Today’s Devotional: Does Money Make you Happy?
Have you ever found yourself saying something like, “If I could just make 10% more at my job, then I’d be satisfied!” or “If only I could sell my house, then I’d be happy!” or “If only I could get my hands on an iPad, then my life would be complete!”
In our better moments, we all know that worldly wealth isn’t going to bring us true happiness… yet we still pursue it. In the following devotional, Our Daily Bread points us to the words of Solomon, one of the richest men in human history. Despite having everything that he desired, Solomon concluded that it was all meaningless:
After studying the effect of the post-World War II economic boom in Japan, Richard Easterlin concluded that monetary growth does not always bring more satisfaction. More recently, economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers conducted surveys in more than 100 nations and concluded that life satisfaction is highest in the richest countries.
So who’s right? Let’s check with the writer of Ecclesiastes. He should know! He was a truly rich man (2:8). He had the means to try everything in this world—and he did! He gave himself to pleasure (vv.1-3), grand projects (vv.4-8), entertainment (v.8), and hard work (vv.10-11). But he concluded that it was all “vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (v.11).
Read the rest of the devotional at RBC.org.
How much of your life is centered around the pursuit of wealth and worldly possessions? How should Christians approach wealth and possessions in general?
Wealth does not bring with it happiness. Poverty, however does bring with it dispair. Being content in all of our circumstances demands that we are doing our best with what is available to us. In no way are we taught in Scripture nor in a secular life not to have ambitions and striving to be our best. Where we get in trouble is when the desires and efforts to be better as individuals become more important and supplant, even to a small degree, our desires and efforts to keep God and Scriptural truths foremost in our lives.
MARK-10-25