Ecclesiastes 5:13-15:
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. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.
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Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart. …..…..….. John Wesley
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This passage reveals two reasons why wealth is an inadequate refuge.
1) Wealth is fragile.
Some English versions translate “bad venture,” as, “bad luck.”
It refers to the prospect that wealth can disappear in an instant because of some unforeseen circumstance like a bad business deal, a stock market plunge, or a health crisis that sucks one’s savings dry.
All that we’ve clung to can suddenly vanish, and our children will be left with nothing.
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2) Wealth is temporal.
We depart the same way we arrived:
empty-handed.
We take nothing with us, no matter how much we’ve earned. It all stays here. The old U-Haul cliche’ still stands.
King Tut was buried with all his treasures, so that he could enjoy them in the after-life, but he’s not enjoying them; we are. His stuff rides around in a tractor-trailer, then little kids press their greasy noses against the glass to look at everything he left.
It’s quite silly isn’t it?
But have we learned from it?
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What’s in your wallet?
God has truly blessed me with a helpmeet who has been given the spiritual gift of giving, for I have a husband who not only patiently accepts that MY wallet is always empty, but who also graciously allows me to regularly empty HIS wallet, as well.