Daily Devotional | The Empty Promise of Wealth

The self-storage industry in the United States is worth 44.37 billion dollars a year and is expected to keep growing. I won’t pretend to understand all the reasons behind it, but I do think it points to a particularly American problem: we want more stuff, and we can’t let go of the stuff we have.

The Teacher, writing millennia ago, spoke with shocking clarity about a sin that plagues many today: “[W]hoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income” (v.10). “[A]s for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep” (v. 12). “Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart” (v. 15). All of our belongings are temporary and will never truly satisfy. While money may enrich our lives, “wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners” is “a grievous evil” (v. 13). Things will never fully satisfy us; what really matters and the only thing that lasts is living in relationship with God.

In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul warns that 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.” Jesus illustrated this with the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. This man was so wealthy that he had no place to store his goods, so he decided to build a bigger barn and then retire to a life of pleasure and ease. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:20). “Life,” Jesus said to the crowd gathered to hear His teaching, “does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Go Deeper

If what the Teacher and Paul and Jesus said is true (and it is!), what does life consist of? How can you reorient your life and priorities to be consistent with Scripture’s teaching about wealth?

Pray with Us: Lord, we want to live as worthy citizens of Your kingdom. Guide us by Your Spirit and show us how not to be seduced by the empty promises of this world that don’t satisfy—success, material possessions, entertainment, wealth.

BY Dr. Russell L. Meek

Russell Meek teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at Moody Theological Seminary. He writes a regular column on understanding and applying the Old Testament at Fathom Magazine, and his books include Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning in an Upside-Down World and the co-authored Book-by-Book Guide to Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary. Russ, his wife, and their three sons live in northern Idaho.