[Ecc 5:8-12] The Sleep of a Laborer Is Sweet(Lim)
John C Lim
Ecclesiastes 5:8-12
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
Perhaps one of the most heart breaking things we encounter in life is to witness injustice being carried out. For those of us who do believe in the law of the land, we do our best to abide by what is commonly expected of us in so far as observing rules and ordinances. While we go through the education system, we learn how we are to conduct ourselves in public and we learn to observe various signs. The other day when I went on grocery shopping, I saw a lady parking her car in handicapped space. It was raining but she was obviously not handicapped. When I saw that, I felt certain anger rise out of me. In order to shorten distance between her car and the grocery store to avoid rain, she was willing to park her car in handicapped space closest to the store.
Solomon has undeniably seen all the injustices in life and calmly tells us what he thinks about it. Look at verse 8.
If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
To feel anger when observing injustice is normal but Solomon would tell us not to be surprised at such things. We see the poor oppressed throughout the land. Recently, we came across a story where a shop owner fraudulently took food stamps and converted it to cash presumably for much less than the face value of the food stamps. The owner supposedly made great profit doing this over a long period of time. The very people who were given food stamp to buy food for their families would come to this store and receive cash which then they were able to purchase items they couldn’t with food stamps. Obviously, those recipients of the food stamps were wrong in what they did but the shop owner is just as guilty if not more. It is a case where the poor are in a sense being oppressed.
In our society even this day, we see justice and rights denied to those who are weak and helpless. Even the criminal justice system tends to favor those who have more resources for better representation. Some who steal billions would end up in their penthouse while waiting their trials while the poor who jump the turnstile would have to spend time in jail. At such seeming injustice, Solomon would remind us that everyone at every level of responsibility is accountable to someone in higher level of responsibility.
Though some may not acknowledge it, all are accountable to someone. There is not a single person in the world that is unaccountable for his or her actions. Ultimately, Solomon would remind us that no matter who or what we do, we are all accountable to God. God holds everyone accountable even if some people seem to get away with all kinds of evil and wrong doing. From Hitler who massacred millions of Jews to Stalin who slaughtered millions of Russians, they face judgment before God. At times, we forget this important truth and allow our personal anger to spill over and cause unnecessary angst. As we live in our fallen world, we learn that there will always be injustice and oppression by those who take advantage over those who are vulnerable and helpless. At the same time, we also realize that over all those injustices and oppression, our God in heaven sees all things and will require from those who perpetrated these activities, consequences of their actions or inactions in some cases.
And Solomon turns his attention to the economic phenomenon that can easily be observed in any society. Look at verse 9.
The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
The basic foundation of economy in ancient agrarian culture in time of Solomon was based on food production. Farming in particular played a major role in any economic system in that day. From the fields, people harvest the fruits of their hard work. They plant and tend their fields so they can reap harvest in due time. From the field they harvest grains and pay taxes to the king. The king who does not labor in the field receives tax from the growers and uses that to pay for his army and his expense to maintain the palace and other administrative expenses. We observe that everyone benefits from the productive fields. From farmers to the king and everyone between, they are able to provide for their families and enjoy a measure of happiness from the work of their hands. No one in truest sense lives altruistic life. Obviously, there are exceptions but in most cases, we work hard to benefit from the hard work. In this regard, it is perfectly normal for worker to be compensated for the work performed. If someone works harder, that person rightfully earns more compensation.
Then Solomon continues to give us his view on wealth in verse 10.
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
Although we work hard to eat the bread by the sweat of our brows as God had ordained, Solomon warns us about our inclination to love money. Money represents means by which we are able to acquire things and experiences. Without money, we are not able to provide for our basic needs such as food, clothing and roof over our head. Money therefore is a necessary medium through which we exchange our labor for just compensation. However, Solomon cautions us that when we start to attach ourselves to money, we then find ourselves never satisfied with how much we earn. Whoever loves money never has money enough, Solomon says. When we become emotionally attached to money as if it were alive, we have then lost our perspective on money. The word Solomon uses to describe that affection is love. Love is a strong word that has powerful emotion attached to it. Loving money is not an exemplary quality of a Christian. I Timothy 6:10 says this about love of money.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Apostle Paul uses expressive words to describe this love of money. He says it is root of all kinds of evil. Paul must have seen some people who wondered away from faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Loving money does not lead us in the way we should go but rather takes us in the wrong paths. Money should never replace our Lord Jesus Christ in our heart. When money takes higher priority in our life, our values also follow the priority established by money. This is why it is so dangerous to fall in love with money. We have seen many occasions how the love of money has overtaken unsuspecting people’s lives. Throughout the history of mankind, wealth has been painful cause of much misery.
Some people believe with their heart that money will bring them happiness and joy. And because of their such strong beliefs, they are intent on pursuing the goal of building wealth only to find out in the end that money did not bring them lasting happiness. So Paul would tell us that those who are eager for money end up piercing themselves with many griefs. We can almost see how money can lead to unnecessary and unintended consequences. Look at verse 11.
As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
As one garners great wealth, the living expenses increase as well. In some ancient civilizations, greater wealth meant greater access women and therefore more children. Even in this age, certain cultures allow multiple wives so long as they can be supported financially. Wealthy men in some cultures can have many wives and many children. Obviously, on the other hand if a person is poor, he would be lucky to have one wife. There aren’t too many women waiting in the wings to marry a poor man in any culture.
From time to time, we hear about famous celebrities’ marriage breakups. That is when we find out how contentious they are because of money involved. We even have prenuptial agreements in those marriages where the rich men in most cases try to protect their wealth from women who marry them for money. It is quite sad if we think about those kinds of marriages where from the beginning the motives are so clearly not based on true love but for something else. Is that something we would desire for ourselves or for our children when they become wealthy?
So as goods increase, so do those who consume the goods as the Bible says. More wives would mean more children and more children would mean more mouths to feed and clothe in ancient cultures. So the rich man’s expenses increase to accommodate bigger household.
And as the wealthy man continues to build his wealth, he is likely to get more of everything to show off his abundance. In contemporary times, the wealthy people can expand the size of their house and drive more expensive cars. As the number of square footage of their domicile increases, they can feast their eyes on their beautiful homes with more ornate features all around. As the number of luxury cars increase in their ever increasing garage space, they can feast their eyes on their stable of beautiful cars. As they continue to acquire greater wealth, they continue to spend more extravagantly to satiate their penchant for more luxurious lifestyle. I wonder if this is how we want to live and if this is what we desire for ourselves and for our children.
Solomon asks a thoughtful question. And what benefit are all these things to the owner except to feel good about oneself? Is that what our life was meant to be so that we would feel good about ourselves? At the end of the day, is it all about self aggrandizement? Is it all about showing off to others that we’ve made it in this world so we can look down on those who didn’t become as successful?
Then Solomon tells us in verse 12 a different picture in contrast to life of excess. Look at verse 12.
The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.
At the end of a hard day’s work, a laborer can fall asleep in peace. Having done his part in trying to support his family, he can close his eyes and fall asleep in a household lovingly shared by humble family. Though they may have eaten meager food on their table, there is a laughter and joy for there is love. There are days when he cannot eat as much as he wants but when he falls asleep he finds satisfying rest from his hard day at work. His sleep is sweet. With our current economic condition, more people are turning to sleeping pills to get some. Therefore simple thing such as getting a good night’s sleep is a blessing.
But the rich man cannot get good night’s rest as his mind constantly wonders and worries. His mind is constantly at work thinking of so many different things to maintain perhaps his current level of lifestyle. He carries the big burden in his heart perhaps worrying about losing his wealth to catastrophes. All the wealth he has keeps him awake at night. As much as he tries to get some sleep, his own possessions won’t permit him to sleep. Hebrews 13: 5 tells us as follows.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Someone who is caught up in accumulating wealth cannot see beyond this life. When we are not content with what we have and find ourselves snared by money, it simply means we do not trust God. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Indeed our Heavenly Father watches over our going and coming. He will provide for our needs amply.
Solomon observes such scene from life in the world. His observation can be observed even in our current times. There are many people in this world who seem to have everything that money can buy except for peace of mind in their heart. They do not have Jesus Christ in their heart and therefore no matter what other things they have in this world, they do not find true satisfaction.
On the other hand, even as times are rough with uncertainty, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ can have confidence that God takes care of us, who are His children. Although we may not have as much money as others in this world, we truly do have the most important treasure in life. We have Jesus Christ in our heart. No matter what happens in this life, we know that when this world comes to an end, we have our eternal home in Heaven. Money is the widely accepted currency of this present age but it will do us no good where we are going someday. Therefore to love this money as if it is everything right now sounds somewhat silly to those who are able to think a little beyond this present life.
As we go through life here on earth, we acknowledge injustice is rampant. However, we should also remind ourselves that in the end, we are all held accountable for our own actions. Wealth may seem like a good thing but it comes with a heavy price that takes its toll on all aspects of our life. When we trust in God for our daily provision, we can have peace that transcends all understanding. We trust in His goodness and mercy daily.