The covetous man is never satisfied with money, and the lover of wealth reaps no fruit from it; so this too is vanity.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary: ECCLESIASTES 5: 9-17...
The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires.
The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, and the more they will have hanging on them. The sleep of the labourer is sweet, not only because he is tired, but because he has little care to break his sleep. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, are sweet; having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully repose in God as his Rest. But those who have every thing else, often fail to secure a good night's sleep; their abundance breaks their rest. Riches do hurt, and draw away the heart from God and duty.
Men do hurt with their riches, not only gratifying their own lusts, but oppressing others, and dealing hardly with them. They will see that they have laboured for the wind, when, at death, they find the profit of their labour is all gone like the wind, they know not whither. How ill the covetous worldling bears the calamities of human life! He does not sorrow to repentance, but is angry at the providence of God, angry at all about him; which doubles his affliction.
PHILIPPIANS 4: 11-13...
11/ Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient.
12/ I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.
13/ I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.
OK, so wealth is not everything it is purported to be, AND, has the power to lead us in the wrong direction, ESPECIALLY to the followers of THE LORD! You have heard, and, should understand, No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (MATTHEW 6:24)! FAITH allows for confident contentment, because we KNOW THE LORD is working TO fulfill our needs! You see, the spiritual person KNOWS in WISDOM, and, UNDERSTANDING, that while we certainly NEED certain aspects of gain, we DON'T rely upon them to fulfill us: to get this understanding out of the way, initially, humbles us enough to RELY, instead, upon THE LORD, to add to our fulfillment!!!
No one is saying that we should resign ourselves to being poor, instead, to the fact that money, and, accumulation should NOT be a focus of our advancement in this life, because, THE LORD, our *GOD* IS to BE the DOMINATE focus of ALL we think, do, or say, THEN, HE will provide for us, ACCORDING TO HIS WILL! We must also understand that sometimes, HIS WILL is NOT going to allow for us to achieve our heart's desires, especially, when these heart's desires have NOTHING to do with the greater purpose for our lives, which is, developing the spirit, and, serving HIM! Again, this doesn't mean that HE will leave us penniless either, instead that we NEED to GET OUR PRIORITIES straight, in HONEST understanding! HE IS OUR OBJECTIVE, start to finish!!!
Again, here is PROOF of the beginning, and, end of our PRIORITIES;
MATTHEW 6: 33-34 (Actually, one should read this whole chapter)...
33/ But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
34/ Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
Our FAITH is like opening the windows to Heaven, and, MUST be incorruptible, especially by the glittering enticements of the world! Recall; Solomon asked *GOD* for sensible, practical, and, useful things FOR the health of his spirit, and, reign, NOT for worldly goods, though he could have, and, *GOD* was SO pleased with him, that HE GAVE him, all that, too!!!
Listen, to TRUST THE LORD FOR EVERYTHING is PARAMOUNT in realizing a life fulfilled! To UNDERSTAND that ALL things come forth by HIM, or, HIS WILL, is the beginning of WISDOM, which, will lead you to greater fulfillment! AND, NEVER FORGET, the poor shall inherit the KINGDOM of *GOD*, SO, we must look UPWARD, and, FORWARD, without envy, despair, or, anger, because of our circumstance! HE LOVES us, and, while we might suffer in certain ways, in other ways, HE is making us as rich as Solomon!!!
More to come!!!
REV. LWINSOR © 2012
BIBLICAL, and/or, other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS
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