Ecclesiastes 5: Money Never Satisfies, Only God Fills

Introduction

"Does anyone want to get rich this morning?" Nobody raises a hand. This message from Westminster Chapel in London is the seventh in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes. After relationships and work, the preacher turns to money and wealth. The thread running through the series is the same: our lives are like soap bubbles. We see them shine for a moment, then they burst.

To open the subject, he has a children's poem read aloud. An old oak, strong and majestic, accepts the offer of an ivy that promises to protect it from the cold. At first the embrace is warm. Then it tightens, and tightens again, until the oak collapses. For the preacher, this ivy pictures the materialism growing around us, as a culture, as a nation and as believers: "Our possessions possess us. The very things that promised life are choking the life out of us."

He warns that the message is demanding, so much so that he would rather someone else had preached it. The goal is not to condemn but to wake us up: to live differently from a world that keeps repeating "I need, I need, I need," and to live generously and freely.

Outline of the Message

1. We Are Richer Than We Think

The preacher quotes a podcast: Western Christians may be the richest in history, and perhaps also the most greedy.
Earning more than £30,000 a year puts you in the richest 1% of people on the planet. If God entrusts the care of the 99% to the 1%, the responsibility is great.
Yet most of us do not feel rich, because we always compare ourselves upward: "I only have a small car. Have you seen theirs?"
Social media constantly reminds us of what we lack: the latest air fryer, the latest car, a holiday, an investment. It plays on fear and on individualism.
Even in the face of calls to stockpile water and tinned food, the preacher reminds us that the Church was never called to "look after number one," but to look after the poorest: "Make sure there is enough for someone else."
According to Isaiah 61, the Church is called to be "oaks of righteousness" that display God's glory. But the oak can be overrun by ivy, and then we lose our sense of mission and our joy.

2. Wealth Can Breed Oppression (Ecclesiastes 5:8-9)

"If you see the oppression of the poor, and the subverting of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter": one official protects another, and there are higher ones still protecting them.
Throwing money at a problem is not a simple solution. Giving to someone on the street can sometimes create a bigger problem.
History shows it: the Russian Revolution of 1917, the 1954 coup in Guatemala followed by 36 years of civil war, the vacuum left in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Overthrowing a greedy regime is not enough: there is always someone ready to take over.
Ecclesiastes looks for a king who works the fields for everyone. The preacher answers: we have that king, and his instrument is called the Church.
In Matthew 25, Jesus separates the sheep from the goats on this very criterion: "inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Responsibility starts in God's family: having eyes to see the sick, the prisoners, those who have just lost their jobs. It continues in the neighborhood, through the church's food bank and its volunteers.
It does not stop there. Out of every £100 earned by a Western Christian, 25 pence goes to other nations. "Never limit your giving to the local church. Be a global Christian."

3. Wealth Never Satisfies (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)

"He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver." The Teacher is so direct that it is "like being hit in the face with a wet fish."
Chasing wealth is trying to catch bubbles: you never collect a single one, they all burst.
The collector wants one more stamp, the iPhone enthusiast wants the latest model, and the dress you bought yesterday will be out of fashion in three months.
"When goods increase, those who eat them are increased": when the money arrives, everybody wants to come to your party. And you can have a television in every room, but you can only watch one at a time.
The preacher tells of the electric blanket he bought with his wife: huge joy the first evening, forgotten three days later. Material satisfaction is strangely short.
Benjamin Franklin said: "Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants." Instead of filling an emptiness, it creates one.
In each of us there is an emptiness that only God can fill, through his goodness, his majesty and his love. Ecclesiastes lifts our eyes to the eternal world, to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness.

4. Hoarded Wealth Does Harm (Ecclesiastes 5:13-17)

"There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm."
First, greed: hoarding like Ebenezer Scrooge, choosing the best land like Lot before Abraham, seizing Naboth's vineyard like Ahab. Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers.
Two out of three adults play the lottery in the United Kingdom, and not only the poor: wealthy people play to become even wealthier.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain, and that "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." It is not money, but the love of it: an idol that takes the place of our first love.
The preacher also targets preachers who preach getting rich in order to get rich themselves, often on the backs of the poor. He cites a preacher long associated with Westminster Chapel: to preach prosperity endlessly is "a twisted gospel." God blesses his Church so that it takes care of the poor, not to enrich its leaders.
Next, vulnerability: wealth can be lost in a bad venture. The dot-com bubble of the early 2000s lost 80% of its value. A hacker can empty an account in a day. Our trust is not in the stock market, nor in the Bank of England, nor in our pensions.
Finally, dissatisfaction: a whole life spent saving, "in darkness," with grief and irritation, only to realize you have run like a hamster in a wheel and everything has evaporated.

5. First Wisdom: Enjoy Your Life (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)

After the "pruning shears" of the Word, the Teacher gives his wisdom: it is good to eat, to drink and to enjoy the fruit of your work during the days God gives you.
The Bible has no ideological problem with wealth. There are righteous rich people and unrighteous poor people. The preacher mentions a multimillionaire business owner who funds a meal every day for some of the poorest children in South Africa.
"God occupies him with the joy of his heart" (verse 20): God keeps us busy enjoying our family, our home, our work. He does not want gloomy Christians.
In the currency of heaven, we are all equal: everyone receives 24 hours a day, no more for the rich, no less for the poor. Like the mayfly that lives only one day as an adult, we have only this day.
Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow and to seek first the kingdom. "Enjoy today. Live for God today." Do not put off until tomorrow the good you can do today.

6. Second Wisdom: Contentment

The more you own, the harder it is to be content. The more toys you have, the more batteries you need, and they are flat from day one.
Self-storage is one of the industries that has grown the most in the West over twenty years: we have so many things that we no longer know where to put them.
As a child, the preacher played Monopoly on Sunday afternoons. The rare times he won, he owned hotels on Mayfair and Park Lane. Then his mother would say: "Put it all away." Everything went back in the box.
"Everything goes back in the box." We will stand before God to give an account, and he will not be impressed by our hotels. He will ask: did you enjoy your life? Were you content? Were you generous?

7. Third Wisdom: Generosity

Generosity is not only about money, but also about time, gifts, the home and all our possessions.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2: "Cast your bread on the waters, for you shall find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight, for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth." Commentators read in it an open hand and a willingness to take risks despite uncertainty.
The elders present the church budget, currently in slight deficit. Not to enrich the preachers, but so that the church can accomplish everything God wants.
According to the preacher, the New Testament does not teach the tithe: led by the Holy Spirit, we can do far more. Legalism brings in money more easily, but it ignores each person's situation. Some can give 40 or 50% of their income, others not even 1%.
In the Western Church, people give on average 2.5% of their income to the church. "We can do better than that." From everyone who has been given much, much will be asked.
The message ends with a time of prayer for those who feel choked by the ivy: debts, credit cards, fear of tomorrow. "This is a safe place." The preacher also encourages us to reread Matthew 5 to 7 and to talk about it as a couple: does God want to make us more generous?

Key Takeaways

We are richer than we think, because we always compare ourselves upward. This wealth is a responsibility.
Whoever loves money is never satisfied: chasing wealth is catching bubbles.
It is not money, but the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil, because it takes the place of God.
God wants you to enjoy your life with gratitude, today, and to be content with what he gives you.
Everything goes back in the box: what will matter before God is the generosity with which you lived.

Personal Application

Who do you compare yourself to when you think about your standard of living: those who have more, or those who have less?
What "ivy" has wrapped itself around your life: a debt, a desire to always have a little more, a fear of tomorrow?
What have you received from God this week that you can enjoy with gratitude, without waiting to have more?
Does your giving stop at your local church, or do you also care for Christians and the poor in other nations?
If you have never started giving regularly, what share can you set aside for God, led by the Holy Spirit?

Verses Quoted

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Ecclesiastes 5 say about money?

The text warns that whoever loves money is never satisfied with money. Wealth can feed oppression, it never satisfies and, when hoarded, it harms its owner. But the Bible has no ideological problem with wealth: the same passage invites us to enjoy with gratitude what God gives.

Is money the root of all evil?

No. According to 1 Timothy 6:10, it is the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil. The preacher insists: the problem is a desire that takes the place of the love of God, an idol that makes us lose the joy and contentment we have in him.

Does the New Testament require tithing?

The preacher states that the New Testament does not teach the tithe as a rule: led by the Holy Spirit, we can do far more. Some can give 40 or 50% of their income, others cannot even give 1%. He invites us to live under grace and to start regularly setting aside a share to give to God.