Those Who Entrust Their Heavy Burdens to the Lord
10He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity. 11When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his eyes? 12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep. 13There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. 14Those riches perish by misfortune, and if he has fathered a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 16This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind? 17All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath. 18Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion. 19Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because God occupies him with the joy of his heart.
Solomon says that whoever loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and whoever loves abundance will not be satisfied with increase. Coming from a man who spent his whole life acquiring land and power, the words sound absurd. But because he had possessed wealth, power, and honor all at once and lived with them, he could say with confidence that covetousness is a mire no one climbs out of.
Having been through all of it, he longed for people to take his heartfelt counsel to heart and live without regret. Still, people cling to their craving. They want to taste glory like Solomon’s, though they may live to rue it.
Of course, living well as Solomon did is a fine thing. But money aside, if we want a spiritually mature life, we can live a far richer and fuller one by taking the counsel and experience of those who went before us in faith and making them our own. When people prosper, they at first resolve to stay humble, and they even try. Because wealth and power make people greedy, however, those who are not filled with the Holy Spirit end up abandoning their promises to God.
Solomon enjoyed every kind of wealth and glory. What had he come to understand, that he would speak like this? If we had the wisdom to look into his heart even once, we could escape suffering we have no need to go through. Sadly, though, people pick out and listen to only what they want to hear. When we receive counsel, what matters most is to set our own feelings aside and weigh it in light of the relationship we have built with the one who gives it. If we ask what that person stands to gain when we accept the counsel and grow, we can see their true heart.
This needs saying because, although Solomon did not speak out of envy of people living in comfort and happiness, someone of poor character might misread him: he has enjoyed everything there is to enjoy, they think, and now he tells us such a life is vanity. But when a person gives counsel with nothing to gain, spending their own time, means, and sincerity on it, that is love, and we must not harm the relationship. If we listen to counsel on the understanding that it is spoken out of love for us, we can become good fellow workers to one another.
Many of you will know the folk tale of the two brothers who threw away their gold. Long ago there lived two brothers who were devoted to each other. The elder loved the younger dearly, and the younger looked up to his elder brother and followed him. One day they set out on a long journey, and along the way they came to a bridge. In the water flowing beneath it the younger brother saw something glinting, hurried down, and came back with two lumps of gold. The brothers shared them kindly, one each, and went on their way. They reached a river and boarded a ferry. Then the younger brother, who had been lost in thought, suddenly took out his gold and threw it into the river.
His elder brother was astonished and asked why he would throw something so precious into the water. The younger replied that he had always respected and followed his brother, but once they had each taken a lump of gold, a strange thought had come over him. He had found the gold, so both pieces should be his, he thought, and with that thought he caught himself suddenly resenting his brother. Seeing that in himself, he decided he must not keep the gold any longer. That was why he had thrown it away.
When the elder heard this, he too threw his gold into the river and confessed that the same thought had crossed his mind for a moment. Better to live without gold as before, he decided, than to drift apart because of it, and he flung it away without hesitation. What a mercy it is when, like these brothers, we recognize the sin in our hearts and put out the spark before it spreads. Had they fallen to covetousness, theirs would have been a very sad story.
When relationships break down, the cause is nearly always selfishness and money. However good the intentions with which a business partnership begins, once greed and misunderstanding creep in over how the money is divided, the friendship is hard to keep whole. If one party will not trust the other or accept counsel, and acts on feeling instead, even the closest bond is bound to fracture. And once we are disappointed in someone, the fear that they may one day betray us keeps us from being at ease with them or opening our hearts.
When trust has been broken, the one who broke it must keep showing sincerity to the very end, seeking restoration in God. Only then can trust be rebuilt in faith, and the two may grow closer than before. To do that, we must examine ourselves in the light of God’s word.
Because covetousness is a sign that Satan has stepped in, opening a clenched fist to share is never easy. But such tight-fistedness comes from not knowing that the more we share our possessions, knowledge, or abilities, the richer and happier we grow. What we need, then, is to be born again through the word.
In Luke 6:38 Jesus tells us to give, promising that it will be given to us in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, and that the measure we use will be measured back to us. When we share our spiritual gifts with one another and accept material help from each other, there is nothing shameful in it. It is God’s work of making us rich as we scatter and give, just as the word says.
If you show goodness in Christ, those who know grace will become faithful fellow workers to you, a sturdy fence around your life. Solomon told people to live a life of sharing because he had only now come to understand that a life of faith in God like this is a blessed life.
Jesus told us to make friends for ourselves by means of unrighteous mammon. After Adam sinned, humanity and all creation fell under the curse. Because of that, just as a person whose sin has not been forgiven is a sinner, all the wealth and power of the world became unrighteous mammon. How we use wealth gained in such a cursed world matters enormously. God wants you to be his people, having received Christ. And it is his desire that, in faith, you put the unrighteous mammon you gain on earth to work where the gospel is preached and where neighbors are helped.
Because this world is, unavoidably, a place of spiritual warfare with Satan, we who know God’s will can bear holy fruit when we use unrighteous mammon for the saving of souls. Spiritual fruit, after all, comes only when the things of this world are offered up in service.
1 John 2:16-17
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
This passage seems to sum up today’s text. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, it says, are not the Father’s but the world’s. In other words, everything in the world is unrighteous, not because every created thing is evil, but because the world is ruled by Satan. So if we are to bear the fruit of salvation, wisdom lies in using the world to do good.
If, like the brothers who threw away their gold, we root out the greed that harms a relationship, Satan’s scheme to wound the bond between brothers is easily defeated. The brothers had the good fortune to find gold, but when they realized that it would begin with resentment and could lead even to murder, they threw away the gold that was the root of the trouble, and in doing so restored their relationship. Through this tale we have seen that the problem was not the gold but the human heart that changes because of it.
Anyone might, for a moment, think that without their brother both pieces of gold could be theirs. But acting on what the lust of the flesh commands is exactly what turns that thought into sin.
Ecclesiastes 5:15-16
15As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. 16This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
Solomon calls it a grievous evil that a person comes naked from the womb and, after a lifetime of labor, returns to where they came from without taking a single thing they earned. If we could use the wealth we labor for in the life after death, then the more we had, the better. But however great a person’s fortune, when they put off the body and return to God, they are laid in the ground in a shroud with no pockets. If it is true that we leave behind both the body and the wealth we used as our own, and only the soul goes to God, then we must live for what comes after death. If you want a life with meaning, I hope you will be sure to hold to God’s law and live by it.
The body returns to dust, but without Christ the soul goes to hell. That is why we must receive Christ while we live, and only by living out the word can we enter heaven. After death we will have to answer God’s question, “Is Christ in you?” and only those who can answer it will go in. So to save our own souls we must make use of this life that is called vanity of vanities. Since the purpose for which God sent you into this world is salvation, you must preach the gospel with the unrighteous mammon you gain here. Imagine living without sharing because of greed, and then, having put off the body, discovering that the place where you stand is not heaven. How terrifying would that be? We need to receive Jesus Christ, the key to heaven.
Scripture says that as he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. In the same way, the brothers set out on their journey with no gold at all. Before they had gold, they looked after each other’s hearts though they were poor; sharing even small things cost them nothing, and there was no need to be on guard against each other. But once they had gold, they fell into greed and committed murder in their hearts, wishing the very brother each had loved so dearly were gone. We must bear in mind that the greed, covetousness, hatred, and resentment that Satan gives can go as far as murder.
When we fill with the lusts of the flesh the heart where the Holy Spirit ought to dwell, from that moment our eyes and ears are covered and our judgment is clouded. We take in Satan’s whispers just as they come, urging us to cut off the brother who loved us. Brothers may have shared love for many long years, yet once greed arises, gratitude fades and each listens only to his own thoughts. As for someone who throws away countless hours of receiving and giving love and thinks only of their discomfort and feelings of the moment, it is best to end that relationship quickly.
Had the brothers, companions on the road through a hard world, cast aside their deep love and looked only at the gold in their hands, their relationship would have ended there. What Satan wants in the end is to take the other person’s life and to sever the bonds of faith, which is why we must overcome the lusts of the flesh by faith. If we do not cast off fleshly thinking, we are deceived by Satan’s tricks and judge only by what he puts before our eyes and ears, and we drift away from God. When we are thankful for love received, however small, and delight in giving, God will bless us all the more.
An evil heart is contagious, as Eve showed when, lured by Satan, she gave the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to Adam as well. God himself told Adam that if he ate of that tree he would surely die. But once Satan’s whispers are welcomed, the conscience is seared, and it no longer fears to sin. People who sin know that breaking the word brings judgment and that yielding to Satan’s temptation means eternal death, and still they do not stop.
When Cain saw that God had accepted Abel’s offering, he ought not to have killed his brother but followed Abel in offering a holy sacrifice. Just as Cain killed Abel the moment he felt Abel was more loved than himself, the elder and younger brothers might have murdered each other. Yet because they chose each other over the gold, both of them lived.
When Jesus gave the commandment to love one another, he was asking us to resist Satan’s temptations firmly and overcome sin. Friends, evil seems stronger than good because it has no fear of sin, but for those who live by the word, good is far stronger. If we remain in God, we can be free of the greed Satan gives and can see how precious a brother or sister in Christ is.
The lust of the eyes and every pride of life are forbidden fruit offered by Satan. So the sin he brings must never be given a place to nest in our hearts. Since Satan’s aim, in the end, is to hinder salvation, only firm resolve can preserve our own lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters.
In verse 11 Solomon says that when goods increase, those who eat them are increased, and asks what advantage there is to the owner except to feast on them with his eyes. These words do not mean that the poor live at ease. He is speaking about faith and responsibility. If one of the brothers took both lumps of gold for himself, he could afford a large house and hire many people to keep it. But then the beautiful love of two brothers who asked after each other would vanish, and he would have to toil day and night to pay all those wages.
Solomon spoke this way because, after racing straight ahead, consumed with the business of the world, he was left not with the God who had shown him grace but with a life spent in vain, rushing day and night to feed and clothe others. He saw that the laborers who drew wages from him ate and enjoyed themselves within what they were given, slept soundly, and lived content. He, meanwhile, lost sleep toiling to provide for others, and had no happy hours of sharing his heart with his family.
He seemed to live a life others envied, yet he had no peace, for he was working to keep others alive, and he could not sleep deeply, for he had to guard what he owned. Hence his verdict that all of it is vanity. But if we use the abilities and wealth God gives us to bring other souls to life, there is no better life than that. What Solomon wants to say is not that money and power make people unhappy. He is stressing that we must live by faith, because a life without God lacks the most important thing, salvation, and so will end in regret.
Ecclesiastes 5:17
17All his days he also eats in darkness, he is frustrated, and has sickness and wrath.
Without spiritual joy and peace, Solomon says, those who have not received Christ are bound to live in constant worry. So it was that Jesus said to us, who cannot see even an inch ahead, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” Life itself is hardship, but those of us who are in the Lord do not carry that burden ourselves. Because we hand it over to Christ, we can enjoy peace and show forbearance. When we lay down the heavy burden of life, we can give thanks in all things and have room to pray for other souls.
Such believers can know the joy of the heart. Those without that joy are always uneasy, afraid of death, but God’s people can live every moment by faith, because they are sure that whenever death comes they will go to heaven. How grievous it is to see those who have received Jesus, who could enjoy great glory, drift away from the faith because of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Hebrews 6:4-6
4For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.
No life is more pitiable than that of people who attend church all their lives and yet are not saved, because they never wholly served Christ. Such a person has heard that Jesus bore the cross for them, heard that he atoned for their sins, and heard that he will come again. If someone who knew for certain that they would go to heaven because of Jesus comes to rely on the world more than on Christ, there is no way to help them. And if, deceived by Satan’s whispers, they mock God’s work and stand in the way of the salvation of people of faith, that sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and Scripture says it cannot be forgiven.
This sin is committed by someone who has received God’s grace, who has seen prayer answered in one trouble after another and so knows that Christ is alive, and whose heart has then turned. It is therefore of a different order from sins committed in ignorance of Christ. When a problem too heavy to bear was solved, they knew it was God’s answer; they gave thanks and even vowed to follow Jesus faithfully. If such a person’s heart turns, and they begin to say that the grace they experienced was not the work of the Holy Spirit but something anyone in the world might experience, they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and may come under wrath.
Friends, I hope you will never commit this sin. Because we live in the world, God has no choice but to show the work of the Holy Spirit by solving the problems of this world, so we must discern carefully. To give thanks when the Spirit answers, and then, as time passes, to turn back and complain, hinders not only our own salvation but the salvation of those around us. We must be on our guard against it. Hindering salvation in this way is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Knowing how weak our faith is, Jesus told us that whatever we pray and ask for, we should believe we have received it, and it will be ours. Friends, he said that if we believe we have received answers not yet given, all of them will come to pass. If we then doubt the answers we have already been given and mock the work of the Holy Spirit, we will bring God’s great wrath upon ourselves.
God sets the time of his answers for his people, yet the faith that believes it has already received, when we pray in keeping with God’s will, matters greatly. The hardships of life are as hard to bear as a typhoon that shakes a tree to its roots, but you know that a tree grows and bears fruit through strong wind and rain. So when severe trials come, may you be wise believers who lay your heavy burden down before Jesus Christ and overcome them.