Today's Scripture Reading (December 15, 2022): Ecclesiastes 6
What would you do if you won
the lottery? I mean the big jackpot, not one of the lesser prizes. The truth is
that, according to statistics, few of us are ready for that eventuality. The
huge win doesn't last long for most winners because most of us are not versed
in the demands that money places on our lives. We think that we are and want
the win, but history reminds us that the huge lottery win or even inheritance
that we receive seems to leave us just a little slower than it came into our lives
in the first place.
But winning a large amount of
money is very different from acquiring it yourself. I heard a colleague joke
that the demands of wealth were beyond him. He didn't want to worry about the
stock market's reactions to world events or what was happening with interest
rates or inflation and having to discern what all of these things might mean
for his money. I have to admit that I lean on my financial advisor for most of
that, and I am glad to leave whatever money I have in his qualified hands.
Qoheleth argues that some
people are given great wealth but don't enjoy it. Instead, the enjoyment of the
things they have acquired is left to other people. And in the mind of Qoheleth,
this is a grievous evil. And if Qoheleth is King Solomon, as we suspect, I
wonder what that says about his great wealth. Not only did Solomon have great
material wealth, but with 1000 wives and concubines, he must have had many
children (sons) as well, another mark of wealth in his society.
As I read Qoheleth's
statement about this grievous evil, the question I want to ask is how Solomon
felt about his own wealth? Was the wealth so much and the responsibility to the
nation so overpowering that he didn't feel like he could enjoy what God had
given him? Did Solomon end up believing that his wealth was a curse?
If that is true, then there
might be a lesson that those of us with lesser wealth need to learn from the
experience of Solomon/Qoheleth. We may not be people of great material wealth,
but many of us know the wealth of family and good friends. And that wealth
might be more important than any other riches we might possess. So, not
enjoying that wealth might be the most grievous evil of all, and it is also a
practice that is not forced on any of us. Enjoy the good people God has placed
in your life, and make the most of the relational wealth God has bestowed on
his people.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Ecclesiastes 7
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