Tuesday - Ecclesiastes 5 - Big Mouths & Thick Wallets

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HERE is not necessarily a connection between big mouths and thick wallets.  But, since these are the two topics at hand.  Let's deal with them in order.

Excessive speech is called "the sacrifice of fools" by Solomon (Ecclesiastes 5:1).  A fool is not careful about what he says, when he says it (Ecclesiastes 5:2), how much he says (Ecclesiastes 5:3) nor what the consequences are for what he says (Ecclesiastes 5:4).  Solomon was advising us all to say less and think more.  I’m sure we could all use such counsel; me most of all!

On to the second topic: wealth.  The wealthy generally trust in their (or our) wealth and the poor wish they (or we) had some wealth in which to trust.  In the end, is there a difference really?

Here is what Solomon had to say in this chapter about it.  1. Don't be surprised if you see the rich oppressing the poor, nor when God balances those scales (vs. 8).  2. Those who love money are sure to never have enough of it, because the more one has, the more it has him (vs. 10 & 12).  3. Excessive wealth is somewhat senseless anyway, because (vs. 11) even if you can afford to buy a whole cow for every meal, you certainly can't eat a whole cow every meal.  4. The excessive and obsessive possessiveness of the rich does him much damage (vs. 13).  And, 5. Rich babies and rich corpses fare just the same as their poor counterparts (vs. 14-16).

Conclusion?  Say less.  Be satisfied with what you have.  Recognize that God is watching, listening and providing.  And finally, rejoice in His goodness, not in your own goods, nor in what you can say about them.