Day 18 - More, More, and More

Key #5 – Live Not For the Dot but For the Line


Ecclesiastes 5:10-15
• What does the author say about the relationship between having wealth and wanting wealth?
• The danger in wealth is that it can lead to being insatiable which means that you can never get enough of something
• What is folly, according to this passage, in constantly seeking more and more personal wealth?
• The great lie in our society is that wealth can bring happiness despite the fact that most lottery winners say that the worst thing that ever happened to them was winning the lottery and a quick glance at the most rich and famous in our society reveals some of the most miserable people on the planet
• Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack filled with nice but unnecessary things
• Every time we purchase something, whether it be a TV, a video game system, or a boat, it changes our priorities as we use it, focus on it, etc.
• The problem isn’t with the new things we buy, it is with us as we begin to become more focused on those things and less on the Kingdom of God and as we find we need more and more things
• As we get enticed by a certain standard of living, we find ourselves working more and more hours to secure a “better life” but it causes us to spend less and less time with our family, with God, etc.
• Providing for our families and having things isn’t bad as long as we constantly make the effort to keep the Kingdom our true priority
• Solomon was among the richest men in the history of the world but that didn’t satisfy him; He just chased the mirage of being satisfied by wealth all the more
• We, unlike Solomon, run out of money before we run out of mirages
• Then we cling to the myth that things we can’t afford will satisfy us


• Have you ever experienced the temptation of being insatiable? Think of how you can be tempted, once you get something, to want more and more things like it or more things to go with what you already have
• Why is being insatiable so dangerous to Christians?


Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
• Solomon’s money never ran out and he chased after everything
• What was his conclusion?
• He chased after wealth his whole life and says that in the end he gained what?
• If Solomon’s findings are true, then why do we get so easily fooled and do the same thing he did?
• Is it because our hearts still yearn for treasure here and now?
• We can keep earthly treasures for the moment, and we may derive some temporary enjoyment from them now but if we give them away for the causes that please God, we’ll enjoy eternal treasures that can never be taken from us

• Are you ever tempted to think that the earthly things you see around you are the genuine treasures rather than the mere shadow of genuine heavenly-focused treasures?


• God has given us the ability to turn earthly treasures into heavenly ones by understanding five important keys to our attitude of heart:
• Understanding that God owns everything
• Understanding the God provides for his people
• My heart always goes where I put God’s money
• My true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God
• We live for the line, not for the dot

• With the right attitude of heart we are called to:
• Invest our money in the Kingdom of God
• Give food to the hungry
• Give clothes to the poor


Convictions
• Have you considered what the difference is between providing for basic needs and investing in the present age?
• Are you committed to investing God’s money back into his Kingdom and to care for the poor and needy?
• If you already have committed yourself to that are you prepared to keep it up for the rest of your life?
• If you haven’t fully committed to that, what changes do you need to make in your heart and in your life in order to fully commit to investing in heavenly treasures rather than earthly ones?