He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV)
Money and Love
Brian, a friend in elementary school, loved Chocolite Bars. One year he demanded that his parents give him nothing but Chocolite Bars for his birthday. Until you have seen an actual case of candy bars, it might not sound like a lot. But it is.
You would think that such a gift would satisfy Brian’s desires. And in a way, it did. His taste for Chocolite Bars was sort of satisfied. He ate them, and he ate them, and he ate them. He ate so many Chocolite Bars that he never wanted one again. He even gave away the remainder of his Chocolite Bars.
When we strongly desire something to the point that we call that desire love, we will never be satisfied with those things. We may have, ‘enough.’ But our desire becomes disgust. Our love of that thing, whether it is Chocolite Bars, bacon, or money, will become hate.
When The Preacher in Ecclesiastes writes that money never satisfies, he means that money does not provide what we need, really. We might think that it does satisfy. We might expect it to satisfy. We might intend it to satisfy. But such satisfaction is shallow and will turn to sorrow.
Love and money simply do not mix.
In Jesus’ most famous sermon, He describes a better satisfaction. And while He does not use the word, “love,” perhaps He has that in mind. He is saying that money will not provide satisfaction, but a relationship with the One true living God, does. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, in other words, those who love God, will find satisfaction. He says it this way: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6 ESV)
Maybe love and money are opposites because usually our society uses money to evaluate ourselves, but love is aimed at others. Maybe love and money are opposites because our money usually nurtures greed, but love nurtures selflessness. Maybe love and money are opposites because money measures self-worth, but love is measureless. Maybe love and money are opposites because in Tolkien’s terms, money breeds Dragon-sickness, but love makes Thorin a King.
We have a daily choice. We are surrounded by money’s tide… but God offers of love.
Take the love God grants us.