PENTECOST
8
August
2-4, 2025
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2:18-26
“MONEY: FROM
MEANINGLESS TO MEANINGFUL
Money. It certainly has the potential
to bring out the worst in people, including people like us. Money issues have
been one of the leading causes of divorce in our country for decades.
Infidelity does not even come close. Is there a lasting division in a family
between siblings? Chances are money, inheritance, who gets the family cabin,
probably has something to do with it. I recall the time when the man most
Packers fans love to hate, Randy Moon Man Moss, was the first player in the NFL
to sign a contract over $100 million. Two weeks later Minnesotans were mad at
him. Why? The lottery jackpot had climbed to the hundreds of millions and a gas
station owner tattled on poor little Randy for buying $20,000 worth of tickets.
Didn’t he have enough? Why was he ruining other people’s chances to get more
money? Money issues are a leading cause of stress and unhappiness in our
country.
Now we aren’t stuck with observations
of American society to conclude that money can cause a lot of trouble. The
Bible which God has provided for all people of all time tell us the same. Jesus
spoke a lot about money, warning against greed. “For the love of money is a
root of all kinds of evil,” the Apostle Paul warned in his first letter to
Timothy.
And then there is this Bible Book
called Ecclesiastes. Even though the writer of Ecclesiastes never blatantly
declares who he is, there is common agreement, and all internal evidence points
to Solomon, son of David. He is widely regarded as the wealthiest man that ever
lived. His annual gold-based income would be the equivalent of 1.6 billion
dollars today. And that was just the gold. Sadly, the Bible tells us that
Solomon, who started his reign with humble reliance on God, did not stay that
way. He strayed from God, grew proud and indulged every sinful desire he could
think of to try to find happiness. Ecclesiastes seems to be his last-ditch
effort to come clean. We pray that he died with faith. We don’t know though.
But God used Solomon to teach.
What’s his lesson for us?
Meaningless!!! "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 18 I hated all the things I had
toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after
me. 19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?...22 What does a
man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the
sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does
not rest. This too is meaningless.”
Well, that’s depressing…and true. Solomon lets us have a peek at his life and
heart. Just from what the Bible records we know he was shrewd in business and
building. Beautiful palaces, gardens and other buildings. He had trading
fleets, built up an impressive army. He had accumulated hordes of gold, silver
and bronze. Certainly, his mind was not resting, always thinking about what he
was going to do next. People back then marveled at him and what he
accomplished. I’m guessing most people envied Solomon, wishing they had half of
what he had. And yet what was life like on the inside for Solomon? Meaningless.
Empty. Hollow. No matter what he built,
accomplished or owned, he felt meaningless. Kids, you know how it is when a new
video game comes out and you have to have it? You get it and play it for hours
and then, meaningless. It’s not fun anymore. Big kids, also known as adults,
same thing with many of the things we buy: new clothes or tech or big people
toys. We want. We get. We move on. Meaningless. And then wise Solomon let his
restless mind go further. What is my heir going to do with all my stuff? Will
he use it wisely or waste it? It will be out of my control! Meaningless!
Boy,
with all this depressing meaninglessness maybe the solution to happiness is to
give away everything and just become a hermit. Actually, no. Hermits can be
just as unhappy as billionaires. What’s the solution? There is something
Solomon wrote that gives us some hope for his eternity and some help in
avoiding a life where money is meaningless. “A man can do nothing better than to eat and
drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of
God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” Did you catch it? Did you see
the key to going from meaningless to meaningful? “Without him, without God, who
can eat or find enjoyment?” Solomon’s life and wealth had not always been
meaningless. At one time it was very meaningful. He used the wealth his father
David amassed to build the great Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple, when used as
God said, helped the people see the need for a Savior and kept their hearts
humbly waiting for Him to come. It taught the seriousness of sin and only the
Lamb of God who could take them away. That was meaningful, affecting the
eternity of millions of people. He also used his wealth to set up orderly
government and a justice system to benefit His people. That was meaningful.
People marveled at the wise ways Solomon did things and owned things. At one
time he had a meaningful life. Now it was meaningless. What happened?
Without
God. Once Solomon sacrificed his faith in the Savior God everything became
meaningless. Without God everything was meaningless. But that points us to some
Good News. With God our life is meaningful. Every part of it. Whether we eat,
drink or whatever we do we can do it for the glory of God and be meaningful,
even money. So that money for us can be meaningful instead of meaningless, we
need to remember a few things. We are all already rich. Jesus has taken care of
that. We are heirs of heaven. Heaven is so wonderful that what we consider
wealth here on earth will be, well, meaningless in heaven. The fact that God gave Jesus for us gives us
confidence for our earthly needs too. He who did not spare his only Son but
gave Him up for us all, how will he not also along with him, graciously give us
all things! Secondly we are stewards, caretakers, managers of the wealth that
God places into our hands. I really don’t have anything. It’s all God’s. But I
am in charge of handling some of God’s things. What an honor and what a
privilege that the almighty, holy and wise God trusts me with some of His
things!
Money
is one of God’s things. And with God, money goes from meaningless to
meaningful. There is nothing bad about money itself. It is a thing. A tool. It
helps us get things done. Money is a gift from God. When we view it that way
there is great meaning. Every bit of money you are in charge of and I am in
charge of is a gift, a blessing. Whether that comes from a job where an
employer pays me, a social security check or retirement savings or inheritance,
God is the one who gave it to us. Meaningful when you look at it that way. Fills
your heart with thanksgiving and gives you purpose. I want God to be proud of
the way I handle His money. Like any other tool God has given as a blessing,
Satan will try to get us to use money as a curse. But he doesn’t get to win.
God does. Use God’s money in ways God’s wants, and you will feel that sense of
satisfaction, the conscience’s pat on the back. Meaningful! Use some of God’s
money to provide a place to live. Buy food that not just nourishes but tastes
good. Enjoy it with an attitude of gratitude! Meaningful. Pay the taxes God
wants us to in order to have a government that takes care of its people.
Meaningful. If they waste it, that’s on them, not you. You want to experience
money in a super meaningful way? Ask God for the gift of generosity. Anyone can
give money to a charity or to support the spread of the Gospel. Only a generous
person has fun doing it. So if your giving to church or charity is fun for you,
thank God for his gift of generosity. If not, something to pray for. If God
made you good at making money, make lots of it, and have fun doing with it what
God wants you to do. You will find that to be very meaningful. If you are
struggling, ask what God wants you to learn. That too is meaningful.
For
without God who can eat and find enjoyment? Meaningless! But with God...
Brothers and sisters you go with God, or more accurately, God goes with you. He
loves you. He has chosen you to be His own. He gave His one and only Son for
you. He adopted you into His family at your Baptism. He feeds your faith
through word and sacrament. And He blesses you with a thing called money. While
it has the potential to bring about the worst in people, with God it can be
used for the best. Meaningless becomes meaningful! Amen.
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