Wednesday 13 Nov 2019

November 13: Ecclesiastes 5:10-15

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 5:13
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

Devotion:
This summary of the meaningless of money is quite apt and covers so much which we take for granted or don’t even think about. The more we love money, the more we want it and the less we feel we have – greed soon sets in and begins to take over our life because we become less and less satisfied with what we have, always looking at ways of making more money!

The more we buy with our money the less we seem to care for the things we buy – the less they mean to us and the more we go out and buy more things. What good are all these trinkets other than to boast about our wealth or to have something to look at? The more we have the more worried we become about losing things and the more we worry about our lives, or the more we worry about the lack of certain things in our lives!

But what about that need to make more money – what happens to the people around us? Do we start to give more money away to people who need it, or do we try to hide our wealth away so others cannot take it away from us? I like the way the bible describes this as being harmful to us! The more we try hide it, the more we worry about it, the more we seem to be susceptible to people who are willing to harm us in order to get at our riches…

Does this mean it is evil to gain money and save it up? No. It is the greed and lust which take over our ways because of the love of money which harms us. If we remember just who it is who allowed us to gain these riches, we may well be more willing to treat it with the respect due to it. You don’t have to give all your money away to please God, but withholding it when it is possible to help others is not what God had in mind when He allowed you to gain those riches…

Points to Ponder:
Do you help others out with their needs?

Will you allow God to guide you in helping others?