[5:7-6:12] To word of God is the most important standard for living. It is better to test our emotions, our dreams, and our experiences against the word of God. The word of God is the standard.
Solomon tries to find satisfaction in wealth. Believers in Christ need to stay away from injustice on the oppressed. The powerful should not oppress the poor. Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says, “Those who love money will never have enough…. the more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So, what good is wealth except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers.” Money should not be used for accumulating or overspending. Money should be used for the glory of God. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil; not the money itself. It is the attitude that mankind has toward money that makes all the difference. Solomon gives warning that hoarding riches harms the saver.
Chapter 6 gives a great picture of reality. The reality is the rich man and the poor man both live the same amount of time on the earth. A man may have all the wealth he ever wanted and then die young – unable to enjoy his wealth. Then in Ecclesiastes 6:3, “A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead.” The reality is to find satisfaction in Jesus. There is no amount of wealth or worldly accumulation that can bring satisfaction apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ.
