City Life Starter

I. The Word Ecclesiastes 5:13-15 (NRSV)

13 There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their
owners to their hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are
parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. 15 As they came from their
mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for
their toil, which they may carry away with their hands.

II. Study Questions

1. How often do you pray about your finances?
2. Do you only pray when you need additional financial resources?
3. Do you pray during times of financial abundance to ask the Holy Spirit to guide your
choices?

Ecclesiastes is a piece of wisdom literature; it contrasts Proverbs’ emphasis on justice with a message of skepticism toward life’s unpredictability and vain pursuits. The writer of the book is an unnamed student relaying the statements of a teacher, traditionally believed to be Solomon. In today’s passage, the speaker discusses how unwise financial decisions can lead to ruin. Specifically, the speaker mentions people saving too much money, making bad investments, and neglecting to care for and/or leave inheritances for one’s children. He also notes that these practices, in addition to causing financial loss, lack sense because we can’t take any possessions with us after death.

Money itself is not a culprit of ruin, but its mismanagement is. Furthermore, selfishly handling money will expose your foolishness when you pass away without it. The Lord wants to use your money to glorify Him, and this is the most sustainable pursuit because the Lord is eternal, unlike your life on Earth. But how do we follow God with our money when there’s no passage in the Bible about which company to buy stock from? This is when the Holy Spirit becomes crucial! If we want to manage our finances in a God-centered way, we must allow the Holy Spirit to baptize our financial choices. The best way to do this is by calling on the Spirit in prayer, in times of both financial need and abundance. This process is exquisitely hard, and can only be maintained by meditating on complete satisfaction in the Gospel. Once you recognize that money will never satisfy your soul like Christ, handing over control to the eternal God is the only reasonable option.