Sermon Central
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The Solomon Secrets Series
Contributed by Chris Edmondson on May 26, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Solomon really loved the Lord. He wrote accurately and truthfully about all sorts of financial matters long before economics became a credited source of study in universities.
The Solomon Secrets
Hope for the Financially Challenged - Part 3
DVD: Veggie Tales, Madame Blueberry, Stuff mart
In my messages I try to be as honest as I can be in those areas of my life in which God is still working on. This is one of those areas. I don’t always square with what God wants for my life when it comes to money. Some of those confessions have been hard, some have been a little easier.
All of us have areas of discontent in our lives. It could be buying clothes, dishes, movies, motorcycles. Ski boats, classic cars, guitars, and farm equipment. These things all causes us want more and be satisfied less. Somewhere along the way, we have to ask ourselves, “Where does it all end?” Because once you start wanting more, you are never satisfied. Contentment slips out the back door of your life.
America is the wealthiest country on the face of the planet. We have more stuff, amusements, and gadgets than any other country. But are we more content and more happy as a result? Everyone knows the
answer to that question. David Myers says that…
Never has a culture experienced such physical comfort combined with such psychological misery.
There was a man whose name was Solomon. He was the wisest man that ever lived. He was also the wealthiest. In his writings, especially in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, He tells us the secrets of living well with money and the
desires that war within us.
1. The Secret of Contentment
Indulging in luxuries, wine and rich food, will never make you wealthy...
It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to always be wanting something else.
How content are we with what we have? Why do we always convince our self that happiness is one more purchase away? A lot of us think that contentment is a future condition that when I get everything I want, I will arrive at that place. Contentment is not a destination; it is the journey. Solomon says, “You have got to enjoy what you have, and then you find contentment.”
Dealing with this desire for more is what lies at the heart of one of the 10 Commandments. The 10th one says, “Don’t covet.” Coveting is desiring what God has chosen not to give. This commandment, more than any of the other ones, tends to expose the sinfulness and the brokenness of our heart.
The 10th commandment is different than the other 9 in that it is the first commandment that moves away from an outer action to an inner attitude. Think about it like this: All of the other commandments, when you break them, result in an external behavior. You can find evidence of lying, stealing, adultery, murder. But you can be guilty of coveting, and nobody ever knows. As a result, it is a sin that we rarely confess in the church. To ourselves, to one another, or even to God.
It is this commandment that the Apostle Paul talked about in Romans 7 that was his Achilles heel. He
had a problem of coveting. In fact, one of his most quoted verses is Philippians 4:13…
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
We quote this verse when we want to try to climb Mt. Everest or lift 350 lbs., as some type of self-help, ‘We’re
here to pump you up’ verse. But do you know what this verse is really talking about? Contentment!
I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.
With Christ’s help, you can learn contentment. In Mark 10, Jesus spoke of the sin of coveting when the young rich man came up and asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus looks at this rich young
ruler and says…
“You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
Do you know in that list of commandments the one Jesus didn’t quote? All of the commandments that deal with
your neighbor are listed except “Do not covet.” Why did Jesus leave it out? Well, He goes on to say…
And the young ruler said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
