Mar 17 - Ecclesiastes 5:10

Whoever loves money

never has money enough;

whoever loves wealth is

never satisfied with his income.

This too is meaningless

Ecclesiastes 5:10

 

Meaningless? No! Money is definitely not meaningless. (At least in most mortal senses of the word.)

 

Money defines our opportunities. It buys our clothes and fuels our cars. It also fuels our dreams ... and vacations ... and entertainment. 

 

Money determines where we live. And often how we live. It determines how much we work ... as well as where and why we work. And money, sometimes, seems to paint us into a corner. (Honestly, sometimes doesn’t it seem to tell us what we can’t do more often than telling us what we can do?)

 

“Money is not meaningless!” we want to scream. And in so doing, are we arguing with Solomon ... and Ecclesiastes ... and God?

 

Here’s what you need to know about Ecclesiastes (and about money in marriage). King Solomon, the author of this biblical book, was one of the absolute richest men in history. Yet he still wasn’t happy. 

 

So he went on a quest. What would make him truly happy? Was it wine? Was it women? Was it wealth? He tried them all. But nothing earthly satisfied that longing. (That’s what was behind today’s verse: Whoever loves money never has money enough.)

 

By the end of the book and the end of his life, Solomon had only one option left. He finally wandered his way back around to God. 

 

Money! It will define your marriage. It will tell you where you live and how you live. It will tell you what you wear ... and what you drive ... and what you eat ... and whether you eat out much or not.

 

And most of all, money will tell you why you fight. 

 

Ouch!

 

It doesn’t have to be that way, of course. But how we spend our money reveals our true priorities in life. Is it pleasure? Is it comfort? Is it prestige? Is it time ... and time together?

 

Are we spenders ... or savers? Cautious ... or generous? Do we feed immediate desires ... or adopt long-term strategies? Are we more impulsive ... or realistic? Can we spend ourselves out of depression ... or not?

 

That’s why money causes so much stress in marriages. (First, in today’s economy, there’s not near enough to go around, and that alone is stressful. Second ...) We both have different priorities. We distinguish between “need” and “want” differently. We have opposing levels of caution. And we’re impulsive about different things.

 

As husbands and wives we need desperately to talk about money ... and even more deeply, about priorities. We need to understand if and why we’re counting on things to make us happy. (And we need to discover why Solomon is right: Whoever loves money never has money enough.)

 

Most of all, we need to determine whether God has a plan for money in our marriage. (He does, of course.) And we need to discover, then, how God’s plan brings us greater freedom and unity and joy. 

 

Question: see below

 

In Christ’s Love,

a rich guy

(but not because

I have much money ...

but because I’ve learned

to share God’s priorities

with my bride)

 

Question: To begin to understand yourself (and the differences between you and your beloved) rate yourselves on the following characteristics:

·         Who’s the spender ... who’s the saver?

·         Who is more cautious ... who is more generous?

·         Who feeds immediate desires ... who adopts long-term strategies?

·         Who is more impulsive in spending ... who is more realistic?

·         What are your true “needs” as an individual? As a couple? As a family?

·         What are things that are high level “wants” for you? For your beloved?