MONEY AS MASTER
Ecc. 5: 10-20
Proper 24

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text for this mornings meditation is from Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses 10 through 20, particularly these words, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth, with his income; this also is vanity.”  This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends.  Jesus said to his disciples in our Gospel reading today, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  And when the disciples heard what Jesus had said, they were amazed.  They were astonished!  And they asked him, “Well, if rich people have that much trouble getting into heaven, “Then who can be saved?”

The disciples had a very human view of the world around them.  People generally thought that people with money could accomplish pretty well anything they wanted to do.  They had the position, the power, the prestige, the influence, and yes, the where-with-all to get done for themselves, their families, their businesses, and their friends, anything they wanted done.  It never crossed their minds that people with money just might have problems of their own.  And those problems, are what our Old Testament Lesson is talking about today.

It was King Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, somewhere around 930 B.C.  It was toward the end of his reign as king and the end of his life.  Solomon had been given great wisdom by God at the very beginning of his reign — and because Solomon had not asked for victory over his enemies and great wealth — God gave these things to him as well.  Even though he had greater wisdom than all, and greater wealth than most, in the end, Solomon could not enjoy them.  Late in life, Solomon allowed his 300 wives and 600 concubines, to lead him into idolatry and the worship of false Gods.  In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes his pursuit of power and pleasure, which did not bring joy or happiness, but instead, only lead him to emptiness.  And so the book of Ecclesiastes comes across very depressing, with it’s negative outlook of “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  Vanity of vanities!  All is vanity.”  At the end, in the last chapter, Solomon pulls his readers out of the despair, and points them to God’s care and wisdom which alone can give rest and peace to the troubled heart and mind.

Why can money, or fame, or position and power, or anything else — not give that peace which mankind seeks and needs?  Our text tells us well.  “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.”  The problem with money, and position, and power, and fame, and lust is that sinful mankind can never get enough!!  Like the golfer who hits his ball off to the right, it hits and tree, bounces up on the green and stops inches from the hole — and he is upset because it didn’t go in!!.  We always want more.  When these evil wants and desires take over our life, it is never enough.  Our text even mentions riches that were kept by their owner that brought him hurt — and one rich man who sank his money into a very bad venture which went bankrupt, couldn’t even provide for his son.

All these things are like the Devil’s lies — they promise good and pleasant and pleasing things — But what they produce is misery, and pain, and heartache, and guilt.  When money becomes your master, it produces greed, and covetousness, and stealing, and false dealings with others, and even a stinginess that produces hording and selfishness.  What about sex when it becomes master of one’s life?  It produces lustful desire for the wrong person, it produces lies and deceit, it produces adultery, and in King David’s case — it even lead to murder!  When sin rules our lives, and when sin becomes the master of our lives — not only is it a temptation — but it is a mighty temptation which is very hard to control.  I guess we need to ask the same question which the disciples asked of Jesus in the Gospel reading, “With all this evil around us, tempting us, and leading us astray, THEN WHO CAN BE SAVED!”  And Jesus answered them “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”

The world, with all its wealth, possessions and powers, is a very demanding master, always wanting more.  But God is totally different, instead of demanding more — he gives the best he has.  “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.  That whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Jesus said, “My peace I give to you, but my peace,” he said, would be different than the peace which the world would give.  God’s peace comes with sins forgiven.  God’s peace comes with no stings attached.  God’s peace comes with an unconditional love.  God’s peace brings life and joy and happiness.  God’s peace cannot hurt us or disappoint us, because God’s peace brings eternal life.  That is why the last verse of today’s text tells us, “He will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”  God, through his grace and his mercy, gives us peace and joy without end.

So, what about all those goodies around us in this world of ours?  There are some who misquote the scriptures and say, “Money is the root of all evil.”  The actual quote is “THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil.”  Once again we come to Luther’s explanation of the first commandment — “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  Nothing can be more important to us than God himself.

The goodies around us in this world are the creation of God.  It is God who has given us all things — not for our greed and lust — but for our good.  God’s gifts are to be used by God’s people for the common good — in a Christian way.  And it is God himself who gives us the faith, and the strength, and the will, to use the gifts he has given us, so that his gifts are a blessing to ourselves and to others.  There is nothing wrong with being rich — but use the riches God has given you in a God blessing manner.  There is nothing wrong in having strong political influence in the community — but use this gift God has given you in a manner pleasing to God.  That was what Solomon was talking about in our text when he said, “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting, is to eat and drink, and find enjoyment, in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.  Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy then, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil — this is the gift of God.”

That is true peace — To live life with a joyful heart, to trust in God with all our heart, and to make use of the gifts God has given to us as his people to God‘s glory and to the welfare of all. May God grant us that peace, through Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord.  Amen.

And may the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.