Hard Work or Hoarding?

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly cannot take anything out (1 Timothy 6:6-7). Amen.

You've been dreading this day. Your dad passed away a decade ago. Last week you moved your mom and a few of her things into assisted living. Now you have to go into your parents' house to clean it out and get it ready for sale. Your parents raised you and your siblings in that house. They've owned it for the past fifty years. ... And there's fifty years of accumulated stuff in that house.

Your dad's clothes are still there. It was difficult for your mom to go through them. Your high school athletic trophies, your sister's Barbie's and Cabbage Patch dolls, and your brother's grade school artwork are all there. The kitchen cupboards are full of Tupperware. The bathroom cabinet still has Avon bottles. The living room shelves have Hummel figurines collecting dust. The garage is filled with old tools, jars of nails and screws, and half-finished projects.

You know what I'm talking about. Your parents' houses are filled because they never threw anything away. Their generation horded because they lived through depressions and recessions.

You know what I'm talking about. Your house is filled because you keep buying stuff on Amazon or at Wal-Mart or Menards'. Your house is full. Your garage is full. You may even have a storage shed that's full. Our generation throws things away so we can buy more things. Our generation is hoarders, too.

We all hoard to one extent or another. We are guilty of taking something beneficial and twisting it into something that wastes time, consumes our focus, or crowds out what is godly. We may hoard our favorite hobby, our kids' athletic schedules, our binge-watching of videos, or the constant scrolling on our phone. We can hoard money, food, clothing, entertainment, activities, family time, work time, and so on.

King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5 warns that anything in the world – even the good and godly gifts of God – can become temptations to hoard. This hoarding will harm us. The hoarding can harm us physically when the piles fall and crush us. More likely, the hoarding will harm us spiritually because these piles of stuff create a barrier between us and the God who gives us all the stuff.

Solomon writes, "Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is vanishing vapor" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). The homeless person desires a better shopping cart or park bench. We desire a bigger raise, a better neighborhood, or a newer truck. If we live according to what our sinful flesh wants, whatever we have will never be enough. No amount of money can satisfy a person's deepest longings. We will just keep hoarding.

"When goods increase, so do those who eat them. What profit, then, does the owner get, except to see these things with his eyes" (Ecclesiastes 5:11)? Maybe you have a house, garage, yard, and shed – all filled with stuff collecting dust. Does hoarding all that stuff make you happier? We can only use so much. Everything else sits there for us to look at.

"The worker's sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but a rich person's abundant possessions allow him no sleep" (Ecclesiastes 5:12). The homeless person will worry about losing his tent to the police. The middle-class person will worry about losing his RV to the Wyoming winds. The wealthy person will worry about losing his yacht to the economy. Wealth causes us to worry.

"I have seen a sickening evil under the sun―wealth hoarded by its owner to his own harm, or wealth that is lost in a bad investment. Or a man fathers a son, but he has nothing left in his hand to give him" (Ecclesiastes 5:13-14). We can hoard wealth in bank accounts, the stock market, and 401Ks, so we are able to retire comfortably and leave an inheritance to our family. But Solomon reminds us that our futures and fortunes can be lost through a moment of misfortune – a long illness, a stock market crash, a natural disaster, an expensive nursing home – and the nest egg is wiped out. We are left with as little at the end of our life that we had at the beginning of our life. "As he came out from his mother's womb, so he will go again, naked as he came" (Ecclesiastes 5:15).

Solomon ends with this dark expectation. "Just as he came, so he will go. So what does he gain, he who works for the wind? Besides this, during all his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, sickness, and anger" (Ecclesiastes 5:16-17). If we are attempting to find safety, security, and satisfaction in our wealth, or peace and contentment in our possessions, or happiness and joy in our stuff, it's all futile. It's like trying to catch the wind.

Jesus does not abandon us to our sinful hoarding impulses. Instead, he pursues us, calls us to repentance, and embraces us with his gospel. Jesus understands how much we are tempted to hoard all of God's blessings and turn them into curses. That's why there are over 2300 Bible verses that speak about money. Money is a master that Satan wants us to serve. Jesus knows this. That's why he told the parable about the rich man and the wicked manager. Jesus summarizes the parable saying, "No servant can serve two masters. Indeed, either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon" (Luke 16:13).

We need to repent of our hoarding. We want to replace the hoarding with hard work. Hard work is good and godly. But we can hijack and hoard hard work, just like anything else. So, before we can focus on our hard work, we must first appreciate and accept Jesus' hard work.

Jesus Christ did the hard work of leaving his throne room in heaven to be born in a manger. He did the hard work of being baptized for our sins and going into the desert to defeat the devil's temptations. He did the hard work of refusing to hoard anything, but instead lived without house, garage, or shed. He had to borrow places to sleep, a donkey to ride, and even a grave to lay in. He did the hard work of suffering for humanity's sins, being forsaken by his Father, and giving up his life as a ransom for many. He even did the hard work of rising from the dead on the third day.

Jesus found great joy in all that hard work. His reward is seeing us believe in him as Savior so he can transfer that hard work to us. He found great joy and reward in redeeming our body and soul for the life to come.

We also rightly believe – but perhaps forget to emphasize – that Jesus redeems our body and soul for this life here and now. Jesus loved God above all things so you can love God above all things. Jesus loved his neighbor so you can love your neighbor. In everything Jesus ever did he glorified God. It is through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit gives you the occasion, motivation, and sanctification so "whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, you do everything to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The only way St. Paul's words to Pastor Timothy make any sense is if you have faith in Jesus redeeming your body and soul, work and possessions. "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly cannot take anything out. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied" (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Jesus being present with you provides joy in your home, satisfaction with your work, and fulfillment with your education. You are content whether you are blessed with a lot or a little.

We find satisfaction first in Jesus' hard work in saving us. That is our motivation to do any hard work in his name. We talked about this today in Bible class. It is the doctrine of vocation.

There is a difference between a job and a vocation. A job is something you go to, do, get paid for, and leave. A vocation is something you do first for God, then family, and then neighbor. It is putting your faith into practice. You may or may not get paid for it. The reimbursement is not important. Your motivation is what's important. A vocation is something you do ... and you can't help doing it.

You find satisfaction in your vocation as you do the work God has given you to do. You are glad to do it – and you don't need a lot of money as payment for continuing to do it. The reward is not in all the stuff you get from your job. The reward is serving God in whatever you choose to do within your vocation.

Instead of hoarding, Solomon encourages us to hard work. "So then, here is what I have seen to be good: It is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to look for good in all a person's hard work which he has done under the sun, during the few days of his life that God has given him, for that is his reward. Likewise, for everyone to whom God has given wealth and riches, if God has also given him ability to eat from it, to enjoy his reward, and to rejoice in the results of his hard work―this is a gift of God, for the man seldom reflects on the days of his life, since God keeps him busy with the joy in his heart" (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20).

You find reward as you realize all your hard work, callouses, sore muscles, and exhausted mind, are gifts of God for a job well done. You can end each day with reflection and prayer – on your own, with your spouse, with your family – thanking God that he kept you busy with Christ's joy in your heart.

The parents find joy in the struggles with their children to sit still and stay quiet during church because they are teaching their children the way they should go so they do not depart from their Christian faith.

The wife finds satisfaction in being a stay-at-home mom – even though it will be difficult living on one income – because she knows no one will love, care for, and nurture her children better than her.

The husband finds contentment passing on a promotion, so he has evenings free with his wife and weekends free to take his kids fishing.

The members find fulfillment with their offerings, their efforts, and the tithes in their wills for the ministry of their church because they have just prayed in the Prayer of the Day, "Move our hearts to seek you and your kingdom, that all good things may be given to us as well."

The couple finds reward in having an elderly parent move in with them because they know no one will love, care for, and nurture their parent better than them.

The elderly lady finds peace that though she has lost her independence, she is allowing her children or her care workers to show their love for her and glorify God in all they do for her.

The Christian apologist finds satisfaction in going into the lions' dean of college campuses to challenge the demonic doctrines of the day.

Without faith in Jesus, our lives are like vapor. With faith in Jesus, our lives find value. Without the focus on God's Kingdom, our work is just hard. With the focus on glorifying God in all we do, our hard work is a reward. Without Christian love motivating everything we do, we are just busy. But when we emphasize loving God and loving our neighbor above all things, we find joy in our busyness.

Because Jesus worked hard for us, now we work hard for him. Our life is not in what we can hoard. Our life – both this life and the next life – is in Christ and what he's given us to do with the hard work within our vocations. Amen.

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. In this way they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Timothy 6:18-19). Amen.