When To Break The Bank

There is an interesting observation in Ecclesiastes 5:13-15:

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.

Most of the finical advice you hear from Solomon revolves around hard work, saving, and being wise in what you spend (Proverbs 10:4-5,13:22,20:13, 21-20). Yet here he talks about the tragedy of wealth unused. His point is simple; money isn’t for having it, it is for using it. We think of it as the ultimate safety net but it isn’t. Inflation can eat it away, markets can collapse and we can pass away.

Years ago, a lady approached an elder in the church and told him she was planning to leave a large part of her sizable estate to the church. He told her that he was grateful, she would be better off doing it before that because after she died it wasn’t going to be hers to give away. He was right. By the time the lawyers and family had their say very little made it to the church.

Saving up for a ‘rainy’ day is wise but hoarding what we have isn’t. As Jesus said "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings”(Luke 16:9). We should use what we have to do good not just to keep ourselves feeling secure. Money makes an excellent servant but a terrible master. When it controls us instead of us controlling it, we have an issue.

Money isn’t always valuable. Sometimes it’s keeping us away from what is.

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