Well, thank you, Pastor Bobby. We didn't get to have service last week, but in between last time I was with you to preach, and today I went and got a haircut. I don't know if you can tell. But I always appreciate, I go to Armano's barbershop. I always appreciate the way he cuts my hair. But there was an interesting conversation I overheard when I went there to get my haircut. I thought it ties in a lot with the passage we're going to be looking at today. I overheard a conversation between another barber in his shop and a customer. And the conversation was about the recent stock surge of the company GameStop. I don't know if you followed that saga in the news. Don't worry about it if you didn't. Just know that there was this, there was a bunch of people who decided to invest en masse in this one particular company's stock, and its share price rose meteorically. Stock has since fallen back to where it started. But over two weeks or so, there was this huge increase. But anyways, the two were talking about this recent development with the GameStop stock. And the customer remarked about how he himself had actually received a number of shares in that stock before the amazing price surge. And close to the peak of the price, he was able to cash in. And if I overheard him correctly, he said that he had made within a week or so, $100,000. Made $100,000 and then he was talking about what he was able to do with that money. As I was listening, a pair of thoughts momentarily passed through my mind like this. Boy, if only I were so fortunate. What could I do with $100,000? Have you ever wished for more money? Maybe when you saw someone else's success, or after you saw a certain advertisement, or even maybe after you dealt with some problem in your life for the 18th time, and you cried out in your soul, if only I were rich! Or, if that seems a little too arrogant, if only I made more money. Then they wouldn't have so many problems, annoyances, worries, I could finally pay off all my bills and even the expenses of my loved ones. I could finally get involved in the church, become part of gospel ministry. I could finally buy my dream house. I could travel. I could actually enjoy life. Have you ever found yourself saying those kinds of things to yourself? We're encouraged in these thoughts by our culture, by the famous American dream that promises us, if you work hard enough and long enough, you too could achieve that good life. And maybe that's the dream that you're working towards right now. But what if I told you that more money and more possessions definitely, absolutely, no question, would not make any of us happy? And what if I told you that being wealthy would cause just as many problems for you and for me as being wealthy seems to solve? And what if I told you that the way to enjoy life most is to fear God and be content with what you have? Now, this is not just my opinion. This is not some conclusion I've come to after a fallible life experience. This actually is the very wisdom of God in His Word. That's the wisdom that God is going to speak to us today. Please take your Bibles and open to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 5. The title of the sermon today is, The Vanity of Wealth. This is part one of what will probably be two parts on this passage. Ecclesiastes, just to remind you, is a book written by the wisest and most knowledgeable man who ever lived apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's King Solomon of Israel. Solomon wrote this book at the end of his life to instruct the next generation on how to live life well in a vaporous world, a world that is fundamentally vaporous and broken because of the fall. Now last time together we looked at Ecclesiastes 5 verses 1 to 7, the first part of this chapter, where Solomon taught us not to speak to or about God casually, thoughtlessly, hypocritically. We are to watch our mouths even in worship and wisely fear God instead of ruin ourselves with mere religious folly. And the theme of that section of not thinking too highly of ourselves or thinking too highly of what we ourselves are able to accomplish, it's going to continue in the next section of Ecclesiastes that we're looking at together now, and that's a section talking about wealth. So let's read this whole section, Ecclesiastes 5 verses 8 to 20. Ecclesiastes 5, 8 to 20. Here's what the Spirit of God says. If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight. For one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them. After all, the king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This, too, is vanity. When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep. There is a grievous evil which I've seen under the sun, riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through a bad investment, And he had fathered a son, and there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so he will return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. This also is a grievous evil. Exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind? Throughout his life, he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness, and anger. Here's what I've seen to be good and fitting. To eat, to drink, and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him. For this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. What we have here from Solomon is a fundamental presentation of the vanity or vapor-like nature of wealth. Solomon has broached this concept, this topic a few times in Ecclesiastes, but now he faces the topic head-on. We could summarize the main idea of this whole passage in this way, and I'll repeat this later, but I'll give it to you now. In Ecclesiastes 5, verses 8 to 20, Solomon gives two main reasons for you to beware vainly seeking after wealth and instead gratefully rejoice in your portion from God. What are those two main reasons? Number one, wealth ultimately won't satisfy you. And number two, wealth ultimately won't protect you. Now, we're not going to try to cover this whole passage today. We do have the Lord's Table. We're just going to examine the introduction in this section and also the first main reason to beware seeking after wealth. Let's start with the introduction, which appears in verses 8 and 9. If you look at those verses again, it may seem to you a little random. doesn't seem to be connected to the previous section talking about words and worship, and doesn't seem to be connected to the following section talking about wealth. What's it doing here? Actually, the brief admonition of verses 8 and 9, it bridges the two sections by linking the concepts of arrogance and wealth-seeking. Because what is Solomon specifically addressing in verses 8 and 9? Government corruption. And we'll see this in a moment. Now, these verses, especially the latter half of verse 8 and verse 9, they are very difficult to understand in the original Hebrew. If you compare the modern English translations, the major ones, they vary in how they try to capture what these words say. So while one cannot be too dogmatic on the specific message of these verses, the main point is certainly clear from the beginning of verse 8, and that's this. Don't be surprised by corruption. Don't be surprised by corruption. Now, I think there's an additional message which I'm going to argue for a little bit more tentatively. That's what's in parentheses there. We'll come back to that. But fundamentally, certainly, get this point, don't be surprised by corruption. Look at the beginning of verse 8 again. If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, Do not be shocked at the sight. Notice the term oppression. This is a word we already saw back in Ecclesiastes 4.1. It describes someone who has power mistreating someone who doesn't have power for the sake of gain. Different kinds of oppression in the Bible. The oppression that Solomon has in mind here is particularly financial and judicial because notice who is being oppressed here? It is the poor. It is those without the financial resources to resist mistreatment or to obtain justice in court. Notice the phrase, the denial of justice and righteousness. The word denial literally means violent robbery. It's like these rich persons, they have violently stolen the court's just judgment to pull off and get away with their schemes against the poor. Because that is often what the rich would do. We see this even in the scriptures. The Bible is full of warnings and rebukes against this kind of behavior. The rich and powerful using their wealth and power to oppress the poor and get more for themselves. We could go to passages like Proverbs 14, 31, James 5, 1-6, 1 Kings 21, where we have the narrative of Ahab and Jezebel taking Naboth's vineyard. We don't have time to look at those passages specifically, but know from the Old and New Testament, God says this kind of activity, this corrupt oppression, gets God's attention and it will result in His holy judgment. It is a serious matter. But that's what's being described here. They're rich. Maybe they had workers work for them and then at the last moment they said, oh, I'm not paying you. Deal with it. Or maybe they said, I'd really like that piece of land. I'm going to take it from you. I'm not even going to pay you for it. I'm going to give you a really small amount. Or in fact, I'll make sure that you die and I can just take it. That's what Ahab and Jezebel did. This is the kind of behavior Solomon's talking about. And notice where he says it takes place, Ecclesiastes 5.8, he says, in the province. That is, one of the administrative districts away from the capital. Remember that in a world before fast communication like we have today, no internet, no phone, not even a telegraph, it was hard to keep tabs on what was taking place away from the capital. It's hard to pay close attention to those things. And powerful men, they would use this distance from the seat of government and from the king to their advantage, to their selfish advantage. Now let's say you're a government servant sent out to the provinces on behalf of the king and you discover instances of oppression and corruption. How should you respond? What should be part of your response? That's what Solomon says. Do not be shocked at the sight. Is this oppression evil? Yes. Will it bring God's judgment at the appointed time? Yes, it will. But should we be surprised by it when we find it in the land? Not at all. Not at all. This is just a fact, a sad fact about life in a fallen world. People with power and wealth are going to oppress those without in order to get more. Now thankfully, not every authority or every rich person is guilty of this. No, some do fear God and they manifest God's common grace. It is an error for us to say every rich person is an evil oppressor. Nevertheless, political, financial, judicial corruption, they should be expected in this world. And of course this doesn't mean that we don't do anything about it when it's discovered, when it's uncovered. Like we said in Ecclesiastes 4, if there is something that you can do to genuinely help a situation of oppression, either to escape from it or to address it and rectify it, then do it! God is a God of justice. Christians should love genuine justice and seek it when they genuinely can help do so. But many times, even most times, there will be nothing that we can do to stop the evil oppression and corruption because it is too powerfully entrenched. And I believe that's actually what Solomon tells us in the second half of verse 8. Look at what it says there. For one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them. where translated official here is literally high one. Most interpreters think that Solomon is referring to people in high authority, that is people in the government administration. Solomon employed many such officials in his purposefully arranged bureaucratic network. And one might think that this network of officials overseeing one another would prevent and punish any oppression that occurred. And one might be tempted to take Solomon's earlier admonition not to be surprised in a positive way. Oh, don't be alarmed. Don't be horrified over any oppression you see in the province. Our system of administrators will identify and take care of this injustice in no time. Don't you worry. While the passage does allow for that interpretation, I think if we've become familiar at all with any governmental system, ancient or modern, We know that this is not actually how it works. Yes, a system of checks and balances can help restrain oppressive tendencies. But all too often, even these systems themselves become sources of corruption and oppression. Officials who are supposed to watch one another, keep them in line, make sure they're upholding a just standard, they begin to watch out for one another. and to help make sure that their mutually corrupt acts do not get reported or punished. Hey, I won't report you, just give me a little bit of what you're making. Give me a little bit off the top. And no societal system is immune to this disease. Democracy, monarchy, capitalism, socialism. Be sure that you will find corruption and oppression in all of them. Now, these systems may vary on their types of corruption and levels of corruption, and within this system, over time, it may change, it may go up, it may go down. But some corruption will always be there. And why? Is it because governments are innately evil? Is it because property is innately evil? No! It is because man is evil at his core. and he's characteristically enslaved to his lust for more. Man is the ingredient that makes every societal recipe, even the best ones, fail. Until you fundamentally change man, until society is filled with men and women, with hearts changed to love God and love justice, you will not see the end of corruption, oppression, and injustice. Therefore, I take the second half of verse eight as a negative observation and not a positive one. Those in power are frequently arrogant and committed to their own gains. So don't be surprised. Don't be surprised when you see that corruption manifest. Don't be surprised even when a multi-level system designed to check selfishness instead becomes an exploitative system feeding selfishness. And then, verse 9. After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land. Huh. You might be wondering how these verses relate to what was just said. Again, the Hebrew is very puzzling. Literally, the original text reads, and the advantage of the land, in all, the king for the worked field." That's a little bit hard to untangle. What exactly is the relationship between a king and the land's advantage or profit? Without getting too technical or too involved in the debate about this, there are three main possibilities for the sense of verse 9. I'll just give them to you briefly. Number one, The king brings profit to the land by fixing the corrupt bureaucracy and restoring land cultivation. Very positive view. Number two, the king takes profit from all the land, all the cultivated land in league with the corrupt bureaucracy. Very negative view. Or number three. the king and bureaucracy, despite their tendency toward corruption, they are still an overall benefit to the land by allowing the cultivation of fields. Kind of a neutral view. From just this passage alone, it's hard to figure out what sense Solomon means. But considering the rest of scripture, I think the third view is what is intended here. Governments will be corrupt and imperfect, But still, on the whole, they are a benefit to man. After all, God himself is the one who instituted government when he inaugurated capital punishment after the flood in Genesis 9. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. That was the basic inauguration of government. Romans 13 verses 1 to 7, they further clarify that not only were government authorities established by God, but they are designed by God to reward good and to punish evil. Paul even goes so far as to say that these authorities, they are ministers of God to you for good. That's kind of profound. Paul, you're saying that human government, human authorities, so often full of inefficiency, exploitation, and even outright persecution of Christians, in all, or in the end, they are a benefit to the people and land? Yes. You know what I think is a good example of this? The Roman Empire. This is the entity under which Paul and the early Christians operated. Rome was by no means a righteous entity. It was pagan and substantially built on military conquest and slavery. Its great leaders, like Julius Caesar or Augustus, they were ruthless and self-seeking men. The administration of the empire was full of corruption and inefficiency. And the empire at times, as we know, even targeted Christians in deadly persecutions. But was the Roman government a net benefit to its people, even Christians? I think so. And how it provided protection from invading neighbors, it provided stability against internal unrest, and even provided some measure of justice for its people. Indeed, historians note that the Pax Romana, or the period of Roman peace in Europe, It was a time of great economic and cultural flourishing. And it was part of what sped the first proclamations of the gospel. Now assuredly, some governments have been worse than Rome. Some have been better. And Rome itself had periods of better and more just rule, and worse and more oppressive rule. But the principle that Solomon appears to be teaching in this last part of the introduction still stands. Imperfect governments are nevertheless a net good for its land and people. As one commentator said, even tyranny is better than anarchy. How about America? There's a lot of talk these days about corruption in this country. It seems every week, if you just look at the news, some high profile figure is accused or caught in some scandal. We know our politicians are constantly hurling the accusation of corruption against one another. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not. Even our own former president was put on trial this past week. It's a lot on people's minds. Whatever you think about current events, you better believe that our American system, too, yes, even ours, contains much inefficiency, corruption, and even oppression. And you know what? These are not new. They're not new in the world, and they're not new for our country. If you learn about American history, you will find that these terrible realities, appear all throughout our history. And yes, in both parties that we have today, Democrats, Republicans, they have been corrupt. Sometimes it's been better in America. Sometimes it's been worse. There is no perfect system of government or economics in this fallen world, including ours. Nevertheless, can we not thank God for the many benefits and blessings that we have enjoyed even under an imperfect government and a flawed economic system. We have been greatly blessed in this country, despite all our problems. And consider the alternative. We've seen in recent months what anarchy looks like, when there are no forces to restrain the hands that would steal and destroy. I don't know about you, but I'd take an imperfect government over that. So Solomon then teaches us not to be surprised when people in power try to enrich themselves. Driven by greed and an arrogant entitlement, devoid of the fear of God, these persons will even provoke God's wrath by oppressing the poor just to make money. But what will be the outcome for these corrupt oppressors? Yes, Solomon has shown us in Ecclesiastes 3 there will be a time of judgment eventually, but what about in the short term? Will they enjoy the good life while the rest of us suffer? Maybe we should join in to their greedy and ruthless game to try and get ours while we can. This is where we transition to the rest of the passages teaching about the vanity of wealth. Because Solomon shows us that tragically all of the impression, all the injustice, all the corruption that the powerful use in order to obtain wealth is vain folly. It's foolishness. These high ones will not obtain happiness or true gain in this world via their increased money and possessions. And you know what? Neither will any of us. I told you earlier that in this passage Solomon gives two main reasons for you to beware vainly seeking after wealth and to instead gratefully rejoice in your portion from God. For the rest of our time today, we're just going to look at the first main reason, and that's in verses 10 to 12. That reason is, number one, wealth ultimately won't satisfy you. Wealth ultimately won't satisfy you. Start with just the first part of verse 10. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This verse is presented to us as a proverb Maxim, general rule, those who love money will not be satisfied with it. Notice the term love. This should remind you of the passage that was read earlier in our service in 1st Timothy 6. Money is not the main problem. The love of money is the great problem and the source of all kinds of evil, even what Solomon just spoke about. What does it mean to love money? It means to cherish money as a chief treasure, to continually seek after it and to serve it, to even worship it as one's functional god. Money seems to promise so much. Money supposedly can buy you lasting pleasure, comfort, power, prestige, security. A person who loves money commits himself, above all, to obtaining money and what money can buy. Money becomes that person's source of happiness, the key to everything that will satisfy. And which kinds of people in the world love money? Is it only the rich? Actually, not all rich persons love money. Some do follow Paul's counsel, even in 1 Timothy 6, to live content. to even gladly share money, share possessions, in service to God and his people. There are some rich like that. Of course, there are plenty of rich who do love money and are fundamentally devoted to it. But they aren't the only ones. There are also many poor people who love money, and many in the middle class. It's been noted, you don't have to have money to love money. If you crave it, if you suppose that money will unlock all your dreams, if you resent and complain about your lack of money, then you love money too. You're actually the kind of person that Solomon's talking about. Most people in the world are lovers of money, functional worshipers of money. which is why we see so much materialism around us in our society and in the societies of the world. And it's also why we see so much false religion that is centered around promises of money and prosperity. And there's the promise that Solomon gives about those who love money this way. They will not be satisfied with money. The word satisfied is one we've seen before in Ecclesiastes. It literally means to eat one's fill. If your soul wants to eat and drink its fill of money, Solomon's got news for you, it never will. No matter how much you consume, you will still be hungry and your appetite will only increase. Do you remember when you thought that having One dollar was a big deal. Probably young. A whole dollar? You thought that dollar could get for you everything that you really needed or wanted? Maybe it was just a piece of candy. But then you got that dollar, or you got that piece of candy, and you realized that there are so many other attractive objects in the world that cost more than a dollar. So you wanted more than a dollar yourself. You wanted $10, and then later $100, and then later $1,000. And now that you've grown up, now that you're an adult, $10,000 or even $100,000 doesn't feel like it's really anything much. You want more. You thought that getting that particular amount, back in the beginning it was just $1, you thought that it would satisfy you, but then, as if by a magic trick, it didn't. The satisfaction you anticipated just vanished, went up in smoke. And so then you thought in that situation, hmm, I guess I need more. The problem for us, friends, is not our lack of money. It's our lack of contentment with our money. Notice in verse 10 that Solomon says what's true about money is also true about income. He says that those who love abundance, that is a word for wealth or possessions, they will not be satisfied with whatever production of money or goods they currently have. They will always want more production, more profit. The word translated income here literally refers to harvests, to the grain, the fruit, the vegetables produced by the land. And let's remember in the time of Israel in which Solomon is writing, people actually lived off of the food, most people lived off the food that they themselves grew. Or they would sell part of it or even all of it for money to get their needs. But for many people at that time, no matter how many fields they had or no matter how bountiful their harvests, they still craved more. It's not enough income. It's not enough yield. I need more to be safe and happy. And what about us? I doubt any of us today here or listening are land-owning farmers, hungry for greater harvests. But do we not often hanker after more lucrative employment? If only my job paid me more. When am I going to get that promotion? Or if only my spouse had a high-paying job. Why do I get stuck with this one? Maybe you crave greater income in other areas. Maybe you rent and sell properties. Or you are a small business owner. Or you have investments in the stock market. And you find yourself saying sometimes, it's not enough. I need more profit. I need more resources that can help me make money. I don't have enough yet. If you find yourself thinking that way, then you need to take care. Because you know what that kind of thinking is a sign of? Love of money. Love of wealth in the heart. There's a famous story about John D. Rockefeller, billionaire oil tycoon from the early 1900s. It's very relevant to all this. A reporter once supposedly asked him, how much money is enough? And Rockefeller allegedly responded, just a little more. What does your heart say? Does it say, no, I've got enough? I've got more than enough. Or does it say, just a little more? Just a little more and I'll be happy. Just a little more, I'll be at rest. I know I said that before, but this time, This time it'll be different. This time it'll be enough. Look now at the end of verse 10. Solomon gives the short but profound judgment on this kind of life. This too is vanity. Or we could say, this too is vapor. Solomon's very plain with us. Don't you see that it's all a vain chase? You are grasping after mere air. You won't find what you're looking for, and even if you do, it won't last. It's vapor. So why? Why would you do this? Why would you continually crave and chase after wealth? Why not take the wise way? Why not live humbly and gratefully before God? and enjoy what you already have from him. But perhaps you say, well, all right, I know that wealth won't ultimately satisfy me, but at least I'd like to get rid of some of these frustrations and problems in my life that I continually have to deal with. I mean, money can at least bring me deliverance from these problems, right? Well, Listen to what Solomon says next as he elaborates as to why money and wealth never satisfy. First part of verse 11. When good things increase, those who consume them increase. Solomon says, more wealth means more consumption, more eating. It is to say, strangely, as you get richer, the cost of operating your life Increase. How so? Just ask any new pro athlete, NFL star, NBA star. The more you make, the more obligated you'll feel to buy objects and clothing and experiences befitting your increasingly rich status. People sometimes call this lifestyle inflation or lifestyle creep. And that's not all. The more you make, the more the government will reach in and take part of what you make in taxes, even sometimes in a corrupt fashion, as we've already seen. The more you make, the more your friends, your relatives, and various charity cases are going to want and expect for you to help them out with all your wealth. The more you make, the more salesmen, leeches, and thieves are going to try and come after you. The more you make then, the more you'll need to hire people to maintain and protect your stuff, even from those salesmen, leeches, and thieves. And then there's just the natural forces that work against you, constantly and impersonally working to break down your stuff, moth, rust, rot. And I'm sure there's more. In short, it's amazing how expensive it is to be rich. you're suddenly feeding so many mouths that you never even anticipated. And all that wealth that you worked so hard to accumulate, it starts disappearing really fast. So you know what you've got to do. If you want to stay on top of your increasing cost, you want to maintain your new rich lifestyle, what do you've got to do? You've got to make more money. You've got to make even more. But when you make even more, what happens? costs increase, consumption increases. See, pursuing riches quickly puts you in this unending cycle of needing more money and needing to work to get more money. And that is why, unfortunately, for many pro athletes, after they retire, and for many, if not most, lottery winners, though they live the high life for a while, They soon consume all their wealth, and they end up just as poor as when they started, and sometimes even poorer. You can therefore understand why Solomon says what he does at the end of verse 10. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on, just observe that wealth for a little moment? This is a rhetorical question with an expected answer. What's the advantage? There is no advantage. There's no advantage to increased wealth. Ultimately, there is no advantage. The rich person, he can't even enjoy what he has because he's too busy making more to keep up with his increasing expenses. There's no rest. There's no satisfaction. There's just the brief sight of the wealth before it's consumed or before the rich person is taken away to toil for more. Ask yourself, Is that really the good life? Is that the best way to live and enjoy life? And then there's another painful and unexpected cost to wealth that Solomon mentions in verse 12. It's sleep. Look at that final verse for us today. The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much. but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep." Notice the phrase, working man. This is a reference to a poor farm laborer. He doesn't have much. He's not even guaranteed a great meal each day. But how is his sleep? It's great. The word pleasant here is a Hebrew word often translated sweet in the Bible, and it is frequently associated with honey. Farm laborer may not eat well, but he sure has sweet dreams. Contrast the rich person. The rich man has a full stomach, it says in our translation. Literally, satiation or abundance. The rich man has such plenty, we might think his sleep would be just as good, if not far better, than the poor laborer's. After all, the rich man can't afford the best blankets and pillows. He's got servants all around him to protect and secure him. Surely, the rich man's wealth will cause him to sleep well. Solomon says, actually, his plenty will not allow him to sleep at all. What? Why? Why is his sleep way worse than the poor laborer? Is it because the laborer works and the rich man doesn't? Well, it's true that manual labor does have a way of exhausting a person and making it easier to go to sleep. But let's not forget that the rich man is hard at work too. He's got a toil to keep up with all those increasing expenses. He's getting exhausted from his own toil. So it's not the lack of work. What's the big difference then? It's not the difference in work, it is the difference in possessions. The poor man has so little, he's not concerned about his stuff at all. But the rich man has so much, he's anxious about all of it. After all, if he can't keep making money, his expenses will catch up to him, verse 11. And what if some calamity might take away all that he's gathered up, verses 13 and 14, which we'll talk about another time. Oh, did I make the right investment choices? Did I secure my wealth properly? He's literally kept up at night thinking about it. The man's wealth makes him more anxious, not less, because he has so much more to lose. And this is very instructive for us, isn't it? We who are tempted to seek after wealth, do you want more anxiety and less sleep? Then by all means, Love money and pursue wealth. But do you want to be at rest in both heart and body? Then give up the chasing after wealth. Fear God and be content with what you have. It's not wrong to have wealth. And if wealth comes to you, fine. But don't be eager to obtain it. Don't chase after it. By the way, did you notice the one metaphor that figures so prominently in verses 10 to 12? What metaphor is it? It's eating. Yes, this whole argument for why wealth does not satisfy could be understood in terms of eating. Possessions are like tasty food. We all like tasty food, don't we? But, verse 10, If you suppose that eating a greater amount of tasty food will satisfy you, that you'll be filled up once and for all, then you don't understand how eating works. Because, I don't know if you've ever experienced this, even when we've had the most sumptuous, delicious meal, and we cry out with this pseudo-promise, oh, I am never going to eat again, guess what? You'll be hungry again in about a few hours. Human hunger for food is never fully satisfied. And in the same way, the hunger for more wealth and more things is never satisfied. But what often happens with more and even unrestrained eating looking for ultimate satisfaction? Well, literal increase, as in verse 11. The body literally gets bigger to accommodate and store all that food. And by the way, many rich people in the ancient world, they were known for being quite overweight. It was actually a sign of their wealth and prestige, and many people envied them for their looks. But what happens when you have all that extra body mass? So often, it increases appetite in a vicious cycle, just as wealth increases the need for more money. in a vicious cycle. And what happens to a person's health and sleep after too much rich eating, unrestrained eating? Verse 12, the full stomach, even the overly full stomach, experiences discomfort and indigestion, keeping the rich man up at night. Meanwhile, the poor man with his little food and his few concerns, He enjoys sweet, even delicious sleep. Brothers and sisters, is not the vanity of wealth already made so clear for us in this passage? Should we not therefore heed the wisdom of God and beware the desire to get rich? Should we not respond to the thought that says, wouldn't it be nice to have more money? With the truth of God, the very wisdom of God that says, actually, gaining more wealth will not make me happier. Instead, really, more money, more problems. You see, the key to wisdom and happiness in this life is not getting more. but wanting less. This basic wisdom, it's even articulated by people in the world, though not in a full way. This will only happen for you when you recognize that that beautifully painted and exquisitely carved idol, named Mammon or Wealth, is just that, an idol, a false god, what the Old Testament would many times call Vapor. There's nothing to it. It can't do anything for you, ultimately. It's not even alive. Wealth, mammon, they are a false god. Always demanding more, but never delivering satisfaction. Is that the god that you've been worshipping? Is it evident in the way that you pursue more and more money in your life? If so, turn. Turn from the love of money and from the worship of wealth and return to God. To the one who is generous, the rightful sovereign who, as 1 Timothy 6 says, gives us all things so richly to enjoy. Fear this God. Revere Him. Walk before Him in holy fear. Trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ, who is the only and the perfect provision to cover and to clothe you for the sinful, selfish, greedy life that you've been living. That has been offensive to God because you've served wealth and not Him. And He will judge you for it unless you turn and unless you're covered by Jesus Christ. Repent. Turn. Trust in Christ. Take Jesus, take the Lord's Son, or take the Father's Son, the Lord, as your chief treasure, because He is the chief treasure. Eternal life, the essence of eternal life is knowing God, is knowing Jesus Christ. He is to be our chief treasure. Take Him as that treasure, and then follow Him. Follow Him all the days of your vaporous life, because this life will be over soon for each one of us. And we will meet the Lord, either when he comes or when we die. But when we take the Lord as our treasure now, it will be a very happy meeting with him. But when we cling to the treasures of the world, it will be a fearful meeting with the judge of all the earth. The way of wisdom is being laid out for us. Do you believe it? Do you take it? This is God. This is God graciously speaking the truth to you. Do you believe it? Hear one more exhortation as we close today. These are the words of Jesus himself in John 6.27. John 6.27, Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him, the Father, God, has set His seal. Let's close in prayer. Great, holy, sovereign God, everything on this earth is dependent on you. You give us the food. You give us the weather. You give us the very life breath every day. And you have given us such good. Lord, we know we have problems. And to a certain extent, we do need money to obtain the necessities of life and support ourselves and our families. And it can be pretty difficult sometimes. Yet, God, you do us such good. You give us such kind and simple gifts. A sunny day, a time of happy companionship with a family member. a tasty bit of food, a refreshing drink. You give us so many good things. And as Acts 14 says, God, this is a testimony that you are God and you are a good God. But Lord, how evil of us, how evil of us to take those gifts and try and twist them into gain and say, this will be the God that I serve. I will serve the things of the world because they will satisfy me. No, God, we are to serve you. For you are the giver of all good gifts, and you know exactly what we need. Ultimately, we know, God, that what we need is you. We need to be pried away from clinging to the things of the world to clinging to you, to clinging to your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord and Savior. God, if there are any who are caught up in the weeds and thorns of the concerns and the desires of the world for wealth, for obtaining it and for keeping it. I pray, God, they would repent. I pray that today, God, they would embrace your true wisdom, which is to take you as treasure, which is to fear you, which is to repent of this idolatrous way and to walk in the way of life. God, give us our portion. You know what we need. Protect us from the deceitful love of wealth. In Jesus' name, amen.