HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 961
ECCL ESIASTES 7
page 591
brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the
more people come to help you spend it. So what
good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip
through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether
they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get
a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have
seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms
the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments
that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end,
there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.
15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked
and empty-handed as on the day we were born.
We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem.
People leave this world no better off than when
they came. All their hard work is for nothing—
like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their
lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least,
that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink,
and enjoy their work under the sun during the
short life God has given them, and to accept
their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive
wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it.
To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—
this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such
people so busy enjoying life that they take no
time to brood over the past.
6
There is another serious tragedy I have seen
under the sun, and it weighs heavily on
humanity. 2 God gives some people great wealth
and honor and everything they could ever want,
but then he doesn’t give them the chance to
enjoy these things. They die, and someone else,
even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth!
This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.
3 A man might have a hundred children and
live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction
in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it
would have been better for him to be born dead.
4 His birth would have been meaningless, and
he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t
even have had a name, 5 and he would never
have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet
he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. 6 He might live
a thousand years twice over but still not find
contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?
7 All people spend their lives scratching for
food, but they never seem to have enough. 8 So
are wise people really better off than fools? Do
poor people gain anything by being wise and
knowing how to act in front of others?
9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring
what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice
things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
The Future—Determined and Unknown
10 Everything has already been decided. It was
known long ago what each person would be.
So there’s no use arguing with God about your
destiny.
11 The more words you speak, the less they
mean. So what good are they?
12 In the few days of our meaningless lives,
who knows how our days can best be spent? Our
lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will
happen on this earth after we are gone?
Wisdom for Life
1 A good reputation is more valuable than
costly perfume.
And the day you die is better than the day
you are born.
2 Better to spend your time at funerals than
at parties.
After all, everyone dies—
so the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
4 A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having
a good time.
7
5
6
7
Better to be criticized by a wise person
than to be praised by a fool.
A fool’s laughter is quickly gone,
like thorns crackling in a fire.
This also is meaningless.
Extortion turns wise people into fools,
and bribes corrupt the heart.
• Money
E C C LE S I A S TES 5:19-20
What is your lot in life? Are you wealthy?
Hovering near the poverty line? Are you
a professional? A blue-collar worker?
Unemployed? Married or single? Parent
or childless? The writer of Ecclesiastes
knew that all people are not given equal
situations. He also knew that it is pointless to worry ourselves over the lot that
was given to someone else and not
to us. If, however, we enjoy the good
things in our lives, put ourselves wholeheartedly into the work we’re given, and
do something positive with what we
have been given, at the end of our lives
we can look back and know that we
did our best with what we had. God
asks no more than this of any person
(2 Corinthians 8:12).
Ask yourself this question: Am I storing
up regret or satisfaction?