Chasing the Wind: The Futility of Materialism
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Attempting to find meaning in "things" can often lead down a dangerous (and unending) path toward dissatisfaction and can put people in a vicious cycle of desiring more and more and yet feeling as if they never have enough.


Solomon shares a number of helpful insights on materialism in the book of Ecclesiastes.   I love the way author Randy Alcorn summarizes and paraphrases some of Solomon's statements from Ecclesiastes 5:10-15:


  • “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want.


  • “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied.


  • “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it.


  • “And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good.


  • “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about.


  • “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.


  • “Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v.14). The more you have, the more you have to lose.


  • “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (v. 15). The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind.


So here we have someone (Solomon) who never lacked having enough money, concluding his remarks by stating:  "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" Ecclesiastes 2:11.


Money is a tool... not something to endlessly pursuit, or you (like Solomon concluded) may just be "chasing the wind".


About the Author-

Brent Hoskins is a Kansas City-area fee-only financial planner. Focal Point Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to help individuals and families organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Brent Hoskins is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice. 






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