The Two Horizons Prosperity Gospel

Ecclesiastes 5: 10-20

Enjoying Wealth as God’s Gifts

Christians are neither averse to wealth nor endorse a life of poverty. In fact, the Old Testament portrays wealth as a symbol of blessedness. It is normal to pursue wealth and career. We spend a lot of our time at work. Being diligent at work naturally builds wealth and a good career.

The Bible shows us that having wealth is beneficial. Ecclesiastes 10:19 says, “A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!”

Money answers a lot of problems. It is very expensive to send our children overseas to study at prestigious universities. Money solves that problem. When we are down with an illness, money gives us access to the best doctors, hospitals, and medication. Money allows us to do many things. It is a great convenience.

When Ecclesiastes says that “money gives everything,” it is not advocating materialism. Rather, it is pointing to reality. By the way, this person who speaks words of wisdom in Ecclesiastes is called ‘the Preacher Qoheleth’. He is a very realistic man. He observes every human activities and experiences under the sun.

Money can indeed improve the quality of our lives. Money buys us better houses and cars. Proverbs 10:15 says, “The wealth of the rich is their fortress.”Clearly, money can make our lives more secure. Wealth attracts respectability and friends.

However, one’s attitude towards money will determine whether one is able to truly experience its benefits. In Ecclesiastes 5:10-20, the Preacher teaches us how to benefit from wealth in a volatile, fast-changing world and fleeting nature of life.

Interpretation and Application

Verses 10-12 reveal to us three attitudes that distort the true value of money.

Verse 10 says, “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!”

In the book of Ecclesiastes, ‘hevel’ often translated as “vanity/meaningless” , means something like vapour, cannot be apprehended permanently or something that slips away very quickly or something that does not ultimately benefit oneself.

Lovers of money are those who have turned money into their purpose of life. And people are inclined to compare to others who are in the same bracket, and we therefore always find someone else is doing better, so we don’t feel satisfied with what we already have. We will never understand the meaning of contentment.

Such people work tirelessly day and night thinking about how to earn more money. But how much money is enough money? When will such a person stop pursuing money? This attitude of “not contented” causes the Preacher to lament the vanity of making more money.

Verse 11 says, “The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!”

As our income increases, our expenses increase as well. For this reason, we are unable to reap the true benefits of wealth. From the Preacher’s perspective, when our expenses increase in keeping with our income, there is debauchery and waste. A luxurious lifestyle, however, is transient and has no ultimate benefits. It is, in the final analysis, in vain.

Furthermore, we notice that luxurious lifestyle often leads to piling up of debt and ultimately bankruptcy.

When you are wealthy many will come knocking at your door. At the restaurant, everyone will count on you to pay for their meals. Many will want to befriend you for your money. Many hope to benefit from your wealth. They are not your real friends. All of this is vanity.

Verse 12 says, “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.”

A person who has a humbler lifestyle works hard to make a living. Whether he has much to eat or not, he sleeps well at night. His life is simple. Conversely, the rich lives in abundance but his life is complicated. In order to expand or even just to maintain his wealth, he is bothered by all kinds of concerns and has to factor in various forms of risks. He finds it hard to sleep at night.

When one has money, he invests them in the hopes of making even more money. But investments are not invariably profitable. There is always the risk of losing it all. So, investors are often worried and the fear can be crippling and the pressure insurmountable.

If you invest a lot of money in the stock market, the first thing you do in the morning may not be to read the Bible and to take care of your spiritual needs. You will be looking at the stock prices. If the prices drop, your heart sinks. Immediately, you feel the pressure. This is because you have invested a lot of money in the stock market!

If you have no money to invest, you can easily focus on the Word of God when you wake in the morning. The wealthier you become, the harder it is for you to keep a pure heart. You will experience greater pressure and worries.

Then in verses 13-17 remind us that the rich may attract misfortunes in life.

“There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind.” (vv. 13-16).

It is not definite that the rich will certainly be able to enjoy the goodness of wealth. Life is full of unexpected circumstances and misfortunes. When disaster strikes, he stands to lose everything. How will he provide for his children? How can he live on? The Preacher says that such a person’s hurt is self-inflicted.

In South Africa, the homes of the Chinese people are surrounded by barb-wired walls and automated gates. Within the compound of their homes are fierce and vicious guard dogs. All of them have guns in their bedrooms! This is because many South Africans consider the Chinese to be rich and some seek to rob them and even to kill them. So, they need to have automated gates, guard dogs, and guns.

Or when the country experiences turbulence, there will usually be a financial crisis and the rich will take a calamitous hit. The rich is cursed with the task of maintaining their wealth.

If you do not fully enjoy all the wealth that is accumulated through your hard work, you cannot bring along the balance with you after you die. This is because one dies the way one is born: in total nakedness. The only difference is one is born with clenched fists (ready to apprehend and to strive) but one dies with relaxed palms (inability to hold on to anything).

This shows that you do not know if you will be able to enjoy tomorrow the wealth that you have accumulated today. Wealth is something that you did not generate on the day that you were born and it is something that you cannot cash out on the day that you die. In the light of all these, what is there to gain for the rich?

Finally, verse 17 says, “Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.”

Here the Preacher describes the pitiful state of a person who eats in misery. Such a person is overcome by loneliness, grief, and bitterness. He did not enjoy his wealth when he was able to do so. Now the time has come where he is no longer able to enjoy it. Perhaps old age and illness result in the loss of appetite. Soon, he dies.

Verses 18-20 begin with “Behold!” The Preacher here changes his tone and affirms that human beings can truly enjoy the goodness of wealth.

“Behold, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.” (vv. 18-20).

Here, the Preacher introduces God into his discourse and affirms that God is the Giver. God is the Giver of life (v. 18). God is the Giver of wealth and possessions (v. 19a). God is the one who enables us to enjoy our lot amidst our toils (v. 19b). This means that our ability to enjoy our wealth and possession amidst our toils is a gift from God. God is the Giver of our days of joy (v. 20).

God gives us wealth and possessions so that we may have what we need to live. God has allotted us with days to live and also provides for our needs to live through those days. We are able to enjoy life amidst our work because God has given it to us.

Evidently, God does not want us to hold on to wealth but to make good use of it. We are able to be joyful when we consume, labour, live, and enjoy the remuneration given to us, because this is what has been allotted to us. It is our lot from God.

So, it is not wrong if you sometimes take your family and friends out for a nice meal and have a good a time. It is completely reasonable if you spend some of your commissions or bonuses on holidays overseas. It is entirely acceptable that you spend a portion of your hard-earned money on hobbies, entertainment, leisure, sports and fitness, or health and beauty.

The Preacher is not advocating a life of indulgence. Rather, he is advising us to live responsibly. Indeed we should lead a responsible, balanced life. We need to find the balance between work and rest, income and expenses, exertion and health, etc.

All in all, we should not be a miser. Instead, we should aim to be good stewards of resources. It is not about how much money we have. It is about whether we are managing it well by putting money to good use.

Since God has given us the ability to work and also the days and health to enjoy the reward of our labour, why should we short-change ourselves? God wants our life to be filled with joy so that our days of toil mould our character and refresh our souls. We need to learn to enjoy the blessings that God has poured out upon our lives. We need to know how to use our wealth to live in the present. This is a way of fearing God.

Conclusion

The Preacher is of the view that human beings ought to have a proper concept about wealth. One, wealth is a gift from God. Two, one has to work hard before one is able to truly enjoy wealth, because “enjoy wealth” is the “lot” that follows a hardworking person – it is one’s deserved compensation. Three, we should put money to good use rather than just hoarding it. Four, one’s attitude towards money should be joy rather than discontentment.

All in all, one’s wealth is not measured by how much money one has but by how much one is able to enjoy it. God has blessed many of us with lots of possessions. There is no need for us to crack our heads over how to accumulate even more. Even worse would be to covet after another’s possessions. Rather, we should learn to enjoy the fruits of our labour while we still have today. Then, we will truly have joy all the days of our lives.

The Preacher says this elsewhere, in 9:5-10, “The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth.  So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne! Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.  Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.”

The Horizon of the New Testament

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes observes lives and their experiences under the sun. His horizon is limited to this life on earth. However, in the New Testament, we have a full revelation of God. The New Testament authors and Jesus himself present us the horizon of life after death.

All Christians who have rested in the Lord will one day be resurrected bodily to receive our “lot above the sun”. We shall all reign with Christ when his Kingdom comes in full measure.

The Lord Jesus says, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36);

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 19-21)

If you set as your goal the accumulation of wealth or advancement in career, not only do you forfeit the eternal life, you also forfeit the value of the present life. What you stand to lose out on is not only eternal salvation but you also do not have joy and satisfaction in the present life. Only in the Lord will you be able to gain true joy and satisfaction. Only in the Lord will you find the abundant life.

The epistle to the Philippians exhorts us, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). To rejoice in the Lord is to be dependent on the Lord for our rejoicing. This means that there is no true joy and satisfaction outside of the Lord. There is no abundant life outside of the Lord.

Even in the midst our toil to earn a living, we still live for the Lord. We must live according to God’s desire, which is to put what God has allotted us to good use and to enjoy it, and never forget that, giving money as offering to the local church. May the Lord have sovereignty over our money! Then, our life will be even more abundant because we are faithful servants of the Lord who have stored up treasures in His eternal kingdom.

This life is short and transient, but God’s kingdom last forever. It is only wise if we place our heart desires on the Lord’s glorious and everlasting kingdom!