In Ecclesiastes, chapter five, verses ten through seventeen, beginning with the first part of the theme title, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” Money and the abundance of material things do not give life and meaning, and thus cannot bring real happiness. In general, an honest working person who comes in after a good day’s work sleeps peacefully, while wealthy individuals are unable to sleep for fear that some calamity or a mistake on their part will cause them to lose everything. But even if they do not lose anything, they will take nothing with them when they die. Sadly, so many people work so hard for an abundance of possessions when it is much better to lay up treasures in heaven, as in Matthew six, verses nineteen to twenty-one.
“Mammon” means money or valuable possessions. In Matthew six, verse twenty-four, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” To serve money or possessions is to place a high value on what we put our trust and faith in. Look to these worldly values as ultimate security and happiness, expect to guarantee our future, and desire more than we desire God, His righteousness, and His kingdom. Mark eight, verse thirty-six, declares, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied are the ones who side with “Mammon” and not with God. Valuable possessions fade and lose their flavor. Those who serve God, rather than money or valuables, typically find God.