Enjoying the riches of your Labor

Enjoying the riches of your Labor
S - Eccl 4
⁴ I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind. ⁵ The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. ⁶ One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.


Eccl 5

The Folly of Riches

¹⁰  He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its  income. This too is vanity. ¹¹  When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on? ¹² The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

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¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. ¹⁹ Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. ²⁰ For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keepshim occupied with the gladness of his heart.

O - Solomon as the riches and most wise King of Israel has a lot to offer us with regard to leading a fullfilled life.   Like many bits of wisdom they are learned through inspiration and experience.   God may have inspired much of Solomon's wisdom but the understanding of the folly of riches, and what truly satisfies a man's sole is likely experiential as well.  Solomon had all the riches and wisdom of the world, and yet he wrote psalms of lamentation and revelation that all is toiling after the wind.   I summarize wisdom shared here as this:  It is not riches that satisfies a man's soul, it is simply to enjoy the life the lord has given you,  to work for things, but to enjoy the life your labor provides, no matter how little or how much.

A -  The application for me is to recognize I can not store up riches and toil to earn them and never enjoy life in the present time.  I must be wary of living a life of someday I will be able to ...;  instead I must live a life in which I labor, enjoy the fruits of my labor, and trust in God's provision for my future. 

P -Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your wisdom and encouragement.  I pray Lord that you would open my eyes to the ways I may enjoy the riches you have given me here on earth,  while honoring you and not allowing myself to needlessly strive.  I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.