THE NAKED TRUTH (7 OF 15)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:8, Ecclesiastes 6:9
This content is part of a series.
The Naked Truth (7 of 15)
Series: ''The Good Life''
Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9
Ten years ago, a sixty-two year old Frenchman was rushed to the emergency room. This poor man was suffering severe stomach pain. There was an enormously dense mass in his stomach that weighed twelve pounds. It was so heavy that it had forced his stomach down between his hips. Five days after his arrival, doctors cut him open and removed his badly damaged stomach and its contents, but the man died a few days later from complications. What is so astonishing about this tragedy is what the doctors found inside the man's stomach. The dense twelve-pound mass was not a cancerous tumor. Rather, this man had swallowed around 350 coins: the equivalent of 650 American dollars! The doctor said he was suffering from a rare illness that makes people want to eat money.
Now you're probably saying to yourself, ''That's insanity! I am nothing like this mentally ill fellow! I would never swallow coins, especially 350 of them.'' Honestly, I'm glad to hear this. As we tell our children, ''Swallowing coins is dangerous. Don't do it!'' But let me ask you: Are you gorging yourself sick with money and materialism? Are you always searching for a higher paying job? Are you trying to earn promotions at the expense of your marriage and family? Are you consumed with investing your money so that you can earn more? Are you buying toy after toy seeking that new rush? Perhaps you just want to have a comfortable life, to earn just a little more money, to be debt-free, to buy some nice things and travel if you want, and to have enough money until you die.
All of these pursuits may seem reasonable, and even appropriate to you. However, in Eccl 5:8-6:9, Solomon warns us that there's danger in pursuing wealth. Have you seen one of those commercials for prescription drugs? They sound amazing for the first part of the commercial. But near the end you hear something like this: ''Side-effects may include: headache, dry mo ...
Series: ''The Good Life''
Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9
Ten years ago, a sixty-two year old Frenchman was rushed to the emergency room. This poor man was suffering severe stomach pain. There was an enormously dense mass in his stomach that weighed twelve pounds. It was so heavy that it had forced his stomach down between his hips. Five days after his arrival, doctors cut him open and removed his badly damaged stomach and its contents, but the man died a few days later from complications. What is so astonishing about this tragedy is what the doctors found inside the man's stomach. The dense twelve-pound mass was not a cancerous tumor. Rather, this man had swallowed around 350 coins: the equivalent of 650 American dollars! The doctor said he was suffering from a rare illness that makes people want to eat money.
Now you're probably saying to yourself, ''That's insanity! I am nothing like this mentally ill fellow! I would never swallow coins, especially 350 of them.'' Honestly, I'm glad to hear this. As we tell our children, ''Swallowing coins is dangerous. Don't do it!'' But let me ask you: Are you gorging yourself sick with money and materialism? Are you always searching for a higher paying job? Are you trying to earn promotions at the expense of your marriage and family? Are you consumed with investing your money so that you can earn more? Are you buying toy after toy seeking that new rush? Perhaps you just want to have a comfortable life, to earn just a little more money, to be debt-free, to buy some nice things and travel if you want, and to have enough money until you die.
All of these pursuits may seem reasonable, and even appropriate to you. However, in Eccl 5:8-6:9, Solomon warns us that there's danger in pursuing wealth. Have you seen one of those commercials for prescription drugs? They sound amazing for the first part of the commercial. But near the end you hear something like this: ''Side-effects may include: headache, dry mo ...
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