The man who loves money is never satisfied by it. The more he has, the more people show up to help him spend it. And at the end of the day, the working man sleeps soundly while the wealthy man lies awake worrying about what he has. There is a painful irony here. The thing he worked so hard to accumulate is now the very thing keeping him up at night.
Verse 13 and 14 describe a grievous evil. There was a man who hoarded his wealth and then lost it all in a bad investment, in a bad venture. And he had a son and there was nothing to leave him. Verse 15, as he had come naked from his mother's womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. Verse 16, and this also is a grievous evil, exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?
You came into this world with nothing. You will leave with nothing. Everything you accumulated in between stays here. Solomon is not saying work is pointless or that money is evil. He is saying that if the accumulation of wealth is the goal, if it is what drives you, if it is where you are placing your hope and your identity, then you are toiling for the wind. It will all be left behind.
Verse 18 is where he lands the plane. Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him, for this is his reward. Verse 19, furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. Verse 20, for he will not often consider the years of his life because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.
This is Solomon's conclusion, and it is a generous and hopeful one. Work is not the enemy. Money is not the enemy. The ability to enjoy the fruit of your labor is a gift from God. The man who receives his work and his wealth with gratitude, who holds it with an open hand, who enjoys it as a gift rather than clinging to it as an identity, that man finds contentment. He does not lie awake at night. God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.
The problem is never the work or the wealth itself. The problem is the motive. Envy, greed, the pursuit of prestige — these are the wrong engines driving the car. When you remove those and replace them with a genuine fear of God, a recognition of who He is and what He has given you, everything changes. You can work hard and sleep well. You can accumulate and be generous. You can enjoy what you have without being consumed by what you do not have. That is the life Solomon is pointing toward, and it begins with seeing things as God sees them rather than from our own limited, horizontal view.
The Fool Who Never Asks Why
A fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. The fool sits back, takes it easy, and that sloth is a slow suicide. In either case, he says it doesn't really matter. It is better to have one handful and have rest than to have twice as much in the midst of striving and anxious stress.
Again, in the context of work, Solomon says in verse 7: "I looked again at the vanity under the sun. There is a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches, and he never asked, for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure? This too is meaningless."
He looked around and saw this person — not a single solitary soul in his life. No kids, no family, no friends, and yet he is working and working, obsessively working, unable to stop or shut it off. There is a wonderful idea tucked in here that we will come back to when we get to chapter 5: the idea of eyes never satisfied. But this person never stops to take inventory. Do you see that little phrase in verse 8? He never asks, "Why am I doing this?"
It was Socrates who said the unexamined life is not worth living. One of the things that is absolutely essential for us to really benefit from this study in Ecclesiastes is that you have to apply it to your life. Solomon gives us a whole range of these observations, and he continues to come at us from a variety of angles. But the whole point is for you to feel a certain heaviness, a certain weight — not to the point of despair and depression, but to the point of action.
You stop and say, "Oh my gosh, that resonates with me. That's me." You have a whole closet full of stuff you bought because somebody else looked at it and thought you must be successful. You live in a house you chose not because you even like it that much, but because it is in the right neighborhood, and people who are somebody live there. That is why you drive the car you drive. It drives us to all sorts of silly behavior.
The Howard Hughes Warning
Solomon says here is a real fool: this man has nobody to leave it to. Who comes to mind when you think of someone who worked and accumulated and yet had truly nobody? Howard Hughes. That poor, pathetic creature who died in an airplane, sitting in his own human waste, possessing all the money you could imagine, and who never stopped to take inventory. That is what you and I need to do — to live a thoughtful life.
So often, we are seeing more and more of this. We are seeing as many women leave their husbands as husbands leave their wives. We are seeing marriages that experience divorce after 30 or 35 years. For 35 years she hung in there and was miserable, but now the kids are raised and she is gone. People go off and make a major left turn in their lives. One morning they wake up and ask themselves a question we need to be asking ourselves on a regular, frequent basis: Why are we doing this?
Why in the world are we doing this? Why am I sitting in this traffic, driving an hour and a half, barely moving, for a little bit of what? There is something in your heart — a meaninglessness. This resonates with many of you. Why am I in this thing called the rat race? Can I just get to the point where I say the rats win, now what? Where do we go from here?
Solomon just keeps this going. You want him to ease off the gas, but he doesn't. He keeps pulling at you.
The Advantage of Companionship
Then he gives you a little reprieve in verse 9. He says, let me give you a tip. That tip is teamwork — set here in the context of labor, but certainly applicable to life more broadly. Companionship has a huge advantage, and he names four of them.
Verse 9: "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor." There is a good yield. When you work together, you can get more done, cover more bases, and produce more. That is one of the driving reasons teams form — a higher yield.
Here is the second thing he says: "If either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion, but woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up." In the vernacular of our day, somebody has got your backside. Somebody has you covered.
The Value of Loyal Companionship
I came across a story about Inauguration Day. Reagan and Howard Baker were standing in the back, in that moment before they walk out into the visible daylight where everyone can see them. Baker said, "Governor — he's not yet Mr. President — Governor, I want you to know that I'm with you in thick and thin." Reagan said, "What about thin?" And Baker replied, "Welcome to Washington." When I read that, I immediately thought of the verse: I've got your backside. I know you've got me covered.
There are about five hundred million things that I love about Susan. One of the things I find most endearing is that she has got my backside. I trust her with anything. In thirty years, she has never done one thing, even slightly, to break that trust.
I have lunch on most Fridays with Jerry Smith, and we have done this for years. A few years ago he said one of the greatest things that has ever been said to me in my life. He said, "In all the time that I have talked with you, I have never heard you say one bad thing about Susan." Nor will you.
Now, we do say a lot of bad things to each other — but that is none of your business. Last year, during a Q&A, one of the first questions was, "What do you think of Tom's hair?" Susan is not very politically correct. She personally does not like it. But she said, "It is really none of your business where he wears his hair. You just need to know how much he loves you. And if his hair is bothersome to you, you have got problems — not him." Which is why, by the way, we do not let her out a whole lot. I am the soft one in the family and always have been. She has got my backside.
Practical Advantages of Companionship
Verse 11: "Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep warm. But how does one keep warm alone?" There are some practical advantages here too. There is nothing better on a really cold winter night — which we do get here — than getting into bed when the sheets are cold and thinking, we need to spoon. At least until I am warm.
And in verse 12: "Though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." One person you might overpower, but two have a real shot, and if you put three together, they are going to defend themselves. If you take a marriage and you have Susan, and you have me, and you have Christ in the middle of that, that is a tough cord to break. That is the advantage of this companionship.
He is driving this home again and again. You need people in your life in a purely pragmatic way. You cannot fulfill the Great Commission or the Great Commandment without having people involved in your life.
Companionship Alone Is Not the Answer
Yet even with all these advantages, Solomon is still saying you are going to come up empty. Ray Stedman writes: "While there are advantages to companionship, nevertheless the preacher's argument is still that it adds up to emptiness. It does not satisfy the sense of eternity that God puts in our hearts. Many a couple sit in loneliness staring at television screens for hours at a time, or seek other diversions to fill emptiness and misery in their life." Companionship, though better than loneliness, is not the answer either.
The Emptiness of Prestige
Then Solomon talks about prestige. Let me read you a paraphrase of verses 13 through 16. A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old foolish king who does not know which end is up. It is better to be poor and even young if you are wise, than to have all the riches and still be a fool.
"I saw a youth" — verse 14 — just like this, starting with nothing and going from rags to riches. And I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Verse 16: "Even so, the excitement died quickly and the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can't you see it's only smoke and spitting in the wind?"
Solomon is saying he saw people who achieved great things, but once you come to the memorial service and we get that done, you are going to go back to the house and have some baked beans, some coleslaw, some ham, some cookies, some awful red punch — and then you are going to go home and essentially forget the person you just buried. That is what he is saying. Not everyone, but we do not remember much.
I used to do something where I would read off the names of men who served as Vice President of the United States. No one has ever heard of them. I was trying to think the other day who won the Final Four this year. I had to stop and take an inventory. I mean, do you remember Big Brown, the horse who was supposed to be great forever and then finished last? We just move on. I have no sense of history at all, no sense of what went before. These people had enormous consequence in their time, and we do not remember them.
There are people who gave their lives to translating Bibles, who gave their lives to the preservation of your faith. God used them in mighty ways. We do not know who they are. We just call them the saints of old and are happy with that.
Approaching God with Humility
Look at chapter 5, verses 1 and 2: "Guard your steps as you go into the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring a matter into the presence of God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few."
You thought Matt Redman wrote that.
Here is what Solomon is saying: God is God — let Him be God. Understand Him as God. He is so far beyond you and beyond me. So often we seem frustrated that we cannot comprehend all that He is, or all that He does, or why He would do what He does.
Listening to God Through His Word
He loves His people. He is concerned about you and me growing and maturing to be men and women, children and students, who grow into deep relationship with Him. Why would He allow these things to take place? For His own good purposes, and ultimately for our own good. He says in verse 1, "Listen." And how do we listen? We read His Word. God speaks to us through this Word.
J.C. Ryle wrote these words: "The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, the Christian's charter. Read it slowly and frequently and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a health to the soul, a river of pleasure."
R.C. Sproul adds: "If you wish to know God, you must know His word. If you wish to perceive His power, you must see how He works through His word."
Psalm 119, the longest chapter in Scripture, is all about the psalmist leading us back to the Word of God. It opens: "Happy are the people of integrity who follow the law of the Lord." From there the psalmist continues in verse 33: "Teach me, O Lord, to follow every one of your precepts. Give me understanding and I will obey your law, I will put it into practice." Verse 47: "How I delight in your commandments, how I love them." Verse 52: "I meditate on your age-old laws, O Lord, comfort me."
The psalm continues in verse 89: "Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven, your faithfulness extends to every generation." Verse 97: "Oh, how I love your law, I think about it all day long. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your decrees." Verse 105: "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." Verse 129: "Your decrees are wonderful."
God Is Sovereign and in Control
God is sovereign. That is what He is saying — let your words be few. He is God and you are not. He is in heaven and has a perspective on this world that we do not. The phrase I have been using a lot lately is this: He is a micromanager. Now we typically do not like that in business. I am not attracted to the idea of being a micromanager in whatever area of authority I have. But God is a micromanager. He is not a distant God, not aloof and removed. He has the hairs on your head numbered and sees the sparrows fall, and everything that comes into your life He either causes or allows. He is never surprised. He never stops to re-evaluate. A timeless God has not produced dated material for us — He has taught us how we are to live.
He says there are going to be situations where you frankly just keep your mouth shut, except to pray and believe Him and trust Him. That is what faith is.
Three or four months ago I recommended the book *The Reason for God* by Tim Keller. *World* magazine just selected it as the book of the year, and in their interview with Keller one of the questions they ask is: when you are told that meaningless suffering and pointless evil show that God is non-existent or confused, how do you respond? Keller says this: "The problem with saying that suffering is meaningless is that it assumes your vantage point is the ultimate vantage point. One of the problems is that from our vantage point most suffering looks meaningless. Sometimes when you get the perspective you look back and you realize that something was accomplished there."
Here is what he is saying: you are in the midst of something and you are assuming you have the best view, the authoritative view — and you do not. Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9: "My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways, says the Lord." Let God be God.
One of the wonderful things about East Valley Bible Church is that we teach the sovereignty of God not just as it relates to salvation, but as truly who He is — that everything in our life goes through His grid, that He does as He pleases, restricted only by His own character of justice and mercy and love. And so even when we look at our lives and begin to ask why, I understand there are many powerful questions. If you are back in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, back in my home area around Iowa City, they have lost twenty to twenty-five percent of their crop this year. Huge devastation. There was a picture on the internet of a bridge with two or three dozen houses stuck underneath it. Why would God allow that? I do not know. But He is God, and I do not have to try to be God. I can relax and rest and find comfort that He is in control, even when that does not always turn out exactly the way I would like.
The Danger of Loving Money
When you get to chapter 5, verse 10, he talks about money and possessions, and I want to spend some time on this. Look at verse 10: "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity." Verse 11: "When good things increase, those who consume them increase, so what advantage is there to the owner except to look on?" Verse 12: "The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep." Verse 13: "There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through bad investment and he fathered a son, there was nothing to support him."
The Love of Money
As something of a summary statement, Solomon writes: "As he had come from his mother's womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand." There are some powerful statements in there. Look at verse 10: "Whoever loves money never has money enough."
Here is what Solomon is saying: the more you have of it, if you love it, the more you will want it. It is the same idea Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 6:10. Notice what he is saying — he is not talking about money in and of itself being evil. He is talking about our love for it. If you love money, if you are money-driven, if you are driven by stuff, if you are one of the normal, natural-thinking people in this world, then you will never have enough.
The second part of verse 10 reads: "Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." There is never a satisfaction with it. The more you have, the less satisfied you are. Study after study confirms this, and they all go something like this: researchers ask people how much money it would take to be happy. Those making forty to fifty thousand dollars a year say sixty thousand. Those making sixty say seventy-five. Those making seventy-five say a hundred. Those making a hundred say a hundred and a quarter. Those making a hundred and a quarter say a hundred and a half. Those making a hundred and a half say two hundred.
I spent some time years ago with a man who was really struggling during a difficult economic season. He said, "I have cut everything there is to cut. I have got my expenses down to bare bone, and I figure I need right at ten thousand dollars a month — a hundred and twenty thousand a year." He meant it sincerely. He was saying, "Listen, I have already cut out a lot." And you and I hear that number and are stunned. But in his world, that was the minimum.
The More You Have, the More It Costs You
Verse 11 says: "As goods increase, so do those who consume them." The more you have, the more people come along to help you spend it. When I work with professional athletes at conferences, one of the things these men struggle with almost without exception is this: they come from modest means, they receive a large signing bonus, and suddenly everyone is lined up at the door with their hand out. Everybody is there for their share of the deal.
Verse 12 continues: "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep." The more you have, the more you worry about it. The hourly worker finishes his day, stops for a drink and a meal on the way home, settles in, watches some television, and goes to sleep — happy, with everything fine. But the man who owns the shop is worried even at home. He is wondering whether the alarm system is working, whether the air conditioning was left on. The more you accumulate, the more time you spend trying to protect it.
Verse 13 says: "I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner." The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself holding on to it. It is no longer just a matter of accumulating and acquiring — now it becomes about preserving your assets. I read a book years ago called *The Number*, and the central question was simply this: how much money do you need to retire? It is prudent planning to think about that, and it is prudent planning by the way. But I had been working through my own number, and it was all predicated on two-dollar-a-gallon gas. I came to the realization fairly quickly that I was going to be right here teaching for a very long time.
Verse 14 continues: the more you have, the more you stand to lose through misfortune. And then Solomon offers this summary phrase: "I came in naked, and I am leaving naked. I cannot take anything with me." The more money you have, the more you are leaving behind. It is the old question — how much did Howard Hughes leave? All of it. You have heard these truths before. But you need to come back to them again and again.
What "Enough" Really Looks Like
Let me go a little deeper with a couple of surveys. One statement put to respondents was: *I cannot afford to buy everything I really need.* Among people making seventy-five to a hundred thousand dollars a year, forty percent said that statement was true. Among those making over a hundred thousand, twenty-seven percent said it was true. More than one in four people earning six figures believes they cannot afford what they truly need.
Consider another statement: *I spend nearly all my money on the basic necessities of life.* Thirty-five percent of people making seventy-five to a hundred thousand dollars said that was true. Among those making more than a hundred thousand, twenty percent — one in five — said they are spending every dollar they have just on the basics.
What is interesting is the historical context. In 1900, forty-three percent of a family's budget was spent on food. By the year 2000, that figure had dropped to fifteen percent. It is a bit higher now, but still a fraction of what it once was. How can people earning more in real terms than any previous generation still feel like they cannot make ends meet?
We Didn't Know We Needed That
Radio Shack actually gave us the answer. They ran an entire advertising campaign built around one phrase: *We have thousands of things you never knew you needed.* You did not know you needed this. You thought you just needed a phone. But now it has to brew coffee. Now it has to do a dozen other things. And the next model does something the current one cannot, so the cycle continues.
I look around and I see people with the latest devices — people like me — who have these phones because everyone else has one, and we do not entirely know how to use them. I used to have a phone I could simply turn off. Now this thing is talking to me, texting me, sending me messages. My phone wished me a happy Fourth of July the other day. I am not sure if someone sent that or if the phone has developed its own mind. It just started shaking and said "Happy Fourth of July." All I want to do is make a call. I do not even want incoming calls. We did not know we needed any of this.
One sociologist looked at the data and drew this conclusion: we are soaring materially, yet —
The Crisis Beneath the Comfort
We've doubled the divorce rate from 40 years ago, tripled the teen suicide rate, quadrupled juvenile violence, and quintupled the number of babies being born to unmarried parents. And we have all this stuff — we've never had stuff like we do now. Even if you are at the bottom of the middle class, you still have a bunch of TVs and 150 channels and nothing to watch. Susan and I sat down the other day and she said there's nothing to watch. I said that's physically impossible — there has to be something to watch. Honestly, our channels go all the way into the 700s now, and I went from channel 1 all the way to 744, and there was nothing to watch.
Let me give you some alarming statistics. We have about 700 billion dollars in non-mortgage consumer debt right now. Ten percent of the credit cards in the country are in the hands of teenagers. There are enough credit cards in the country for every man, woman, boy, and girl to have four of them. The savings rate is the lowest it has been since the Great Depression.
Here are two statistics that make me look into the future and say we have some serious issues. Roughly 50% of high school students — one out of two — will not graduate. What are they going to do in a high-tech, high-information age? The literacy rate in the state of Massachusetts was higher at the time of John Adams than it is now. That is an alarming statistic.
Here is the other one: for every one dollar increase in household income, spending is going up a dollar ten. How are you going to get out of this cycle of buying things you don't need? I am not a killjoy, by the way. I am not anti-material. I am just anti-materialism.
The Signs Are All Around Us
I was driving back from Forest Home on the morning of July 4th, and I stopped in Blythe to get gas. I needed to use the restroom, so I went into the Albertsons there. I am not exaggerating — every checkout line was open. I have never been in a grocery store, even at Christmas in a department store, like that. There had to be a dozen people in every line, and every single shopping cart had a 24-pack of Bud Light. They must sell nothing but Bud Light at that Albertsons in Blythe.
And then people are getting into cars and trucks the size of a semi and complaining about the price of gas. You bought a vehicle that you financed, you were upside down the minute you drove it off the lot, it gets 3.5 gallons to the mile, and you are complaining about the cost of gas. Everything is starting to come home, and you know what — that is a good thing. It is causing us to look at our habits and ask whether we really need the thermostat at 77 instead of 79, whether we can drive this car another two or three years, whether we need to go out and spend money just because it is somebody's birthday.
These are wonderful times. And it is exactly what Solomon said — this is today's newspaper. Solomon said it has always been that way and it will always be that way. The only way to break this cycle is supernatural intervention. If you are here today and you are frustrated, and you do not know Christ, you are never going to be anything but frustrated, because your fundamental problem is spiritual. The more you make, the more you spend, and it is never enough.
The Trap of Running Away
I was having lunch the other day with a group of about eight people, and five of these guys were ready to move to Montana. I would not go to Montana in a million years. Everyone up there is miserable — people who moved from somewhere else to escape their problems. They want to get out of the rat race, and now there is one road in and out of town with 500 cars on it. It is like going to Prescott. You just run away from your problems. The real answer is a proper perspective.
One of my favorite verses in Scripture is 2 Timothy 2:4: "No soldier in active duty entangles themselves in the affairs of everyday life, so he may please the one who enlisted him." Think about that verse.
The Needs Multiply as They Are Met
Jim Elliot, at age 20, wrote these words about what he called the extremely dangerous cumulative effect of earthly things. He wrote that one may have good reason to want a wife, and he may have one legitimately. But with a wife comes Peter the Pumpkin Eater's proverbial dilemma — he must find a place to keep her, and most wives will not stay on such terms as Peter proposed. So a wife demands a house, a house in turn requires curtains, curtains require rugs, rugs a washing machine, and so on. A house with these things must soon become a home, and children are the intended outcome.
Now listen to this phrase — if you got nothing else out of today, think about this: the needs multiply as they are met. That is counterintuitive. We think we have a need, we meet it, and we are done. But Elliot said no — we meet a need, and in the meeting of that need we create all these other needs. A car demands a garage, a garage demands land, land demands a garden, a garden demands tools, and tools need to be sharpened. "Woe to the man who would live a disentangled life in my century."
He went on to say that 2 Timothy 2:4 is almost impossible to live out in the United States. He wrote: "I've learned the wisest life is this simple one, lived in the fulfillment of only the basic requirements of life — shelter, food, covering, and a bed. With these we can become productive of other needs if we are not careful. Be on guard, all my soul, of complicating."
When Life Interrupts Your Plans
Yesterday I had my day all planned out. Unbeknownst to me, at noon in came Tyler and Haley, Braden and Yale, Timmy and Sarah, and Gracie and Reagan — and they came to go swimming. Now, I don't know if you know much about swimming pools, but most of them are outside. I have a swimming pool I have never been in since we owned the house. I have no need for it, because it's outside.
So we came in, I took Reagan — Reagan's two months old — and I'm trying to get her settled while they figure out how to get the kids into the pool, which is great. I got Reagan in her chair, Susan was feeding Yale, and I went out to help. Then she said, "Why don't you feed Yale?" I stuck the spoon up there and he slashed — so that didn't work. I went back out and kicked the ball to him, brought him chips and salsa, cheese — hotter than snot — while they were in the pool.
They left, and I thought: you know what, there are three hours I didn't plan. I don't remember what I had planned, but it couldn't have touched the value of that moment. This morning when I came in, I went on Sarah's blog — I check her blog all the time, I don't know how she finds time to blog — and there were the pictures from yesterday, and all the things from yesterday, and a thank-you to me and her mom. I also got an email from Haley this morning. I'm sure these two did not collaborate, but Haley said, "I know all that stuff was a hassle, and I know we were there on the Fourth, and I know we were there yesterday — we had a great weekend, and that's why, because you guys open your house."
That's what life is all about. That's the stuff that's important.
Don't Upsize — Simplify
You need to examine your life. And if I can get you on the front end of this thing — if you're not yet married, or just married — I want you to know what my friends are doing: my friends are downsizing. Can I suggest this to you? Don't ever upsize. Put two kids in a bunk bed. You don't need your own office in the house. You don't need that swimming pool. And I speak to this with both biblical authority and personal authority — the time, the energy, the effort, and the money to maintain those things is not worth it. No one is going to care.
Yesterday was a big deal in my kids' lives, and you know what it meant? It meant me setting aside my own agenda and serving them.
Selfishness Ruins Every Relationship
You cannot be a parent, a spouse, or a friend — you cannot be in any relationship — unless you are willing to take your own self-interest and set it aside. As long as you cling to your own selfishness, you are going to be a lousy friend, a lousy spouse, a lousy parent, a crummy kid. And that is what Solomon is saying.
Enjoyment Only Comes Through Right Relationship with God
He says we have to go back to this: he says he wants us to enjoy life. Here is what he has seen. Verse 18: "Here is what I have seen: it is good and fitting to eat and drink and enjoy one's labor." But the only way I can do that is in right relationship with Him. I cannot do it under the sun, apart from God.
And just as you were thinking there is nothing more to say, there are three more weeks of plowing through this same thought — because Solomon is not going to let us go until we say, "You win, Solomon. I need God's perspective."
Closing Prayer
Father, help us look at life this way — see things this way — and live in a way where we have our eyes not on the things around us, but on You. God, I pray that we would understand that it is faith, family, and friends that ultimately matter. There is nothing wrong with stuff, but oh my goodness, is it addictive. We will never have enough. We will never be satisfied. God, do this work in our hearts. Help us live supernaturally. We pray to You in Christ's name. Amen.