“Money, Money, Money” – Pt.3 – Ecc. 2:1-11

6/2/13 Christ Fellowship

“Money, Money, Money” – Pt.3 – Ecc. 2:1-11

Are you glad to be here this morning?  Why?  Are you glad to live in the United States?  Why?  We have some of the most beautiful places in the world here but that is not the main reason why people live in the US.  We have some of the friendliest people here but that’s not the reason.  We have a relatively good economy, at least it is structured to be, but that is not the ultimate reason that people live here. 

The ultimate reason that people live here and even originally came here was for the freedom.  We are a freedom-loving people and we always have been.  It’s the reason that 102 British pilgrims set out on the Mayflower in 1620 and sailed to the New World.  Not only that, but it wasn’t just freedom in general that brought them but freedom of religion specifically.  They didn’t want anybody telling them how or what to worship.

We can appreciate that even in our church here this morning.  We are a Southern Baptist church but we are autonomous and can do basically what we please as far as our style of worship.  And we like that.  That’s why we can joke about there not being a lot of rules around here.  And while we know we are not perfect, we think what we are doing is right and correct and honoring to God.

But what about the people out there that are doing it wrong?  Is it ok for people to worship differently from us?  Is it ok if they don’t immerse or if they don’t have instruments in their music?  What about the folks who handle snakes and kill chickens or even start their services at 11?  It’s crazy.  I know.  But it’s ok with us if that’s how they feel they ought to worship.  They have that right and I believe most of us would fight for their rights even when we know they are wrong.

I have said before that everybody wants to know truth.  It doesn’t always mean we are going to do the right thing, but nobody wants to go through life being deceived, whether it is the meaning of life or the best Mexican food joint in town.  But there is something about our quest for truth that will always involve the giving of our resources.  It involves our resources because when we find truth, we want to invest in that truth.

In 1978, Jim Jones and 900 of his cult followers committed suicide in Guyana after Jones had collected all their life savings and even had their government benefit checks signed over to him.  In 1993, David Koresh and 75 other “Branch Davidians” died in a fire when the FBI raided their cult compound.  Koresh also demanded that all of those that live there give him all of their resources.

You see the same mentality in less extreme versions in the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Scientology.  People are searching for truth and their time, talents and treasure go with them.  The problem is that they make horribly wrong decisions when choosing who or what to worship.  Every human heart desires to find something outside of itself, something that will last and something that is worth living for.

Romans 1:18-22 says, “¹⁸ For the wrath of God ^lis revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,⁷ in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 pClaiming to be wise, they became fools”

Verse 18 says that through their unrighteousness, they suppress truth.  God has revealed enough of Himself to mankind to make us want to know more.  The problem is that following the One true God, Yahweh, seems just too hard or it doesn’t always make sense and so people, from the beginning of time have created their own gods; gods that make sense to them.

I will just say one more time that if I can make complete sense of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, then He’s not much of a God.  And I don’t really feel bad about that because I know that even the wisest man in the world couldn’t understand God.  God told Solomon to ask Him for something and Solomon (wisely) said he wanted wisdom and so God gave him wisdom and everything else he could want and it makes for a fascinating case study of what money and stuff can do even to a wise man.

This is the last of the 3 sermons in our series entitled, “Money, Money, Money” and I hope you have seen that even when I do teach about money it doesn’t have to be painful.  But I also hope that you have learned that there are benefits of obedience in Heaven as well as consequences of disobedience for how we handle our money while here on earth.  I hope that you have learned that money is just a tool and with it or without it, it is our relationship with God through His Son Jesus that makes this life livable

Today, I want us to look at that wise man, Solomon, who had everything in the world that one could hope to have and yet still he was dissatisfied.  The book of Ecclesiastes is a fascinating book.  It is a book that many have wondered why it was allowed into the canon of scripture because it is different than all the others.  Just a casual read can leave you feeling depressed that if Solomon can’t find happiness, then who can?

You all know the story of Solomon.  He was the son of King David, became the third king of Israel, builder of the first temple there, the wisest man who ever lived and had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  He was a busy guy.  He had a lot on his plate but he also found time to use his great wealth and wisdom to try to find the secret of life.  Ecclesiastes was written toward the end of his life and was the result of that search.

The book is fascinating because it is written by the wisest man to ever live and as such can be difficult to understand without some study.  But it also shows the extent that a man can go to find truth and happiness because if any man could be able to find it, Solomon should.  And he made it almost a clinical research project using everything possible to see if he could attain happiness.  Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. ² “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” ³ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. ⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;    I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.  ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

So, what did Solomon do wrong?  He starts out by saying that he wants to find out what is good and ends by saying that everything was meaningless.  So evidently his definition of “good” is to find something that was meaningful.  He used all of his money and his resources, including his great wisdom to search for something meaningful, and fell short.  I would like to propose that Solomon messed up in 3 ways.

In searching for something meaningful and eternal he pursued a good time instead of a good name.

He pursued happiness instead of joy.

He pursued material wealth instead of spiritual wealth.

Solomon was on the right track in looking for something meaningful and eternal but you are never going to find meaningful and eternal in the material and mortal.  He used all of his material wealth and status and influence to obtain a good time.  There is no doubt about that.  He says in verse 2 that he had laughter.  He had pleasure.  He mentions delights and pleasure and reward.  But in the end all he had was a good time.  And he wisely saw that it was nothing gained.  It was temporary and he was looking for something that would last.

Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”  Is that true?  I don’t know if it’s a perfect example but you get the idea by thinking about the possibility of someone promising to give you a million dollars if you changed your name to Adolph Hitler.  Would that be worth it?  Would it be worth it to sacrifice your good name for money?

Solomon had a pretty good name just based on the fact that he was king.  If you had asked anybody living in that day what they thought of Solomon, they would have said nothing but good things, at least while he was alive, just because he was their king.  But what did God say about Solomon at the end of Solomon’s life?

In 1 Kings 11, God says that Solomon has forsaken Him and has not walked in the right ways nor kept His statutes like David his father did.  A good name is not assigned to you with your title or your status.  God looks at your heart and sees what you do in secret.  He knows your character, not just your reputation.  A good name, as used in Proverbs 22, is the name in which you are known by God.

How was David known?  In that same passage in 1 Kings, God says that David was His servant who observed His commands and statutes.  Now, wait a minute, God.  This is the same guy who shed innocent blood and lied and stole another man’s wife.  How can you call him good?  “He was my servant who observed my commands and statutes!”

David was known by God to have a good name. Solomon was known as the king with all the wives.  David was known by God as a man after His own heart.  Solomon was known as rich.  David was known as the greatest king Israel ever knew.  Solomon was known as the next king.

A good name is to be desired because a good name will live on after you are dead and buried.  A good name not only looks good on you but also your family and friends and ultimately the Kingdom.  A good name is meaningful and eternal, just what Solomon was looking for.

Solomon also pursued happiness instead of joy.  Now some of you may think I’m splitting hairs here.  Aren’t joy and happiness basically the same thing?  Well, they can go hand in hand sometimes but not always. .  You can have joy without happiness and happiness without joy.  James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”  So obviously you are not going to have happiness in trials but you can have joy.

The difference is that happiness depends on your circumstances.  Joy comes from your attitude and your outlook.  Isaiah talks about us having “everlasting joy”.  If Solomon wanted something that was going to last, he should have pursued joy instead of happiness.  But how do we get joy?  It’s obvious that money and stuff don’t bring joy and that the happiness they bring is fleeting and unfulfilling so how do we go about getting true joy?

I need you to look at another verse with me in the Psalms.  Turn to Psalm 16:11.  It’s important that you see this and take it in because if you want to be able to have joy or even be filled with joy as this verse says, you need to understand this.  This is the secret to having joy.  This is the secret to having what Solomon was searching for and didn’t know it.  Solomon’s dad knew it but Solomon, the wisest man on earth, missed it.

Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

 

That verse has 3 lines.  The second talks about being filled with joy.  The third talks about eternal pleasures.  How do we get filled with joy and have eternal pleasures?  It’s in the first line.  God has made known to us the path of life.  He has told us what to do here in the Bible.  He has told you in your prayer life.  He has told you through your godly friends and family.  He has made known to you what you are supposed to do up to this point.  You want joy?  OBEY HIM.

Oh, I know I sound like a broken record sometime talking about obedience but it’s right there as the secret to having eternal joy filling your life.  He has shown you the right way to go.  He has told you to be holy; to be different and set apart.  Now, as Nike says, just do it!  Nobody said it was going to be easy but at least it’s not hard to understand.  Solomon asked for wisdom and that was a great thing to ask for but evidently he should have asked for the ability to be obedient instead.  He knew what he should do.  He just didn’t do it.

In Hebrews 12:2 it says, “For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross.”  Why did Jesus endure the cross?  Because the Father told Him to and Jesus knew that obedience brings joy even for the Son of God.  Folks, that’s powerful!  Solomon had all the money and all the stuff that a man could want.  Did that bring him joy?  Nope.  Did it keep him from having joy?  No.  We learned last week that money is not good or bad in and of itself.  Our joy doesn’t have anything to do with how much or how little money we have.  Our joy comes from being obedient to what God tells us to do.

Imagine what Solomon could have done if he had just been obedient.  But he pursued a good time instead of a good name and happiness instead of joy and now I want us to see that he pursued material wealth instead of spiritual wealth.  Matthew 6:20 says, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  “Treasures in Heaven”; Ok, how do you do that?

Well, all we have to do is turn over to 1 Timothy 6:17-19 and read that.  Paul tells Timothy to “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

“Be generous and willing to share.”  In our main passage, Solomon says the words, “I”, “me” or “mine” over and over and over.  He kept trying to do for himself what he could not do by trying harder or spending more money or using more resources.  He wanted to find something that would last by getting more and more stuff but, as is so often the case in God’s plan, the secret was just the opposite.  The secret is to give it away. 

There’s nothing wrong with having material wealth.  I have known of some wealthy people who were very generous and they were just as happy as they could be.  In fact, because of their great generosity, they had great joy as well.  The truth of the matter is (and like I said everybody wants to know truth) that money is a tool and if you use that tool properly then you will be rewarded. 

You will be rewarded in this life with joy and you will be rewarded in Heaven as well.  Those are rewards that are eternal.  It has been said that money will buy a bed but not sleep, books but not brains, food but not appetite, a house but not a home, medicine but not health, amusement but not happiness, finery but not beauty and a crucifix but not a savior.

The Savior can’t be bought but can only be had by grace and through faith.  Money?  It comes and it goes but the Word of God stands forever.  It has been proven through the life of Solomon and through our lives here this morning and will continue to prove itself long after we and our stuff are long gone.

Do you want a good time or a good name?  Do you want happiness or joy?  Do you want material wealth or eternal wealth?  You can’t serve both God and money.  Make the decision today to do what God asks you to do with your time, your talents and your treasure.  You will be glad you did.