The Purpose of Money; Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12

King Solomon's Temple

In week 5 of our bible study, "A Life Well Lived" King Solomon schooled us on the topic of money.  Complete this phrase:

If only I had ______________, then I'd be happy.  There is always something better in our minds.  Satisfaction is only guaranteed for a little while.  Let me keep it real, I wouldn't mind having a BMW or a bigger house but I am thankful and grateful for what I do have, no matter what.  I used to tell myself that if I could just win the lottery, I can help so many people but God never asked me to do his job.  When He does inspire me to do something, please believe He will give me the resources to do it.  Something more like common sense than money.

In Ecclesiastes 5:10 he says, "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income.  This too is vanity."   Bottom line:  We always tend to think of something better than what we already have.

In 5:11 he goes on to say, "When good things increase, those who consume them increase.  So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?"   Bottom line:  Don't let what you don't have take away from the joy of what you do have.

6:7 says, "All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied."  Bottom line:  Once you have eaten, you will eventually be hungry again.  The concept is the same for everything.   How many times have you desired something and once you have gotten it, eventually you want something new or better than what you already have?  I know none of you are like that but I'm just sayin.

6:9 "What the eye sees is better than what the soul desires."  Bottom line:  What you see in front of you is what you already have, which isn't always good enough.  You always want more and more of what you don't have and your soul seems to desire what you don't have.

My take away from this entire lesson is:  Money fails, homes fail, cars fail, people fail but God never fails and He will supply your every need if you get out of His way.  The best things in life really are free.

From my soul to yours,

Starla Danielle Espinoza

Bloggers in God: Money Comes and Money Goes

Bloggers in God: Money Comes and Money Goes: This week's post comes from Starla at Keepin It Real

 My husband and I like to play the lottery.  So far, the most we have won is $9.  The ...

Love Never Fails

 Define love. What does it mean to you?  It seems that we all have different definitions of love and what it means to us. Do you have Agape (a-gop-ay) or unconditional love?  Just because we say we love someone that doesn't make it true.  If you say it, you gotta be about it. There should be actions behind your love for someone.  What would you do for love? 

Let's start with two things that do not belong together shall we?  Love and money.  First of all, you cannot buy love so that's out.  Well not true love anyways.  Second, the love of money is the root to all kinds of evil.  What evil you ask? ALL kinds of evil.  Let's take greed for example.  There is a show on TV called American Greed.  People have scammed and deceived many people, all for the love of money.  I guess they couldn't make enough of their own money so they had to steal it from other's.  I'm not just talking about survival money, I'm talking about millions of dollars.  And where are these people now?  In prison with not a dime to their name.  Now that's a dime shame.

Now let's talk about tough love.  Whew, that's a rough one.  Having to tell a loved one NO.  This is where you may have to turn your back on a loved one that has continously taken advantage of you.  They expect you to help them all the time, well because you love them.  They actually think that you owe them something.  Most of the time these people are irresponsible and you are usually doing more harm than good by enabling them.  As long as they can depend on your help and your love, they have no reason to change their ways.  Whether it be a drug habit or maybe even gambling.  There are many different ways to take advantage of someone and continue doing it until you love them enough to just say NO.

God's love for us is so great and He will say NO to us if it's not in our best interests.  He know's our hearts.  No does not always mean never, it just might mean the timing is not right.  Trust God to direct you, guide you and lead you.  Let your faith rest not on human wisdom, but on God's power and love.

In God We Trust

Everyone knows the slogan on our money, "In God We Trust" right?  Is it God that we trust or do we trust our money more?  Every day we are tested on this.  When we have all the money we think we need, do we forget our need for God?  When we don't have enough money, do we remember to trust God to meet our needs?  It really is a fine line isn't it?  Maybe that's why it's printed on our money.  To remind us to trust God and God alone.

 Money is good to have, we do need it in this world.  But sometimes we mistake the difference between our needs and our wants.  I know that I am guilty but I have learned by not always having a lot of money how to draw a line between the two.  Learning to be content whether we have a lot or very little is the key.  The first thing to do is learn what your priorities should be, versus what they might be.  God should always be number one.  A lot of us have a problem with that concept and until we truly understand what that means, we will never be able to put Him first.  To me it means giving Him the glory for everything.  It means making sure that anything we do is in line with His will and not our own.  If we are not sure whether something is a part of His will, we need to pray about it and then wait on Him before we make the decision.  If you are married, your spouse is next in line followed by your children.  Anyone else in your life will come next and you will always be last.  That simply means to put the needs of others first before yourself.  That is a part of God's will and when you do that, He will bless you and make sure that your needs are met, I guarantee you.  It's not about money with God.  Some things do not have a price tag such as peace, knowledge and wisdom.  These things come with obeying and trusting God.  So when you think about the slogan on our money, meditate on these words.  "For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.  Nothing you desire can be compared with it."  Proverbs 8:11

For the Love of Money

Have you ever seen the movie Indecent Proposal?  It's about a wealthy man who offers a young married couple one million dollars to spend one night with the wife.  The couple agreed to do it, and ended up regretting it.  It destroyed their marriage. 

Here is the question that I have.  What did they think would happen after that night?  They were so blinded by all the plans they would make with the money that they failed to think about their love for each other.  I guess their love of money outweighed their love for each other.  It scares me to think about what we will do and have done for money. 

You know what scripture says about the love of money right?  Well in case you didn't know,  look up  the scripture 1 Timothy 6:10  "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."  (Note that it doesn't say the love of money is the root to some evil.  It says all kinds of evil.)

The married couple was so eager for the money that they caused themselves all kinds of drama for it.  As human beings, why do we tend to put more faith in our money than our faith in God?  Isn't God the one who made everything?  Everything on this earth belongs to Him, so why doesn't that knowledge keep us from putting Him in a box?  
Why do we choose to worry about the things which we cannot control?  
Can't we just put our faith in the one who knows all, sees all and who is everywhere?  

Nothing is too big for God.  This is often the pep talk that goes on in my mind almost daily because I need to be reminded that God knows the plans that He has for me.  How much is enough anyways?  The more money we come across, the more money we spend.  We need to learn how to be content whether we have very little, or very much.  And remember this, to whom much is given, much is required. 

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”