Video Transcript: What Money Can't Buy

Fading is the worldlings pleasure all his boasted pomp and show solid joys and lasting  treasure non Zions children know if you want to know about fading joys, you read the  book of Ecclesiastes, because the point is, everything fades, all the pleasures and  treasures seem to amount to nothing at the end of the day, and you'll come up empty and  meaningless. And you've got to find solid joy, and lasting pleasure and lasting treasure.  And you've got to look for it somewhere. Besides the things of this world. When we turn to the book of Ecclesiastes, we continue in that series. And we're going to be looking  today at chapter five, verses eight through the end of chapter six. And we're going to be  focusing on the theme of what money can't buy. Some of you know the old comedy  routine, where the comedian is on stage, and up comes a robber with a gun. And he says, Your money or your life. The comedian just stands there, and says nothing, and does  nothing. So the robber pokes him in the ribs with his gun and says, Well, and the  comedian says, I'm thinking about it. Now, when it comes to a choice between your  money or your life, a lot of us if someone were nudging us in the ribs, or the gun would  say, well take the money, I want my life. But when it comes right down to it, many of us  are choosing money over life. A good many people instead of looking at what they truly  love, and what some of their deepest dreams are, make their life decisions based on what they think will earn them the most money. And so money winds up strangling their  dreams. And sometimes they even end up with money. But they always wonder whether  they threw away their life. Sometimes you make a choice about where to live, or what  job to take almost entirely on what's going to offer the best paycheck, and not what  would be the best situation for your family to live in, or how you could be closest to  people you love and so on, you think about what's going to give me the cash. And so you spend years when the cash increasing, but with the relationships fading. And I could give many examples were given the choice of your money, or your life, money gets chosen,  and life gets lost? Well, it will help us perhaps to focus on a few of the things that money can't buy, just to knock that idol off of its throne. And Ecclesiastes is very penetrating  and very perceptive on what money can't buy. One thing money can't buy is a fair  system, a fair society, a fair setup of government. If you see the poor, oppressed in a  district and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things. So don't be  shocked when things aren't fair for one oficial is I'd buy a higher one. And over them  both are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all the king himself  profits from the fields. You want to know why this system usually isn't fair. There's a one word answer money. Everybody needs their cuts. In the last presidential election, both  candidates spent over a billion dollars. And as they're getting ready for the next election,  that question of who is a front runner is largely tied to who can raise the most money.  And if you cannot raise gobs and gobs of money, you might as well not even try to run.  And if you have been in office, some of our former people who were in office presidents and others, one former president is now worth over $300 million. Almost all of it made  after his presidency because of the connections and all the cushy things that you can do  when you've been a politician. If we go from the national level down to our own fine  state of Illinois, we have the finest politicians money can buy. And we have several of 

the former governors sitting in jail now for bribes that they took. But even people who  don't blatantly taking bribes they just take campaign contributions or contributions to  our foundation. And the money flows to the politicians. And so it's no wonder that the  

little guy who can't buy clout if you're not part of a big union that can buy clout or if  you're not part of a big company or a gazillionaire, you're probably not going to get a lot  of attention from the big wigs. And not only at government levels, but also just life in  the company. There are the worker bees, and then there are the higher ups and the higher ups and the higher ups. Perhaps the best commentary on these particular verses of  Ecclesiastes comes from the noted Bible scholar Dr. Seuss. Oh, the jobs people work at  out west and your hot shots, there's a hot hot your Bee watcher, his job is to watch is to  keep both his eyes on the Lazy Town Bee. A Bee that is watched will work harder. You  see. Well, he watched any watch. But in spite of his watch that Bee didn't work any  harder, not march. So then somebody said, our O Bee watching man just isn't be  watching as hard as he can. He ought to be watched by another hotshot teacher. The  thing that we need is that bee watcher watcher. Well to bee watch your watch or watch to bee watcher. He didn't watch well. So another hot warcher had to come in as a watch  watcher watcher. And so you begin to get middle management and upper management.  And everybody is keeping an eye on somebody down the food chain to make sure that  worker bee will crank out more honey. And you know how the story goes, I won't give  you all the pages of that particular story. And today, all the hoppers who live in hot shots are watching on watch, watch, you're watching Watch, watch watching the watcher  who's watching that be, you're not a hot watcher, you're lucky you see, well, you might  be a hot watcher. Or you might be that bee that's getting watched, because this is Dr.  Seuss's portrayal of life. In the corporation life in the company, one official is I'd buy a  higher one over them both are others higher still, and everybody's got to get their cut.  And up somewhere at the top is the king or the politicians or those who are raking in the  contributions. And everybody's got to make some money. And you can be sure that the  poor are not exactly going to be at the top of that food chain when it comes to being  heard, or getting right things and money can't buy a fair system. The golden rule, and  that kind of a situation is the one who has the gold makes the rules. And that's not going  to get you a fair system. But there's other things money can't buy. The old saying it's old, but it's true. Money can't buy happiness. Whoever loves money never has money  enough. Whoever loves wealth, is never satisfied with his income. This too, is  meaningless. When you've got a lot of money, you always think I'm going to be happy if I would just get a little more. You know, the old saying of John D. Rockefeller, when he  was the richest man in the world, they said how much is enough? His answer was a little more. And that's, that's how it goes, you never are satisfied. It's like that itch that you  have to keep scratching. But the more you scratch, the more it itches. And that's how  money works. You're never satisfied. Money is not equal to happiness. And money can't  buy friendship either, as goods increase, so to those who consumed them, and what  benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them. Now, lack of money can  sometimes be a problem. If you're always asking other people for money that can dry up 

your friendships pretty fast. But getting tons of money does not guarantee friendship  either. It does guarantee you people hanging around, you know, if you win the lottery,  you will discover relatives and friends you didn't know you had. If you're a superstar  athlete, and you're making millions, you will soon have an entourage of moochers and  parasites all looking for a way to get some of your money. If you succeed in business in  a really big way, you will have a cluster of accountants and lawyers and others to  manage your money and, take some of it and you will have others who are after it, um,  charities and others will be very interested in you. The government and the politicians  will be interested in raising money from you for their campaigns. You have lots of  people surrounding you at all times. If you've made a lot of money as goods increase. So do those who consume them and you have the privilege of watching all those consumers come after your money. And are any of them, your friends. You're surrounded by those  who are after the money, but the friendship might not be so deep and so powerful. Well,  money can't buy peace of mind. The Sleep of a laborer is sweet whether eats much or  little, but the abundance of a rich man permit some no sleep. You say, Oh, come on, the  rich people have no worries, you know, man, I got worries. I'm not sure if I can pay the  mortgage, I'm not sure if I can handle the bills. Well, sometimes ordinary peons have  their worries. And then there are the world class warriors. Let's say that you are part of  launching a huge corporation. And you made billions and you ran that corporation, Let's  even say you were named Times Man of the Year. And a great business University  named you the most important businessman of the last 25 years. Let's just say all that  came true. Then if you had to write a book, you'd say how success made me content and  quiet, right? You might title your book somewhat differently. Only the Paranoid Survive. That's inspiring. Well, Andrew Grove that head of Intel Corporation for many years, the  most powerful computer chipmaker in the world says when it comes to business, I  believe in the value of paranoia. I worry about products getting screwed up. I worry  about products getting introduced prematurely. I worry about factories not performing  well. And I worry about having too many factories. I worry about hiring the right people. I worry about morale slacking off. I worry about competitors. Now do you see a little  pattern here? I worry. I worry. I worry. I worry. Only the Paranoid Survive. So Joe lunch  bucket goes home after a hard day at work and collapses in bed and sleeps like a baby.  And Mr. Titan of business says, Oh, I worry, I worry I worry. Well, money can't buy  peace of mind. Well, it can't buy future security either. I've 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's nothing left for him. Money, you can't live with it and you can't live without it. You Your horde, your wealth, you become a miser, you hang on to  all that money. And what is miser if you add a Y on to it, Misery. So you have some  people who just love their oodles of money, and they get more and more miserable with  it I could give me a story is one of the most famous of over the last decades was Howard Hughes, who for a while was the richest man in the world, and who literally lived like a  homeless bum. He he was just driven crazy, maybe by his money, just well hearted to  the harm of its owner. And of course you can lose it. You can be riding high and then all 

of a sudden your portfolio plummets and what you thought looked like a great retirement nest egg is suddenly nothing and your kids get almost no inheritance from you it can't  buy future security. Proverbs 23 explains why don't wear yourself out to get rich have  the wisdom to show restraint cast but a glance at riches and they're gone. For they will  surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Your money just has this magical ability to sprout wings. And even if your money doesn't fly away, well, you'll fly away  from your money. Money can't buy life after death. 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. This too is a grievous evil as a man comes so he departs. And what does he gain since He toiled for the wind? All his days he eats in darkness with great  frustration, affliction, and anger. So frustrating, angry, afflicted, darkness. Boy, does that  sound fun? He's toiling for the wind. And then when he's done, he's gotten Zippo. He  can't carry anything away in his hand. Notice though how it phrases it. When you die,  you can't take away anything in your hand. You can't take any of that money, any of that  stuff, any of those goodies. But that doesn't mean you can't take anything you take what  you have become. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But those who  have the life of God in them can inherit the kingdom of God. And you can take your  transformed self and your transform relationship with God into the next world, but you  can't take money, and money cannot buy you a ticket into the next world. And you just  can't take it with you. I've told before the story of the man who was visited by an angel  and was told he could have one wish. And he thought for a moment being an investor  and he said, I would like to see an edition of The Wall Street Journal one year from  today. And he was given his wish. And he got that Wall Street Journal a year in the  future. And he started looking at all the losers in the stock market that he was going to  sell off from his portfolio, and all the ones that would shoot up in the next year that he  was going to invest in and make a killing on. And he was looking at those stocks and  rejoicing. And then he glanced across the page and saw his own photo. It was in the  obituaries. While Jesus told a very similar story of the farmer who stored up gobs and  gobs of wealth in his barns, and was expanding his barns to hold more of it, and God  said, you fool. Tonight, your soul is required from you, then who's going to get it all.  Money can't buy life after death, and money cannot accompany you into the next life. So that's just a short list of some of the things money can't buy, it can't buy you a fair  system can't buy a happiness, can't buy a friendship, it can buy a various parasites, but  not real friends. It can't buy your peace of mind. It can't buy your future security. It can't  buy a life after death. That's kind of an important list, wouldn't you say? So if we're too  much in love with money, and I know that it's easy to start thinking that money can get  me this or it can get me that if only I had more money. We need to really be honest about the things that money cannot buy. And then Ecclesiastes goes on to not just identify and  unmask stupidity and folly regarding money, but then to speak of God's gift of gladness,  then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find  satisfaction in his toil and labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given  him for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions and 

enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and be happy in his work, this is a gift of  God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with  gladness of heart. There are certain people who spend all their time reflecting on how  

they couldn't be happier, and what they still need. There are other people who are given  a gift of happiness, who can rejoice in what they have, who can be glad in the things  they do. And they don't spend all their time obsessing over what's wrong with the world,  or how could I be happier, he seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps  him occupied with gladness of heart. So that verse 19, especially is key here, God gives  wealth and possessions not only but he gives the ability to enjoy those things, most of us don't need more stuff. We need the ability to actually enjoy the stuff we've already got. If God would give us that ability, we wouldn't need more goodies or more money to buy it. Because we would have what we need most that gift of contentment, of just accepting  your lot and being happy in the things you do. And being glad that God gives that gift of  gladness, the ability to enjoy. So again, take stock of where you're at. What is it that's  keeping you from enjoying life and being happy? If you think it's this or that thing that  you don't have think really long and hard about that? Is that really so? If you had it,  would you then be happy? Would you then be satisfied? Or would you still be as grumpy and dissatisfied as you are now? I saw saying somewhere while money can't buy  happiness, but I'd sure like to make the experiment. You know, that's the way a lot of us  feel we hear that old proverb stated again and again. But we would really like to give it a run if we could. Well, just don't waste your whole life chasing that. Learn to accept your  lot. I can't, I can't even phrase it that way to say learn to accept your lot in life. Learn to  be happy with what you Got, that doesn't do a whole lot of good does it, you're not  happy to be told now get happier. That doesn't cut it does it? Because like so many  things in the Bible, this is a gift of God. And you need to receive life as a gift that's  given to you. And thank God for his amazing goodness and grace and giving it to you.  And as long as you're still just trying to work your way up to happiness, you're not going to be able to succeed at that, well, God gives that gift of gladness. And he gives other  gifts very closely related to that, that are beyond price. He gives the gift of eternal life  we said that Money Can't Buy eternal life. It can't buy life after death. Wealth is  worthless. In the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Nobody can  redeem his life. It says in the psalms, Psalm 49, no one can redeem his life, the payment  is too costly. No payment is ever enough. We just can't buy that gift. But what we can't  buy, God gives at great cost to himself. The Bible says it is not with worthless things  such as the silver or gold, that you were redeemed or purchased or ransomed from the  empty way of life handed down to you. But with the precious blood of Christ, you were  bought with the precious blood of Christ, not with silver or gold. And so God made that  payment, the payment of the blood of His own Son, so that we could live forever. And  then to us that comes as a gift. The free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our  Lord. And that is something that money could never buy for us. It can't buy us that life  in the future that lasts forever, and it's filled with such joy and it can't buy us the life of  God within us. Now, that's what's lacking in much of Ecclesiastes, that that book is 

designed to unmask life without the life of God, just life under the sun without him. And you can't buy it because that life comes only from the Holy Spirit, and you can't buy the  Holy Spirit. Remember that story is somebody who tried in the book of Acts, Simon, the sorcerer was converted or maybe sorta converted or whatever. Not sure. But anyway, he  said, Boy, I wish I could be like Peter and John, where I could have this magical power  

to give the Holy Spirit to others. He didn't realize that it was not a magical power, that  the Holy Spirit is a person. And he says, what would it cost me? You know, what do I  got to pay you guys? So I can do that too. And Peter said to him may your money perish  with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. And he urged  that Sorcerer to repent. Just saw the other day of a prominent prosperity preacher who  sent out a letter trying to raise $65 million for his new jet. And people will give it okay, I don't know. 65 I won't even make that appeal here today. I'll settle for a new car. I don't  need 65 million for the new jet. You know, the van is 12 years old you want to give to  the date that is van funds. Well, not You're not giving generously for that, okay. Well,  anyway, you can't buy I don't think you should buy the jet. But you shouldn't try to buy  the Holy Spirit. But a lot of the people who talk Holy Spirit in one breath are saying pay  for my jet and the next. God's love is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit  who has been given to us not who we bought, or who we paid off or who we raised the  funds for, but who has been given to us. God is a giver, not a seller. You cannot buy  happiness from him. You can't buy eternal life in glory from him. You can't buy the Holy Spirit in the life of God in your heart. Now, these are gifts. And they are gifts to be  received with open hands and not with hands that are hanging on the dollars with both  either but open hands to the gifts of God. These are gifts beyond price. And when you  read Ecclesiastes, one of its great purposes is like a surgeon just cutting away the stuff  and the cancers that have got to go to make room for the growth of what's healthy. Well,  you still might not be persuaded. You say Well, yeah, money won't do it. But if I had  money plus a few other things that would do it. If I had a billion dollars, you know, we  don't need to think small here. If I had a billion dollars and a million admirers and hey,  you know Let's not forget about family. And hey, if some is good, more is better. Let's  just throw in 100 Sweet children. And, you know, life is too short if I had 2000 years to  enjoy it all that how's that sound? Man, you know, just money running out of your ears,  fantastic family, everybody thinks you're great. You're you live on and on for 2000 years  imagine they had all that, but lacked God, and His gift of enjoyment. Well, that's a  thought experiment that Ecclesiastes gets into right after describing what money can't  buy. He said, I've seen another evil under the sun and it weighs heavily on men. God  gives a man wealth, possessions and honor so there you got your billion bucks in your  million admirers, somebody lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enabled  him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous  evil. A man may have 100 children and live many years that no matter how long he  lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a  stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning it departs in darkness. And in darkness, his name is shrouded, though it never saw the sun or knew anything. It has 

more rest than does that man, even if he lives 1000 years twice over, but fails to enjoy  his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place. So the money, the fame, the sweet kids,  the 2000 year life span? Well, if you can't be happy with two kids, and enjoy them, why  would 100 be better? If you can't enjoy $40,000? Why will you enjoy it? If you just  multiply that by a whole bunch? If you can't enjoy this year? Why would you multiply it by 2000? That's just misery times 2000. That's what he's saying. Just multiplying all this  meaningless list. You know, I sometimes joke, you know, in my role is basketball coach  next year, they're going to double my salary. Well, yeah, but you know, doubling zero is  still zero. And if you do what is going on here in Ecclesiastes and say, Okay, let's take  emptiness, and then let's multiply it. Multiplied emptiness. That's what he's saying here.  If you want to go that route of the money and the staff, just multiplying just means you  got more of the same old, same old. And here's why. Appetite. All man's efforts are for  his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. What advantage has a wise man over a  fool? What are the poor man gained by knowing how to conduct himself before others  better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless a  chasing after the wind, the New Testament talks about people whose mind is on earthly  things and whose God is their stomach. When your God is your gut, your appetite is  never satisfied. It's always more, always more, but never just enjoying what's already  there. And this is this brings us to the exact midpoint of the book of Ecclesiastes. This is  the summary of what the whole book has been leading up to in terms of the emptiness of the things we pursue. Your appetite just drives you and drives you and drives you. But  you got to find a way to get beyond that meaningless chasing after the wind. And then  the next words that we find in Ecclesiastes are these, whatever exists, has already been  named, and what man is, has been known. No man can contend with one who is stronger than he, there is somebody who decided you're not going to be happy with idols, who  decided that Mammon is not going to satisfy and it was told you you cannot serve both  God and mammon. And he is greater and you cannot contend with one stronger than you are the more words the less meaning and how does that profit anyone for who knows  what is good for a man in life during the few and meaningless days he passes through  like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone? Who  knows? Who can tell him that if you ever just asked that question, or if the people of this age in this world who are following their appetite wherever it leads if they would just  pause Ask that question. Who knows? Who can tell me? If we would ask those  questions, then the true answer would come as blessed with good news. Because the  Bible says, Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. That  desperate search of Ecclesiastes is the search of someone who hasn't yet seen the full  brightness of the light, and the immortality, that comes through the gospel of the living  forever. That comes through the gospel. But somebody has told us what comes after  somebody knows what is good. And he says, What is good is Love the Lord your God,  with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, this is what is good, if you could live a life of love. If you had the fruit of God in you the fruit of the spirit of love and joy and peace, patience, 

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, does that sound better than  just adding one more dollar to your account? This is what it is to truly live. This is the  abundant life that Jesus came to give us. So it's not that God is just grumpy and gets  really mad if you try to serve money instead of him. It's just that it's impossible. You  can't serve God. And mammon, says Jesus one or the other is going to master you, and  dominate you. And then you are going to get you the gift of God, or the rewards that  come from the idle Mammon. Well, that's what Ecclesiastes has to say about what  money can't buy. So this week, when you get up in the morning, you say, well, paying  the bills is important. Having some income is nice. And when God gives me the ability  to enjoy it, as well as to make it, then I have been blessed indeed. And when it gives me  the perspective to realize that there is a lot going on, beyond the next year or two of my  career, and there are a lot more important treasures than what my portfolio looks like.  That God has given me treasure in heaven, and that each day as I love him and love  others, I can lay up more and more treasure in heaven. That's what life is all about. And  if you have been blessed, and let's face it, most of us here have more than enough  money. So what do you mean I have more than enough money, man, there may be a few  of us here who are struggling financially. But even those of us who are struggling  financially, by historic standards, we live pretty comfortably compared to people in  almost any other part of the world, and in almost any other age of the world. And so we  really need to heed what the Bible says the rich people command those who are rich in  this present world not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope and wealth, which is so  uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our  enjoyment, command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and  willing to share in this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I love that  phrase, the life that is truly life. Money can't buy it. But God can give it. Let's pray  together. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for giving us treasures beyond all price. In  our Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for His precious blood shed on the cross that  purchases freedom from sin and from our own foolish cravings and it purchases, eternal  life, we thank you for the Blessed Holy Spirit of comes to live in us and gives us the  very life of God which no payment can buy, save the payment of your own son. And so  we pray, Lord, that we may live the life of joy in Christ in the life of the fruit of the  Spirit, that where we have possessions, we may have the ability to enjoy them, and even  to enjoy sharing them of giving them back to you and giving them generously to others  not for wasteful things like preachers jets, but but helping those who really do have need and taking great pleasure in being able to bless others as you've blessed us. And so Lord, give us perspective on money, what it can't buy, and what it can accomplish when we are stewards of it by your grace and by your wisdom. Blessed Lord, those here who do have  financial struggles who are having a hard time right now dealing with financial  problems. Bless those Lord who have the financial problems that money has too tight a  grip on them, who maybe have plenty of it. But don't have enough freedom from it. And  so we pray, Lord, that whatever our needs whether just being freed from our love of 

money or having a bit more money provided to meet our needs, we pray that you will  supply each of us what we need in accordance with your riches and your kindness. In  Christ Jesus. We pray in His name, amen.