How much is enough?
This question is raised more than once in the Bible. Ecclesiastes 5: 10 says, " He that loves silver shall not be satisfied; nor he that loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity". Simply put, a man or woman with a strong desire to continually amass wealth will never feel he/she has enough. The pursuit for wealth becomes an obsession, an idol. Such persons are ready to do anything ungodly or illegal just to acquire the riches they desire.
Contrawise, Apostle Paul in 1 Tim 6: 6 says that the well-being we long for will never come from money but from within our souls when godliness is united with contentment Also, in 1 Tim 6: 10 we admonished on the negative consequences of an inordinate desire for money, "Foe the love of money is the root of all evil: which they have em the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows".
Paul warns us in verse7 that spending our lives accumulating material things is a pointless goal in the long run, because"...we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out" when we depart from this world. Moreover, in verse 9 we that told that desiring to be rich at all cost has its own drawbacks. It comes with temptation, snares and even destruction, " But they that soil be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.".
Hey, don't get me wrong. Having riches is good. Infact, God delights in our being wealthy and prosperous. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Daniel etc.were all prosperous men. The Bible also says in Ecclesiastes 10:19 says "...money answereth al thing".
However, an obsessive desire for money will not bring us peace but sorrow in the end. Contentment and godliness are the profitable way to guard our hearts from the destruction that the love of money and material possession can cause.
