Providing you have enough wealth, everything and anything in this world is available to you for merely paying the price to whomever it is that is selling. Of course, those who do not have the money to buy what they want merely covet these things. Then again, some people resort to stealing them. We see the latter in burglaries, shoplifting, and even looting during riots.
Love
The old adage, "Money can't buy one love," is true. Oh, sure, you can attract a lot of people with fancy cars, jewelry and money, and you might even get to shack up or marry one or more of these people with hardly any attempt on your part when you have power and fame and wealth.
But is it really love? Or perhaps a better question would be: what is the person's motives? Are they after the money, the fame, the status or the lust of their eyes? Are they seeking more and more material things to bring what they construe as happiness to their life?
Lust
The lust of our eyes can get us into considerable trouble. John the brother of Jesus tells us all about it.
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world" (1 John 2:15-17, NIV).
The lust of the eyes is the innate sinful desire to have what we see or to possess anything that appeals to our eyes. This is coveting, desiring things such as money, material possessions, women or men. or any physical thing imaginable. This lust of the eyes is not from God, but is from the world in which we live.
It seems to me that we can all relate to a time when we have lusted after something. This is but one sin we must put away in our lives, because, in the end, this world passes away (1 John 2:17).
Learning from King Solomon
The son of King David was Solomon. He became king of Israel and reigned from about 970 to 931 B.C. He both collected and wrote thousands of proverbs. His wisdom is said to have been greater than all the men who had ever lived. But his wealth caused him to lose sight of the blessings the Lord had bestowed on him.
King Solomon amassed an extraordinary amount of wealth in his palace. Tons of gold, silver and jewelry filled the kingdom's coffers. But it was his insatiable lust for women that got him into trouble. We read:
"He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray" (1 Kings 11:3, NIV).
God's covenant strictly forbid intermarriage. It was not a racial or ethnic thing at all. It was a religious thing. People from different areas of the known world were syncretistic and polytheists - they believed in every god imaginable. But the true God is a jealous One!
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (Exodus 20:5a, NIV).
God knew beforehand that these women would bring their idolatry into Israel and pollute the truth. That's exactly what happened, and in due time, God punished them.
Solomon had everything under the sun. This means that everything under the sun in a life separated from God is universal—and the point of view in Ecclesiastes is an earth-bound perspective rather than a heavenly one.
Lesson for the day
Our lesson above teaches us that life involves more than what happens “under the sun” - in this world. Wealth, power, fame and chasing after them is a futile grasp at the true meaning of life. It is like chasing after the wind. When we die we cannot take anything with us.
King Solomon is a glaring warning sign to all of us. No matter how many things we possess or try under the sun, they do not bring joy but rather fleeting happiness and a life further distant from a merciful and loving God.
Jesus reiterated the uselessness of having everything under the sun when He said: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36, NIV).
I'll leave these things for you to ponder in your heart.
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In love with the world is enmity with God