Ecclesiastes 5:10-6:9

Friends, please turn your Bibles again to Ecclesiastes 5, verse 10.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

We're going to be in that passage today, pretty closely.

! All the way to Ecclesiastes 6, verse 2.

Ecclesiastes 6:2

Now, the book of Ecclesiastes is about wisdom.

How to grow in wisdom.

The book of Ecclesiastes actually tells us about the harshness of life.

The harsh realities of life.

How things of this world just simply does not make sense a lot of times.

That no matter how hard we try to make the things of this world,

and to make the places of this world our final home,

it continually reminds us again and again that we will continually fail to do so.

This place is not our home.

And the book of Ecclesiastes emphasizes that to really grow up in wisdom,

to grow in maturity, you need to confront yourself with the harsh realities of life.

You need to detach yourself from the world.

You need to sink yourself much deeper into God Himself.

In other words, the book of Ecclesiastes is reminding us again and again,

whatever it is in this world that you think would make this world your final home,

don't cling on to it.

You're going to fail.

Don't cling on to it.

Whether it's pleasure, whether it be wisdom,

whether it be righteousness and the pursuit of righteousness,

whether it be this pursuit of toil, for toil's work,

whatever it might be, don't cling on to it.

And in this specific passage, he's going to talk about love of wealth,

the sense of entitlement that you get in accruing wealth,

the sense of entitlement that you get in working and toiling.

And in chapter 5, verse 10, to all the way to chapter 6, verse 9 actually,

it's one central theme.

It's about how to deal wisely with wealth.

How to get joy, how to not be entitled, how to not be bitter,

how to actually sink your hopes, not in money or toil or wealth,

but in God and God alone.

So in chapter 5, verse 10, all the way to chapter 6, verse 9,

there's this one theme.

And in between chapter 5 and chapter 6, in verse 18 to 20,

you get this soft middle between chapter 5, verse 10, 16,

and chapter 6, verse 1 to 9.

The soft middle that tells you not just what not to do with wealth,

how not to get joy, but the key to joy itself.

So that's going to be where we're heading today here.

So I have three points that I want to point us to today.

First, how not to get joy.

Second, the key to joy.

Third, the greater gift.

So first, how not to get joy.

Second, the key to joy.

And third, the greater gift.

So first then, how not to get joy.

How should we not get joy?

Well, verse 10 tells us,

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money,

nor he who loves wealth with his income.

This also is vanity.

First thing, right off the bat here,

the author of the Ecclesiastes is telling us here,

if you want to grow in wisdom,

if you want to know what it is,

and how to find true joy and satisfaction,

do not look for it in money.

Verse 10 is incredibly clear.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money,

nor he who loves wealth with his income.

This also is vanity.

And in this book,

this is not actually the first time

he's tackled with the temptation

of accruing joy by means of money.

He's already said this before in chapter 2,

verse 20 to 22.

So if you've got your Bibles open,

just turn there really quickly.

Chapter 2, verse 20 to 22,

he already says this,

So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair

over all the tolls of my labors under the sun.

Because sometimes a person who has toll with wisdom

and knowledge and skill

must mean everything to be enjoyed by someone

who did not toil for it.

This also is a vanity and a greater evil.

And in chapter 6, verse 2,

as we read earlier before,

it says that a man to whom God gives wealth,

possessions, and honor,

so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires,

that God does not give him power to enjoy them,

but a stranger enjoys them.

This is also vanity.

It is a grievous evil.

So in other words,

the book of Ecclesiastes,

despite going into different themes

and various kinds of temptations,

returns to the theme of joy and wealth

again and again and again.

He's already said it in chapter 2.

He's repeating it again here in chapter 5,

verse 10 to 16,

and then again in chapter 6, verse 2.

So, for some reason,

he keeps repeating this, right?

And interestingly enough,

when he tackles the temptation

of finding joy and pleasures,

whether it be in sex or relationships,

he only does that once.

He deals with it in chapter 2,

verses 1 to 11,

and then he deals with it,

he leaves it alone.

But it's just something about wealth

that causes the author

to keep coming back to it,

just to keep repeating himself.

He just wants to make sure

that you know not to keep coming back to this.

It's almost as if wealth

and love of money,

it's a perennial temptation, right?

So it's not without reason

that he repeats himself here.

One of the books that I've been reading

to prepare myself

to preach from the book of Ecclesiastes,

is Dave Gibson's book on destiny.

And the book of Ecclesiastes

is actually right there

in the back there.

And he actually skips

chapter 5 and 6.

To his shame.

But I did not shame him in person

a couple of days ago.

I wish I did now.

But I think there's something about it

because you're sensing,

if you're writing a book

on the book of Ecclesiastes,

you might be thinking to yourself,

why is he repeating himself again?

He's already tackled

wealth and accruing possessions

in chapter 2.

Why would he come back to it

in chapter 5

and then again in chapter 6,

some of his hammering it

again and again and again.

Well, it's not without reason.

Wealth is a perennial temptation.

We seek pleasure and joy

primarily in wealth.

And in fact,

Luther in his larger catechism,

he says that the most common idol

that we see in this world,

the most common enemy

to loving God

with all of our heart, soul, and mind

is precisely in love of money.

That's the first thing he tackles.

So again in chapter 5, verse 10,

he says,

how not to get joy?

Don't find it in wealth.

You're not going to get there.

You're not, you're simply not,

you're going to be satisfied with it.

So avoid it completely.

So what is the kind of person

who loves wealth?

Well, the second part of chapter 5,

verse 10 tells us.

The kind of person who loves wealth here

is he who loves wealth with his income.

That's the kind of person

he has in mind here.

He who loves wealth with his income.

The picture and the image here

is someone who simply

using his wealth

to accrue more wealth.

Someone who's toiling

for wealth,

for wealth's sake.

So if you're asking this person,

why are you working for your income?

This person will simply say,

well, more income.

Why are you gaining

and gaining more wealth?

Well, he would say,

I'm gaining wealth

so that I could get a greater income.

Why would you get more income?

Well, simply to get more wealth.

So there's a cyclical

kind of toil here

where he's accruing wealth

and he accrues wealth

for wealth's sake.

He loves wealth with his income.

So he uses his income

to gain even more wealth.

So this kind of person,

it's not the kind of person

who tries to look for profit

or gain

for the sake of love

of his neighbor.

Because that's a biblical view of work.

where you're accruing wealth

so that you can actually

reverse the effects of the fall,

so you could actually

alleviate poverty,

so that you could empower others,

so you could feed others.

You can actually give them

empowerment by means of employment.

That's not the kind of person

that he envisages here.

Rather, he envisages here

a person who accrues wealth

not for other people,

but simply wealth for wealth's sake.

And the author is utterly clear,

that is a one-way trip

to utter misery.

So not only does he

keep repeating himself,

not only does he have

this picture of this person

who loves wealth

and uses wealth for income

cyclically,

and income for income's sake,

he gives us some implications

of what happens here

when you love wealth

with your income.

Verse 11,

When goods increase,

they increase who eat them,

and what advantage is their owner

but to see them with his eyes.

So what's the implication

of the kind of person here

who loves wealth with his income,

who simply pursues wealth

for wealth's sake?

The implication here is that

the owner is going to see

that the more income

that he accrues,

the more wealth

that he gathers for himself,

the more gain that he has

for himself,

he's also going to feel

a kind of bitterness.

Because he's not accruing wealth

for other people's sake.

When other people enjoy

the fruits of his labor,

when other people gain

from the fruits of his labor,

he's going to only look at them

and he's going to think to himself,

what profit is there to me?

So he says again,

verse 11,

when it goes increase,

they just increase who eats them.

What advantage is your owner?

Because see them with his eyes.

So in other words,

he's saying here,

well,

I'm gaining all this wealth,

I'm working hard for all the fruits

of my labor,

I'm gaining all this money,

and all I'm seeing here

is other people

benefiting from it.

My employees

are getting

and benefiting from it.

A family member

said,

I don't like

benefiting from it.

And he's thinking to himself,

this doesn't profit me

or anything.

This is not giving me pleasure.

Right?

Again,

which is the opposite

of somebody

who works biblically.

The person who works biblically

will work

and then when he enjoys

the food of his labor,

is joyous with the fact

that other people

are enjoying it.

I'm sharing this with you.

I'm giving this away.

Right?

I'm generous with my toil,

with my labor,

with my gifts,

with my money.

But here instead,

you see somebody

who ends up bitter,

ends up feeding

this kind of territorialism.

I've worked hard for this

and it doesn't profit me

in any way

that other people

are benefiting from it.

There's no advantage

to my eyes

and it only makes me

more and more

and more miserable.

One of the best examples

of this that I've seen

recently,

I've been guilt-watching

and binge-watching

Gordon Ramsay's

Kitchen Nightmares

just constantly.

And I'm in the UK

so contextualization here

is important.

So I'm going to quote

a Gordon Ramsay clip

here for you.

So,

I've been binge-watching

Kitchen Nightmares

and you know,

the premise of

Kitchen Nightmares

is Gordon Ramsay,

who's a celebrity chef,

would come in

to kitchens and restaurants

that have been failing,

right?

And he would come in

and he would work

with the chefs,

work with the owners,

make sure that the kitchen

turns around,

they serve good food,

their service becomes better,

and make sure that

by the end of the weekend

that he spends there,

they would get their lives

up and running

and the restaurant

up and running again

and well, right?

Now,

it was interesting to me

because he probably recorded

hundreds of these episodes,

just seasons upon seasons,

like 12 years worth of it,

the American version

anyway, right?

And there's only one episode

where Gordon actually

turns away

and refuses to help

an owner

with this restaurant.

Every other restaurant,

no matter how dirty

their kitchens are,

no matter how messed up

their food is,

he stays,

he cooks with them,

he helps them out,

he makes sure that

everything is turned around.

There's just one episode

where he actually gives up.

He thinks,

I can't help them.

I can't help them.

But on the second day,

he walked away.

And it made headline news

and became viral on Twitter

and it became a sensation

and stuff like that.

And what's interesting to me

is I watched this episode,

he left not because

the food was so bad

or because the service

was so bad,

he left because of

an attitude of the owners.

What he found out

is he went into this kitchenist

and the owner

was a husband and wife.

The husband

was so entitled

to his work,

he said to himself,

I'm the manager

of the floor,

I work harder

than all of my servers.

And you know what

he ended up doing?

He took all of the servers' tips.

He took all of it.

And in an American context,

that's atrocious.

That's a sin.

That's a cardinal sin, right?

Because in America,

the waitresses

and the waiters

and the bartenders,

they live off their tips.

They don't get a wage

outside of their tips.

That's what their wages are.

It's the tips itself.

And what Gordon found

was that

this husband,

his owner,

took all these tips

every night

and so the waiters

were getting paid nothing.

So there was a turnover

of waiters

again and again

and again.

And when Gordon asked him,

why would you do this?

Why would you take away

their livelihood?

You know what he said?

I work harder

than all of them.

I work harder

than all of them.

I deserve this tip.

They work for me.

When they prove to me

that they could get

this money,

I'll give it to them.

But until then,

I am entitled to this.

This is my view.

And likewise,

the wife,

who was the chef,

couldn't take criticisms

of her food.

She kept saying to everybody

who pushed the food back

or said that the food

was bad

and criticized her food,

she would simply say,

you know what?

They've been coming

to my restaurant

and I cook for them.

How dare they

critique my food?

I work hard

at working at this food.

There's this deep sense

of entitlement

with love of wealth

that what Gordon's sensing

there in these two couples

is this, right?

I am working hard

for wealth

and I'm working

harder than anybody

and it does not

profit me

what other people

are profiting

from my labors.

Other people

are benefiting from it.

And this isn't just

out there in TV, right?

Especially in the context

like Asia.

I know families

who are ripping

each other apart

simply because

they're fighting

for inheritances

from their parents.

Even though deep inside

they know

that they have done

nothing to gain

this trust fund

or to actually earn

any of the parents'

inheritances,

they're suing

one another

as brothers and sisters

simply to gain

this trust fund

or to get the inheritance

over their parents

who are now too old

to speak for themselves.

I know people

who therefore

out of a bad venture

out of people

fighting for

particular kinds

of properties

are fighting

to one another

simply because

of objects

and material possessions

because they're thinking

to themselves

I work harder

than all of you.

I deserve this

more than all of you.

I'm entitled to this.

So because of

the love of wealth

because of this

deep sense

of entitlement

we rip each other

apart.

We rip each other

apart.

And we feel

this difference

out of our hearts.

So it's not surprising

in verse 12

another implication

of love of wealth.

Not just that you get

this kind of

territorialism

not just that you get

the sense of

entitlement

but in verse 12

it tells us

sweet is the sleep

of a laborer

whether he eats

little or much

but the full

stomach of the rich

will not

let him

sleep.

Sweet as sleep

of labor

whether he eats

little or much

but the full

stomach of the rich

will not

let him sleep.

I love that verse.

In the context

of Jakarta

where crazy rich

Asians

is a reality

this is a verse

that needs to be

put up

in a lot of homes

and in bedrooms.

My goodness

because if there's

ever a reminder

that wealth

does not

give you

satisfaction

or pleasure.

Here it is.

Sweet is the sleep

of a laborer

whether he eats

little or much

but the full

stomach of the rich

will not

let him sleep.

There's a contrast

here between

the sleep

of a laborer

think of here

a blue collar

worker

who knows

simply the day's

worth of work.

He comes in

does his job

knows his responsibilities

for the day

thinks just about

that day

knows the day's

works ahead of him

knows his responsibilities

for the day

knows that he needs

to put bread

on the table

and then he eats

and then he sleeps

and then that's it

that's all he thinks about.

He knows the day's

worth of work

and there's a kind of

joy to this minimalism

of just knowing

your responsibilities

for the day

not thinking about

the future

all of your other

responsibilities

not thinking about

a queen

wealth for wealth's sake

that is in contrast

to the full stomach

of the rich

who will not

let him sleep.

And look at verse 17

this

is not just

a case of insomnia

in verse 17

it tells us here

again that

the rich

spends all his days

he eats

in darkness

and in much

vexation

and sickness

and anger

in other words

there's something here

about love of wealth

love of money

that causes

a holistic

kind of crumbling

you see

our bodies

and souls

are deeply connected

such that there's

a bitterness

and a vexation

that comes from

love of wealth

that causes

not just lack of sleep

but sickness

and anger

the person just

crumbles under

this weight

of bitterness

and entitlement

you see

and I hope you know

that this is true

isn't it

some of you

have actually

lived through this

right

when you've actually

felt what it's like

to work up

the professional ladder

and you realize

to yourself

as you're working

up the professional ladder

you're not actually

getting any happier

in fact it might

actually be the opposite

when you first

got your first job

and you were getting

your suits from

Primark and H&M

you know

you're walking

in the subway

and somebody rips

your suit

and you didn't

think a minute of it

you're like

well who cares

it's just a suit

from Primark

ten years later

you got a suit

from Hugo Boss

someone rips it

you can't sleep

at night

vexation

anger

you see

same thing with cars

same thing with

anything else

there's just

something insidious

about love of money

something that

attaches us to it

that

material things

seem to weigh us

down and bog us

up

right

and again

you know this

to be true

you know

we like to think

that we're not

that rich

we like to think

oh we're in

Ealing London

you know

we're not in

central London

we're not

the top 1%

in the world

but hey

friends

you are

you're in London

you are

in the UK

let's face it

compared to the

rest of the world

we're rich

and some

of you

you know

despite not

having a bank

account filled

with millions

you come home

and you know

that you've got

a couple months

worth saved up

and you've got

food on the table

and you're not

worrying about

what you're going

to eat in the

next month or two

or three or years

and yet

for some reason

you still can't

sleep at night

you're still

miserable

and you keep

thinking to yourself

if only

I could just

get up the

financial ladder

one more time

if only I could

just get one

more ring

if only I could

just get that

car

if only I could

just get that

promotion

as long as I

get one more

stage of life

up ahead of me

get more money

I'm just going

to be happy

well just think

back upon your

life

think back upon

your life

that wasn't the

case when you

were poor

sure

so why think

that it's going

to change

and be any

different now

in the future

so don't

don't fall

into the trap

of thinking

that wealth

will satisfy you

so again

think about

the sweetness

of the sleep

of a labor

whether he

eats little

or much

think about

the day's

worth of

trouble

it is enough

in itself

right

I remember

one time

my parents

and my

family

broader

family

they've done

quite enough

work for

themselves

so my dad

is getting

older now

and he's

hired a

caretaker

to come

in and

care for

his

knees

so this

caretaker

would come

in and

cook for

us

clean up

and things

like that

and I

remember

my parents

were not

believers

there was

a fight

that we

had one

day

about

something

particular

about

the business

and I

was involved

in it

because

you know

as a son

I had

to be

and we

were fighting

back and

forth for

hours and

hours over

the morning

right

and the

caretaker

was there

the caretaker

was there

and I

remember

I was

recovering

from this

conversation

that I

just had

spewed

within

family

and I

was having

a coffee

right

afterwards

and she

looked at

me

in a

quiet

moment

and she

said

you know

what

I can't

imagine

what it

must be

like

to have

to wrestle

with these

kind of

issues

I just

know that

I need

to come

in

I need

to cook

I need

to clean

up

I need

to go

home

and have

my kids

and I'm

happy

and I

thought to

myself

woe is

me

woe is

this

family

that we

have so

much

more

here we

are

psychologically

impaired

compared to

this

person

who could

have so

much

more

not

just

about

the

vexation

of

richness

that

causes

us

to be

attached

to

things

that

are

valuable

but

it's

also

I

think

the

disillusionment

that comes

with

richness

the

disillusionment

that comes

with

realizing

that we

have

everything

that we've

ever

needed

everything

that we've

ever

wanted

only to

find that

it

doesn't

actually

satisfy

us

and so

we lose

sleep

over it

and we

got to

consider

the fact

that

sometimes

God

gives

us

everything

we've

ever

Jim

Carrey

was

famous

in saying

that I

wish

everybody

could be

rich

and famous

so that

they would

know

being rich

and famous

isn't the

answer

being rich

and famous

isn't the

answer

and you

might be

thinking to

yourself

Jim

Carrey

of course

he would

say that

he's

rich

and famous

but who

else

would say

it

who

else

has

the

ability

and the

credence

to say

so that

it

would

be

valid

right

here's

somebody

who's

telling

you

I

wish

everybody

could

realize

that

if they

got

everything

they'd

ever

had

they'd

still

be

miserable

because

now

they

realize

it

I've

got

everything

why

am I

still

sad

why

do I

still

feel

unsatisfied

why

am I

still

disappointed

why

do I

still

feel

this

existential

angst

of living

in this

world

and so

they

lose

sleep

again

not

simply

because

of

their

attachment

to

material

things

because

now

they've

realized

it

for

themselves

because

they've

experienced

it

for

themselves

I've

had

everything

that I've

ever

wanted

in life

and yet

here

I am

still

miserable

that's

not the

only kind

of misery

that might

happen

to you

verse 13

tells us

all the way

to verse 16

another kind

of misery

that

that

endangers

the person

who is

attached

to wealth

there's a

grievous

evil that

I've

seen

under

the

son

riches

were

kept

by

their

owner

to

his

hurt

and

those

riches

were

lost

in a

bad

venture

!

Here

in this passage

he's not

talking just

about

the misery

of living

wealth

but how

the misery

of living

wealth

also could

double

your

suffering

precisely

because

here

whatever wealth

you've

accrued

for yourself

the book

of Ecclesiastes

is reminding

you

you will

lose it

again

you will

lose it

again

you might

in a

split

second

get into

a bad

venture

and you

lose

everything

you've

ever

had

or

if that

doesn't

happen

to you

in a

lifetime

in your

lifetime

one day

you will

die

death

is coming

it is

inevitable

and

naked

as he

came

and shall

take

nothing

for his

toll

it may

carry

in his

hand

just as

from the

mother's

womb

he

came

so

he

shall

go

you

can't

take

your

possessions

away

with

you

and if

you

love

money

you're

not

just

going

to

feel

this

loss

of

this

moment

of

loss

in a

bad

venture

or in a

moment

of

death

the fact

that you

can't

take

these

riches

away

with

you

but

if

you

love

wealth

you're

going

to

double

your

suffering

look at

what

it says

in

verse

13

losing

your

wealth

one

day

whether

it

be

by

bad

ventures

or in

death

but

you're

also

going

to

feel

this

sense

of

distraughtness

because

you

idolized

it

so

when you

lose

your

wealth

you're

not

just

going

be

shocked

by

the

loss

of

the

wealth

it's

going

to

utterly

destroy

you

you

if

you

lose

wealth

but

you

don't

attach

yourself

to

it

you're

going

to be

!

like

Job

who loses

everything

he's

ever

had

and

he's

distraught

about it

he's

lamenting

before

God

he loses

everything

he's

ever

had

but

yet

because

he

never

idolized

wealth

because

he

never

put

wealth

first

he

wasn't

destroyed

he

kept

worshipping

he

was

able

to

say

to

God

and

he

was

able

to

lament

before

God

he

was

able

to

keep

obeying

God

even

despite

the

loss

of

wealth

but

if

you

idolized

wealth

the

moment

this

loss

hits

you

you're

not

just

going

to

be

sad

or

lamenting

you're

going

to

be

utterly

distraught

that

means

you've

kept

your

riches

to

your

hurt

and

that's

not

the

way

to

go

so

then

that's

the

first

point

how

not

to

find

joy

which

is

not

to

find

that

satisfaction

and

wealth

or

money

or

anything

else

in

this

world

how

then

should

we

the

key

to

joy

and

this

is

found

in

verses

18

to

20

right

before

chapter

6

starts

right

verse

18

to

20

the

key

to

joy

right

so

here

in

this

passage

it

tells

us

what

to

do

and

what

not

to

do

right

here's

how

we

should

get

joy

there's

the

key

to

joy

and

there's

two

aspects

to

this

the

first

thing

you've

got to

understand

to have

lasting

joy

and

lasting

contentment

is to

realize

that

everything

you've

ever

gained

is

due

to

God

and

not

yourself

that's

the

first

thing

everything

!

you've

ever

gained

is

due

to

God

and

not

yourself

and

it's

utterly

counterintuitive

to us

because

as

modern

people

we

like

to

think

that

all

of

our

achievements

is

something

that

we

recruit

for

ourselves

we

were

the

ones

who

picked

ourselves

up

in

our

bootstraps

we

were

the

ones

that

worked

hard

we

were

the

ones

who

gained

all

these

things

for

ourselves

right

we

like

to

think

that

we

are

an

self

achievements

here's

all

my

publications

here's

all

my

work

experience

you've

listing

all

of

your

individual

achievements

right

and

so

that

gives

you

the

illusion

that

you're

a

self

made

person

and

no

wonder

then

you

feel

entitled

because

if

you

think

of

yourself

as

a

self

made

person

if

you

think

of

yourself

I've

accrued

wealth

for

myself

I'm

the one

who

worked

hard

for

this

I'm

a

self

made

man

then

of

course

you

feel

entitled

of

course

you

feel

bitter

when

you

feel

snubbed

when

people

get the

reward

and not

you

of

course

you

feel

entitled

when

things

don't

go

your

way

because

you

thought

to

yourself

I

have

earned

this

I'm

a

self

made

person

but

you

see

the

ancients

they

were

more

modest

and

they

were

more

realistic

the

ancient

form

of

the

CV

isn't

like

the

modern

form

of

the

CV

in

the

modern

form

again

we

list

all

of

our

achievements

all

of

our

entitlements

all

of

our

gains

in

life

and

as

an

individual

that's

what

we've

listed

in

our

CV

in

the

ancient

world

the

CV

is

a little

bit

different

when

you

open up

to

the

book