Generous, Day 12 - The Mirage

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them.  And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.  Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.  Eccl. 5:10-15

Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (note: even his wisdom was a gift from God).  In Ecclesiastes, he makes these observations about money:

1. The more you have, the more you want. (vs. 10)  No one ever reaches “enough” because money is an appetite – the more you feed it, the bigger it gets.
2. The more you have, the more people come after it.  (vs. 11)  People with money have a hard time telling who is a friend and who is a leach!
3. The more you have, the more you worry about it.  (vs. 12) (Although some of us worry about what we don’t have too!)
4. The more you have, the more you can harm yourself by hoarding/holding it. (vs. 13)  The longer we hold onto things, the more power they have over us.  The wise person holds loosely to what they have. (James 5:1-3)
5. The more you have, the more you have to lose. (vs. 14) The more you have, the more you will leave behind. (vs.15)  So it makes sense to do your giving while you are living so you’ll be knowing where it’s going!

The simple life is a life of clarity.  We must see money from God’s perspective and not from the world’s. If the wisest man in the world thought this way, then it would be unwise for us to think any differently.

Generosity Challenge (Day 11) – Carry cash in your left pocket (Between $5-$50) and look for an opportunity to give it away.  Keep trying everyday until you can.