Can't Get No Satisfaction
Download MP3If you have a bible, I invite you to turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. It's also there in your worship guide. Ecclesiastes 5. Through throughout this book of Ecclesiastes, the preacher, who I believe to be Solomon, The preacher is going to teach us that there are 3 great equalizers in life. There's time, death, and chance.
Joel Brooks:No matter who you are, no matter your education, your wealth, the power, your status, time, death, and chance will affect us all. And so last week we looked at time. This week, we were supposed to look at death, but it's mother's day. And we're gonna have all these babies being dedicated here, and, you know, just couldn't do it. So we're we punted death to next week, so no death is coming.
Joel Brooks:Death is coming next week. This week, we're gonna look at what Ecclesiastes has to say about wealth, which really also has nothing to do with Mother's Day, but at least it's not death. So, we have a lot of scripture there in front of you, but I'm gonna begin by just reading the first verse, and then we'll work our way through as we go along. Ecclesiastes 5 verse 10. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.
Joel Brooks:This also is hevel. This is the word of the Lord. And to
Connor Coskery:the spirit.
Joel Brooks:If you would pray with me. Father, as I saw the these families and kids up here this morning, I was struck anew by just the beauty of your church and that we are all family. Through your spirit, Jesus, you have united us together with a bond that is far thicker than any blood. It's a bond that's been formed together by your blood. And it's a bond that endures for all of eternity.
Joel Brooks:And so Lord, thank you for my family. And Father, we ask that you would speak to your children today, that you would use your word through your spirit and you would speak to us. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But Lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen. So Lauren and I, we bought our first house, which was in Crestwood, just down the road, for a $107,000. And it it was a a charming, small, somewhat dilapidated, lots of character in it house. But one of the things that, was really unique about it that we liked is in the dining room, it had some fancy built in glass shelves that went down. And and we, we decided that we would use those glass shelves to display all of our, wedding gifts.
Joel Brooks:I don't know what they give now for weddings, but when we got married, it was china and crystal. And so we had lots of china and crystal. And the crystal was really nice. There was all this Waterford crystal. There was goblets, pictures, vases, or different plates.
Joel Brooks:I mean, anything crystal you wanted, it was given to us and we had it all displayed there. And it actually looked really beautiful with the glass shelves. So we were having some people over for dinner, and I decided to put a red candle on one of those shelves. And and I lit it, that it's red will be important later. And after dinner, we're in the living room.
Joel Brooks:We're talking, and I hear this little kink, just this little sound. It's like, What was that? It was probably a dish settling in the sink. It was not. It it was the candle heating up the top shelf, and it was beginning to crack.
Joel Brooks:And then we heard what was the loudest and most expensive sound you have ever heard. The top shelf broke, which then broke the next shelf, which then broke the next shelf. And it went all the way down, every shelf broken, every piece of crystal and China broken. And then the candle hit the ground and rolled all the way across our new oriental rug. Of course, we get up, we rush into the room because it sounded like a car had just driven through, the dining room.
Joel Brooks:And we rush in there, and we just look at the, you know, the carnage in front of us. And I'm looking at Lauren. I'm looking at this. And I knew, like, this is the time, like, the husband says the right words to put a ease, everything. And so I looked at Lauren.
Joel Brooks:I said, it was all gonna burn anyway. To which she responded, I would have liked to have enjoyed it first. So who who was right? Who was right in this? What what was the right reaction to this?
Joel Brooks:How are we to look at our wealth, our possessions, just like it's all gonna burn? Or are we to enjoy them? Or is are we supposed to do both? Can we know that they're all gonna burn and we enjoy them? Let's see what the Ecclesiastes, the preacher in Ecclesiastes tells us about this this morning.
Joel Brooks:He's gonna teach us 4 things about having money. And we're gonna walk through each one of these. And just remember, this is Solomon. So he knows a thing or two about wealth. And the first thing that he teaches us here in verse 10 is that you will never have enough money to satisfy you.
Joel Brooks:Ever. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income. This also is hevel or a puff of smoke. In preparation for the sermon, I read a survey in which people were asked, how much money does it take for one to be considered rich? The common answer was more.
Joel Brooks:It was more than whatever they were making. So for those who were making a 100,000 a year, they would say, you know, maybe 200,000. For those who are making 200,000 a year, they're like maybe, you know, 3 or 400,000. For those who made a1000000 a year, they said, well, you need to make millions to be considered really rich. But it was always more.
Joel Brooks:Now growing up, I watched the cartoon The Simpsons. And by that, I mean growing up when I was in college, I watched a cartoon. But but in the cartoon, if you're familiar with the characters, there there's Homer and then there's mister Burns who's the wealthiest person in the entire city. And at one point, Homer, he went to mister Burns. He said, mister Burns, you are the richest person I know.
Joel Brooks:And he said, I know. But I would trade it all for more. I would trade it all for more. We we seem to always want more, don't we? For those of you who are working, let me ask you this question.
Joel Brooks:Are you currently satisfied with your salary? I realize it's awkward because some of you are working for some other people here. You probably don't wanna raise your hand or maybe you do. This is the time. How many of you are happy or content with your salary?
Joel Brooks:Now keep in mind, the salary that you are making now, you would have just killed for 5 years ago. Oh, if I could just make that, you would have killed for it. You're now making it now. Are you satisfied? We we seem to always be wanting more.
Joel Brooks:Even in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve thought they needed the fruit from just one more tree in order to be fully satisfied. See, our problem is this. We have eternity in our hearts and yet we're constantly trying to nourish ourselves with temporal things. And Solomon says you cannot nourish your heart with money. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.
Joel Brooks:Now Solomon's talking about money here, but you could replace that with any other thing. He who loves blank will not be satisfied with blank. Our hearts must be fed with something eternal if they're ever to be satisfied. Do you actually believe that? I've realized as I was studying this, by far, the the biggest interpretive issue in Ecclesiastes, and there were so many interpretive issues when when you're really kinda reading and studying through this.
Joel Brooks:I haven't bored you with 95% of them. But by far, the biggest interpretive issue is this. We think we're the exception. As we hear Solomon, it's not so much an understanding what he has to say. We think we are the exception.
Joel Brooks:And that has hit me hard as I've been preparing for this sermon. As I've been studying about the love of money, I was prepared to write a sermon about you. And it became a sermon about me. So the thing is when we go through Ecclesiastes, and we've already heard the preacher he talks about, you know, he's talked about work. He's now talking about wealth.
Joel Brooks:He's talked about time. He's talked about how we're on the treadmill of life, and how we're always, you know, endlessly doing laundry, it never ends. Endlessly doing dishes, it never ends. It's this treadmill, and here's the main interpretive problem, especially for those who are younger. You're listening to Solomon.
Joel Brooks:You're like, yeah, I get you, but my life's gonna be different. My life is gonna be all adventure. I'm never gonna I'm never gonna drive a minivan. Any of y'all ever say that when you were younger? Yeah.
Joel Brooks:We just we we can't envision our lives going down the road that Solomon says, it's gonna go down this road. You're gonna struggle with these things. We always think we're the exception, and I have thought myself as the exception to this. This is what other people need to hear. No.
Joel Brooks:This is what I need to hear. Money will not satisfy. That's if you have a lot of it or if you think you just need more of it. The next thing the preacher teaches us about money is that it will not give you friends, but it will give you a lot of freeloaders. Look at verse 11.
Joel Brooks:When goods increase, they increase who eat them. And what advantage has their owner, but to see them with His eyes? So the more you have, the more your children, the government, or some freeloaders are just gonna take away from you. And I love Solomon's honesty here as he's looking through this. He's, you know, I picture him, he's going outside, he's looking at all of his possessions, and he's like, you know, I've got like 10 different cars.
Joel Brooks:I've got all the ATVs. I've got the lake house. I've got the boats. I've got like, you know, own a restaurant. All of these things, and yet, everyone else is using them but me.
Joel Brooks:Where did these people come from? Wealth attracts all of these freeloaders. The more wealthy you come, the more friends you get. Solomon knows from experience. Remember the epic parties that he threw?
Joel Brooks:I mean he's feeding 15 to 20000 people a day. Let me ask you this, do you think 15 to 20000 people would have shown up for a party if there was no food, no booze? Solomon, you're just a great friend, and we wanna come and support. They're not his friends. They're just coming to get what he has to offer.
Joel Brooks:They're mooching off him. Solomon knows that the wealthier one gets, the harder it is to determine who are actually your friends and who just want what you have. Can I tell you, it's it's really hard? And this is true for more than just material wealth. You could be wealthy in other areas.
Joel Brooks:You could be wealthy in the connections that you have. Wealthy in your honor. You could be wealthy in your fame or your power. And then you're always wondering, why are people so friendly to me? Is it for me or what I can offer?
Joel Brooks:I read that Bernie Cozari, you know, is a former quarterback for the Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer. At one point he went bankrupt. And at one point, he had 60 different people on his cell phone plan. And they asked him. It's like, who are these people?
Joel Brooks:He goes, I have no idea. But money attracts people. The more money you have, the more mouths there are the feed and the harder it's gonna be to discern who your friends are. This is a way that you could determine who a friend is if you're wondering. Will that person speak hard truth to you?
Joel Brooks:Will that person risk offending you? Does this person is are they gonna speak that that hard truth, or are they only gonna tell you what you want to hear because they wanna keep that gravy train rolling? And let me ask you this. In in the relationships that you have with someone, who is wealthier than you, do you really see those people as friends? Or are you just saying whatever you have to say to appease those people so you could keep the gravy train rolling?
Joel Brooks:The bottom line here for Solomon is he just noticed the wealthier he gets, the more people there are around him, and it's hard to discern who really is his friend. Next, the preacher tells us this. The wealthier you are, the harder it is to sleep. Look at verse 12. 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.
Joel Brooks:So a benefit of having a job in which you're on your feet all day or or which you know you're working with your hands, is that when it comes to the end of the day and you're going to bed, the moment your head hits that pillow, you are out. Because you're utterly exhausted. And Solomon says that's not the case with the rich man. Now, no, the rich man likely needs to take some tomes or some rolays because you know, of all those rich foods in his belly, His belly belly won't quite get settled. It's hard to sleep.
Joel Brooks:And then the rich man's probably gonna need some more medications to make him sleepy to go to bed because he's not physically exhausted enough. At least not enough to override the anxious thoughts that keep spinning in his head. Can't turn off his mind. And this might be because the rich man is is worried. He's not making enough money or he's worried about losing money or because he's just bored trying to think of ways to spend his money.
Joel Brooks:But he can't shut it off and he can't sleep, always churning. I love my favorite old testament scholar is a man named Derek Kidner. He's he writes really small commentaries, which I love, but but he's always so pointed in them. And this is what he comments about this passage. He said, I look at our modern exercise machines, which lets you know how old he is.
Joel Brooks:Okay. I look at our modern exercise machines and health clubs, and I come to the conclusion that it is one of our human absurdities to pour out money and effort to undo the damage of money and ease. The wealthy person finds it hard to sleep. The next thing the preacher tells us is that you cannot depend on your money for security, because money is here today, and it's gone tomorrow. Look at verse 13.
Joel Brooks:We'll read through 17. Therefore, there is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun. Riches were kept by their owner to his hurt. And those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.
Joel Brooks:As he came from his mother's womb, he shall go out 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?
Joel Brooks:Moreover all his days, he eats in darkness, in much vexation, in sickness, in anger. The preacher here is He's thinking about somebody he knows. I believe this is an actual person that he knows. And the first thing he says, is that this rich man kept riches and that hurt him. So it was really bad that he had wealth.
Joel Brooks:But then he says it was also really bad that he left, that wealth left him. Both situations were bad. But he says there's a grievous evil that this man loses his wealth in some bad venture. He doesn't describe what this bad venture is. We have no idea what it is, and that's the point.
Joel Brooks:It could have been absolutely any anything. This could have been, you know, he invested in some stocks and the stock market crashed. It could be he invested in the housing market and interest rate swords, and and nobody's buying houses anymore. It could be he put his money in a bank and the bank folded. We we don't know.
Joel Brooks:But the results is this, these things happen and we just lose money. It can't be counted on. Anything could happen and you can lose it all in a moment. And so wealth will never provide for us the security that we crave. I'll tell you what.
Joel Brooks:You know, I I keep getting, you know, the news I'll I'll read a thing. Don't put your retirement in a 401 k. I'm like, what? Immediately, I'm just what's what's going on? And I realize my security.
Joel Brooks:Where my security is so wrapped up. Finally, the preacher says this, that even if you were to accumulate loads and loads of wealth and possessions, You cannot take any of it with you. You've heard, you know, the the saying, sometimes it's a a bumper sticker, but there are no U Hauls behind hearses. And that's true, but I I don't wanna make light of it. I think sometimes we just try to joke about these things so we don't actually have to think about them.
Joel Brooks:But the truth is all of us will leave the world just as we entered it with absolutely nothing. In the end, all all the toil that you spent accumulating all of those things, it's just hevel. Vapor, puff of smoke. Here's the hard truth. You're gonna die.
Joel Brooks:There's going to be an estate sale. Strangers are gonna walk through your house casually looking at all the things you treasured and then move on. It's evil. The preacher calls this a grievous evil. Yesterday, I preached a funeral that was here.
Joel Brooks:After the funeral, we had the graveside service and so I went there. And some of you were at that service. And the last thing I said at the graveside was I said, this man here brought nothing into this world, and he takes nothing with him. From the earth, he came to the earth, he goes. Ashes to ashes.
Joel Brooks:Dust to dust. We take absolutely nothing with us. If we try to hold on to it, it's like holding on to the wind. So if money is not gonna bring any type of satisfaction, if it's not gonna bring true friends or security, what's the solution? Well, the preacher is gonna give us his summary statement next in verses 18 through 20.
Joel Brooks:He says, behold what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment. And 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 to rejoice in his toil. This is the gift of God. I love verse 20.
Joel Brooks:Solomon's honesty here. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. In other words, God's gift to you is that he'll make life go by fast. This is another one of Solomon's enjoyment passages, that are scattered throughout the book. We'll we'll look some of these.
Joel Brooks:Mostly, we'll we'll hit this hard when it comes to the conclusion of Ecclesiastes. But the preacher here, he says there's nothing better. Nothing better than for us to enjoy good food and the drinks that we have toiled for. If we're wealthy, be thankful. If we're not wealthy, still be happy because God's the one in control of these things.
Joel Brooks:We enjoy what we have. Whether you're wealthy or not wealthy, you're still enjoying God's gifts. Notice here that when the preacher's talking about money beforehand, he never mentioned God. And that's His conclusion was all It's all heville. It's all heville.
Joel Brooks:It's all heville when he never mentions God. But here, God is front and center, central to all of his thoughts. Wealth isn't central. God is central. And now all of a sudden, there's joy.
Joel Brooks:Joy finally enters in the picture. You see, when you're no longer looking for something to satisfy you, but instead are looking for the giver of that something to satisfy you, you can actually find joy. And what the preacher here is teaching us is that when you no longer need something, you can enjoy it. When you no longer have to have it, you can actually be satisfied with it. You can enjoy all of that wealth because you are no longer demanding from it something that it cannot give you, which is satisfaction for your souls.
Joel Brooks:Take it. Leave it. Perhaps give it away. Doesn't matter because those things do not have a hold on you. Money?
Joel Brooks:It's just money. It's not your identity. You know, when the rich young ruler came to Jesus and wanted to follow Jesus, what did Jesus ask him to give up? Think about the story. What what did he actually ask ask him to give up?
Joel Brooks:Did he say, I want you to give up your joy? I need you to give up your friendships. I need you to give up your security. I need to give up your rest. Did he ask him to give up any of those things?
Joel Brooks:No. He just asked him to give up his money. Jesus was gonna give him all of those other things. If he actually had followed Jesus, he would have had more fulfillment, more rest, more security, more fellowship than he could have ever imagined. Jesus was just saying, give up the thing that's not giving you those things and come follow me.
Joel Brooks:And it says that he went away sad. He couldn't give it up. The irony is he walked away from the greatest treasure of all. This is how this preacher ends his discussion on wealth. He talks about how the wealthy, well, they actually walk away from joy.
Joel Brooks:Verse 6, chapter 6, or sorry, verse 1. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind. A man to whom God has given wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all he desires, yet God does not give him the power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is hevel. It is a grievous evil.
Joel Brooks:The truth is this. We live in a time and a place where we possess 99% more than all the people who have ever walked the earth. And yet, we're still not satisfied. Picture pretty much any person from any other time and place. We're living a life better than them.
Joel Brooks:Given the choice between going back there or having a life we have, we're like absolutely, the life we have so much better, but could could I just get a little bit more? We still think the solution is to have a little bit more. Solomon says it's all heavy. It's this is a grievous evil. The solution is not getting more, and the solution is not trying to live with less.
Joel Brooks:The solution is that none of those things matter whether you have more or whether you have less. The solution is that are you going to God to have the eternal desire of your heart satisfied? You know how you're never supposed to go to the grocery store when you're hungry? I mean, I made that mistake not long ago. I decided instead of having lunch, I would go to the gym and I'd work out.
Joel Brooks:And so I finished working out, and then Lauren asked if I would stop by Publix, pick up some just sliced turkey for the kids for for lunch. She just needs some deli meat. I'm like, sure. I'll go by and do it. I went into Publix Ravenous.
Joel Brooks:So I got the turkey, but while they were cutting it, I also saw the apple fritters. I was like, gotta have a few of those. Got the Pringles, got some more Pringles, got some chips, got some other salsa. I just started loading up with things. The only reason I didn't bring home more is because I didn't bring a buggy, but it was all I could hold.
Joel Brooks:Filled with junk food. Why? Because I was hungry. I went shopping when I was hungry. This is how some of us go through all of life.
Joel Brooks:We walk through life hungry. And as a result, we're just throwing things in the cart. You know, you're throwing the houses. You're throwing the cars. You're throwing the vacations.
Joel Brooks:You're throwing in the clothes, but you're being driven by this eternal hunger. And all you're getting is junk food. You're wondering why you're not satisfied. Imagine if you went through all of your life already full. Can you imagine that?
Joel Brooks:You go through life and your appetite is satisfied. Think of the wise choices you would make. I could look at something and be like, I could have that or not have it. It's just money. It's just a nicer car.
Joel Brooks:It's just a nicer house. Be great if God gave it to me. Be great if he didn't. It doesn't matter because I'm full. Only Jesus says, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Joel Brooks:Only Jesus says, come to me all who are thirsty and I will give you living water. Only Jesus satisfies the heart. So who is right between Lauren and I? Is it all all our possessions just temporal and gonna burn or should we try to enjoy them? The answer is both.
Joel Brooks:Both. But we can only enjoy something when we know it's gonna burn, when we're not trying to build our lives on it, not trying to find any eternal significance or meaning in it, but our heart's been satisfied elsewhere. When our hearts are full with the eternal love of Christ, then we can enjoy all those temporary gifts that he gives us. Pray with me. Father, this passage we just read is not about being wealthy or not being wealthy.
Joel Brooks:It's about our souls finding satisfaction in you and then enjoying whatever gifts you give us as we endure this life of toil. You're a good and gracious God to us. Thank you for the many things you give us but most of all, thank you for giving us you, for sending your son Jesus. I pray that we would go to him for the satisfactions of our hearts. And we pray this in His name.
Joel Brooks:Amen.
