Thought for February 22, 2024

•  1349: Jews expelled from Zurich
• 1819: Adams-Onis Treaty cedes Florida to the U.S.
• 1854: First meeting of the Republican Party
• 1865: Tennessee adopts new constitution abolishing slavery
• 1876: Johns Hopkins University opens
• 1879: Frank W. Woolworth opens first 5 & Dime store [fails]
• 1893: First Iron Bowl--Auburn beats Alabama
• 1936: Sonja Henie wins 10th straight World Figure Skating title
• 1959: First Daytona 500--Lee Petty wins
• 1978: Two propane tankers explode in Waverly TN killing 15
• 1980: Miracle on Ice--Lake Placid
• Born: George Washington, Robert Baden-Powell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Charlie Finley, Ted Kennedy, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Aaron, Julius Irving, Bill Frist, Amy Alcott, Steve Irwin, Vijay Singh, Drew Barrymore:
• Died: Amerigo Vespucci, Andy Warhol, Grandpa Jones, Wesley Clark, Nanette Fabray

Thought:

In my Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 is headed "The Folly of Riches." Recall that the richest man in the world is writing this book. And is is not only the richest, but the wisest. What did Solomon discover about riches?

• 5:10--Riches will not satisfy. Most people are like the farmer who did not want all the land, just all the land adjacent to his. We don't want all the money---just a little more. I have written before that comparison is the enemy of contentment. I may be content until I see what someone else has, how much a co-worker is paid. When I was a partner in a large law firm, January was always filled with strife---the profits from the preceding year were divided and the salaries for the new year were set. I would go and tell someone you got a bonus of X--they were really happy and appreciative until they found our that the person next door got $1000 more. Then they were hurt, under appreciated, angry.
• 5:11---Getting more means spending more. We have all seen that--I got a raise, so I buy a new car and my payments eat up the raise. When I started my law firm in 1997, my two partners and I decided on the amount of money we would take out each month. We never changed that amount even though we prospered every year. The goal was to teach us to live on that income and treat the excess each year as God's blessing to be used for savings, generosity, and not for lifestyle.
• 5:13-17---Riches become a temptation---to be greedy, to hoard, to try and hit the home run investment [most of which fail].
• 5:17---Riches cause anger, sorrow, strife, sickness. The love of riches breaks up companies, businesses, families. I know several wealthy families that are estranged because of unequal inheritances. Partnerships that fail because one peson needs/wants more of the resources. Churches that split or have periods of disunity because the church is spending more on that other group than on "my" group.

Solomon's counsel. enjoy what God provides. It is a gift, something that we do not earn or deserve. It is grace. And when we spend our time thanking God, sharing His abundance, and praising Him, we don't really have time to think about envy, jealousy, and the success of others. [5:18-20]

I think I'll take what Solomon discovered and apply it to my life.

Blessings

Larry