The Two Economies - Ecclesiastes #6

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly;

For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already done.
13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly
As light excels darkness.
14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That the same event happens to them all.

15 So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!


Are you rich, poor, or somewhere in between? Are you wise or foolish (or somewhere in between)? No matter the state of your bank account or level of wisdom, this passage makes the obvious point that everyone reaches the end in the same condition. Just like the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). One lived in the lap of luxury, while the other, Lazarus, spent his days on earth in torment at the rich man’s gate. His great desire was to be fed like the rich provided for their dogs. They both died the same night, the rich man sent to be tormented in Hades and the poor man to Heaven. The tables have turned, for now the rich man pitifully begs for even a drop of water on his tongue from the end of Lazarus’ finger!

The rich man may have had it made in this world, but he abruptly found out eternity has a different system. In God’s economy, wealth is not derived by our buying power, but by Jesus Christ’s purchasing ability. His death paid the penalty everyone deserves due to sin, so when we trust in Christ for salvation and turn from our sin, He pays our debt. No matter the station of our lives here, we cannot pay the debt we owe in eternity; we must trust in Jesus Christ to pay that debt.

So, would you rather be able to build a great performance center that rivals Carnegie Hall, or store up treasures in Heaven? Would you rather leave a fortune for future generations, or a testimony and life that points people to Christ and eternal life? I’m not even tempted to say you can’t have both, because many rich people on earth are saved and have stored up treasures in Heaven (On the global scale, most Americans are considered rich). What we must know is which category is far more important and choose wisely! 

In Christ Alone,

Dan

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