Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Our life is driven by what we love.  We will order our time, prioritize ourselves, and make choices based on what we love.  (Often, what we actually love most of all might not be what we would say -- but if we look at how we make choices and how we ended up where we are, that will often reveal our heart's true love.)  What the Bible often tries to teach us is that money is a lousy thing to love most of all -- it will only drive us deeper into a spiral, never allowing us to be satisfied, always demanding more, always pushing us further away from true joy and peace.  If we love money for the sake of money, Scripture says, we'll find ourselves, at the end of it all, with hands that still feel empty no matter how full our bank accounts may be.
  If, however, we love God more than anything else, we discover that (unlike so many material things) God can fill our hearts with peace and joy.  God can satisfy, because he understands the human heart in a way money never will.  God wants what is best for us, wants us to lead abundant lives, so if we seek God with all of our hearts, we can sleep in peace, knowing that we are eternally and infinitely cared for.  Perhaps we will have much money, perhaps we will have none, but we will know the peace and love of God, and that gives us joy in our hearts in a way money never can.