Discerning our Priorities, Ecclesiastes 5:10-15

This continues a study on Simplicity with a week's emphasis on Discerning our Priorities. Enjoy
Ecc. 5:10-15 (NIV)
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.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.
15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.

My word, how do we discuss this little tidbit of wisdom? Verse 10 ~ Money as a god; Verse 11 ~ the life of most US citizenry; Verse 12 ~ How true.. hard work brings good sleep!; Verse 13 ~ uh uh uh.. we've ALL seen this; Verse 14 ~ investments in the 21st century; Verse 15 As we come in, so we go out.

How do we change our mindsets in these areas? As a sidebar for this study I've been doing, I am also reading a twenty year old book on simplicity as a challenge. It has much to say about discerning priorities ~ I have much to learn and willingly change.

Happy Monday everyone... It's supposed to be a sunny one... Be blessed, Janet

Janet,
good thoughts on these verses. I learned the hard way that money and things are not that important. When I lost my house, all my things and my first two kids in a housefire, it made me realize that none of the stuff was that important. Since that time I have not been a very materialistic type of person. Yet I've seen so many people that think they can't make it without the creature comforts. Joe and I like to go camping. I have a friend that has always refused to go with us because she couldn't have all her modern conveniences. I see all the time people getting caught up in "things" to the point of obsession. It's really sad to watch.

I missed this earlier.... Simplicity is a favorite subject of mine.. something I strive for, but don't always attain. I love the idea of simplicity but don't feel as though I live simply enough. I get rid of 'things', but still have too much. There are so many things I 'need' . But I do think people are happier if they don't focus on acquiring things.

Everything you own starts to 'own' you - it requires care and upkeep and you may struggle with the costs and time involved in keeping it! Through the years I've seen people have to readjust their entire lives because of overspending, or having very little even after a lifetime of working.

My mother had a knack of making simplicity appear to be quality and fullness. I can't think of any other way to explain it. Maybe it was what she herself put into it that made it seem as though we never lacked for anything. Or perhaps she could be described as 'classic', using things that never really went out of style.

One of these days I'm going to live a minimalist life. But I've got a long way to go