The person who loves money will never have all the money he wants. The person who loves wealth will not be satisfied when he gets it . . . The more wealth a person has, the more friends he has to help him spend it. So what does he really gain? He gains nothing except to look at his riches. A man who works hard sleeps in peace. It is not important if he has little or much to eat. But a rich person worries about his wealth. He cannot sleep. I have seen something unfair here on earth: A person suffers harm from saving up his money. A person comes into this world with nothing. And when he dies, he leaves with nothing. In spite of all his hard work, he leaves exactly as he came. All he gets are days filled with sadness and sorrow. He ends up sick, defeated and angry.
   I have seen what is best for a person to do here on earth. He should eat and drink and enjoy his work. This is because the life God has given him on earth is short. God gives some people the ability to enjoy the wealth and property He gives them. He also gives them the ability to accept their state in life and enjoy their work. So it is better to be happy with what you have than always to be wanting more. Always wanting more is useless - like chasing the wind.
   To live, O Israel, to become a numerous nation, to gain entrance to the land which the Lord promised your fathers under oath, you must obey every command with which I am now charging you.
   For the Lord your God is bringing you into a rich country . . . You shall eat and be filled and bless the Lord your God for the good land He has granted you. But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you don't forget the Lord your God and begin to disobey Him. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large, and your silver and gold have multiplied, that is the time to watch out that you don't become proud, and forget the Lord your God Who brought you out of your slavery in the land of Egypt. Instead, remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you the power to gain wealth, that He might fulfill at this time the covenant which He made with your fathers.

Taken from Ecclesiastes 5, 6, Deuteronomy 8, The Everyday Bible, The Modern Language
Bible and The Living Bible. For free Lifescope book, write to Box 1575,
Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.