Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6
The majority of the world is always seeking to have more and more things, greater wealth all the time. There is often never enough in the mind of a person, always wanting just a little bit more. As a result, people are willing to work more and more to get that little bit more, reaching for happiness and contentment in things and never being fully satisfied. Life is then full of turmoil and struggles in reaching for more.
Solomon, the wealthiest man in all history, states that it is better to have just a little with quietness than to be wealthy with toil and grasping at the wind.
Wealth always appears to be a great thing to have. On the outside, it looks like it can bring about satisfaction, joy and purpose to a person’s life. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with wealth in and of itself, it does bring about a lot of trouble for most people.
With extreme wealth, there is a lot of hard work that must be kept up in order to keep that wealth. There is also often fear of losing all of the wealth, removing all peace. It is also like grabbing for the wind. One cannot grab a hold of the wind and hold on to it, the wind always slips away. In the same way, wealth will always slip away or be just out of reach.
Believers need to be content with what God has blessed them with, whether a little or a lot. Having contentment in a little, will remove the hard, meaningless toil for something just out of reach. It will bring about a peace and quietness to the heart, mind and soul that rests in God’s provision, not what one attains.
You may be tempted to strive to gain great wealth, working hard to get more and more. Keep in mind that wealth is only a matter of perspective. You can have a peace of mind whether physically poor or very wealthy when you put your trust in God and what He provides, rather than what you provide. Enough wealth will always appear to be just out of reach, if you are not trusting in God for what you need. Find His peace in what He has provided.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know what God has given you; that you will trust God for all of your needs; that you will find peace in what God blesses you with; and that you will find contentment in God’s provision.
Picture by Aleksandra Sapozhinikova on Unsplash
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