“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
Someone wrote that “life is like a bowl of cherries, take one and you want another.” This is essentially what Solomon meant in Ecclesiastes 5:10. Another translation of the text is that “he who loves money shall not be satisfied with money.” We can actually put almost anything that we can hold, touch or possess in the place of silver and it will be the same. Try this: “He that loves food will never be satisfied with food.” Any way, you get the idea, and you know that it is true. Here is the principle: There is nothing on this earth that can bring us total satisfaction. Think back on your life: Did you ever tell your parents that if they would buy you one thing or another that you would never ask for anything again, because you thought at that moment that this “thing” would give you total satisfaction, only to discover that it really did not? I’m almost certain that you did, at least I know that I did. Your parents were probably like mine and knew better, so they did not give in to your whim. God is like that too. He knows that we are never totally satisfied, and that is another reason why He doesn’t give us everything that we want. You can name almost any human desire, or whim, and this principle will hold true. Life just goes on and we go from one desire to another. The point is that we have to look beyond this earth to find true satisfaction. The real values of life are spiritual. In the place of trying to satisfy our whims and wants, we should seek to find contentment in God. Contentment means that we have come to grips with our human needs and wants, and have decided that they are not the “be all and end all” of life. In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul gave us the principle of contentment: “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again: wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul was in prison at this time and had received a monetary gift from the church at Philippi. He wanted them to know that he was truly grateful, but that He had found contentment in something much higher than money. At some point in our lives we have to ask ourselves where our real satisfaction, or contentment, lies. If our satisfaction lies in what we possess, then we are cheating ourselves out of the richness that God’s blessings can bring into our lives. Earthly pleasure can become so addictive that we move from one pleasure to another, and usually end up digging a deeper hole as we go. We need to find our satisfaction, or contentment, in the “riches of God’s grace.” Paul wrote about this in Ephesians 2:4-7: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us. 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. (by grace are you saved;) 6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7. that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward through Christ Jesus.” While many are pining away here, endeavoring to fulfill their earthly desires, God has acted on our behalf through His Son to help us find contentment in the “riches of His grace.” Now, there is real satisfaction that will last for eternity. We do not understand that now, but we will understand it “by and by.” Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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