Believers Who Cast Their Heavy Burdens on the Lord

Drawing on the wisdom Solomon gained from having enjoyed both wealth and power, this passage warns that covetousness in the end comes back as vanity. Through a folktale about brothers who found a lump of gold and kept the peace between them by boldly throwing away the source of the greed that could have harmed their relationship, it shows that the greater danger is not material things themselves but the way the human heart changes because of them. It also recalls the truth that we come naked from our mother's womb and can take nothing with us, and emphasizes that what matters is how we use the unrighteous wealth of this present world for the life after death.

The sermon warns that being thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit and then, as time passes, turning one's heart and complaining can become the grave sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Even after a lifetime of church life and experiencing grace, an attitude of relying more on the things of the world or mocking God's work can plunge a person into a dangerous state in which they can no longer repent. Therefore, it teaches that when hardship and trials come, we need the wisdom not to see them only as a typhoon that shakes our roots, but to cast our heavy burdens on Jesus Christ, give thanks, and endure by faith.

With what attitude must believers face hardship in order to give thanks in all things and enjoy the joy of their hearts?