Solomon's Warning About on Money

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

Solomon is uniquely qualified to give the believer advice about how to deal with money. First, he is the wisest man (apart from Christ) to ever live. Second, he was the richest king in his lifetime. Solomon not only has the wisdom; he has the real-life experience to boot. The Bible says Solomon became so wealthy and gold and precious stones became so common in his kingdom that silver was of little value in his day. Silver was as common as stones in his capital city of Jerusalem (I Kings 10:27). In other words, Solomon has more experience and success in this area than any of us and we would do well to heed his advice on the topic of money. 

And here is basically what he says. Money can’t be your purpose in life. 

Money is a great tool. It can be used to give your family a better life. It can be used to advance God’s kingdom or feed the hungry or educate our children. Yes, money is a great tool but it’s lousy reason for living. 

Solomon had tried it! He knew what it meant to have money and he was searching for the meaning of life, and he testifies as one who has been there that money cannot make you happy. It cannot give you purpose in life. It can't be the reason you get out of bed in the morning. If you begin to love money, if you begin to live for it, then you will never be satisfied. Matthew Henry in his renowned commentary on the whole Bible says, “Natural desires are at rest when that which is desired is obtained, but corrupt desires are insatiable.” If I am hungry and I eat food, my hunger goes away because it is a natural desire. But when I have a corrupt desire, when I lust after riches, then no amount of money will ever satisfy me. Henry adds more clarity. He says, “Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing.” 

Wanting to be rich, loving money is a trap. And if you fall for it, you will never be satisfied! Consider what 1 Timothy 6:6-10 says on the subject. 

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Don’t add needless grief to your life. Beware the love of money. Guard your heart against it. Ruthlessly weed it out of your life. Use money. Earn money. Spend money. Save Money. But DON'T love money.

An Old Testament Pattern of Evangelism

When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon...she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be!... Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king...”

King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

2 Chronicles 9:3-8

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came up to Jerusalem, half incredulously, with a great caravan of gifts for the king and with just as many questions to test him. She couldn't believe the stories she had heard were true. She was overwhelmed to find out that she hadn't heard the half of it! After Solomon had answered all her questions and after she had praised God for giving His people such a wise king, Solomon generously gave her all she asked him for. In fact, he ended up giving her more than she had brought to him in the first place. He blessed her more than she blessed him. 

May this be the pattern of our witness as well! Unbelievers should hear stories about the love and generosity and joy and reconciliation and unity within our churches. They should come to church out of curiosity, half incredulously, to see if the stories they heard could possibly be true. And when an unbeliever does investigate our church or our lives, let us be very careful to exceed their expectations in every way. So that they can rejoice in saying that they hadn't even heard the half of the amazing work God was doing in us. And as they go out from us, curiosity satisfied, let us take great care and even pride in making sure that we are more a blessing to them than they are to us. Be a blessing to lost people every chance you get! This is a sign of God's goodness and blessing in your life that you have enough extra love and kindness and peace and time and even money to allow some to spill out onto them. This should be true of us individually and of our churches as a whole. We don't need to take anything from this old world. It all belongs to our God, so we ought to be generous and even extravagant in seeking to be a blessing to those who come to us seeking to know about Jesus.

Think on this today. When people hear stories about you, stories about your church, what kind of stories do they hear? When they come to see if the stories are true, does the reality of your everyday life outshine the stories? And when these lost people leave you to go out on their way, do you seek to bless them in the name of Jesus every chance you get? I know I still don't measure up, but I am going to strive to follow Solomon's pattern in my life and in my church. 

Permission to Speak Freely

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

2 Chronicles 1:7

Young King Solomon, at the beginning of his reign, was given an invitation beyond all imagination. He was invited by God to ask Him for anything he wanted. Now, Solomon didn't ask for what you might expect. He didn't request wealth, honor, victory over his enemies, or even long life. Instead, he humbly asked God to give him the wisdom and knowledge he needed to lead God's people well. His request was not only humble but pleasing to God. God not only granted Solomon's request but also promised to give him exceeding wealth and honor like no king before or after him in the history of the world would enjoy. Talk about a windfall of blessings!

But isn't the modern believer blessed in this way too!? We too are invited to ask our Lord for whatever we want. In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus invites us to:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

I think we often overlook how great a privilege that is. You can ask God for anything! Of course, our situation is different that Solomon's. His invitation to ask probably came with a stronger assurance that he would get whatever he asked for, but still as God's children we are not very far off at all from this level of certainty. As God's children, we can be sure that He will hear our requests and answer in accord with our best interests.

So, now that you understand the invitation, what are you going to ask for? Don't overlook how great a blessing it is for you to be able to take any request you want before your Creator. Make time to pray! But take James 4:2-3 to heart. "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." Be sure not only to ask but to do so with right motives.