Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV)
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
I wrote this in 2010 about this verse and this section of Ecclesiastes:
The desire for more is vanity. Contentment is God's blessing on the righteous, at least that seems to be the message we have in these chapters. We are to rejoice in what we have, whether it is little or much. Rejoicing in what we have as it is the very gift of God is the secret of managing the vanity in the world. We should rejoice in riches, if God provides them. But, we should not seek and desire them to fulfill our needs. Riches and poverty are not the issue, but contentment in the situation we find ourselves in. Be content. Don't want. Rest in the gift(s) we have. They are His gifts.
In 2025 I would simply add that the above verse should be taught to all young people on a daily basis. It seems that the younger we are the more we want to pursue careers and lines of endeavors that, in the end, will produce wealth and the “good life.” Solomon, who had all the wealth in the world and was the riches man living on the planet, disputes any long term satisfaction you get from accumulation. Remember, we can’t read Ecclesiastes unless we read the last verses, first:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV)
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Satisfaction and contentment are found, not in accumulation, but in total reverence for God.
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