Ecclesiastes 4
“There is one alone, without companion: he has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.” (Ecclesiastes 4:8, NKJV)
Last night Cindy and I were with our adult children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. We watched a movie version of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. As I meditate on this verse, I cannot help but think of Ebenezer Scrooge. The story opens with his nephew inviting him over for dinner on Christmas Eve. Scrooge rudely rejects the offer with comments about the “infernal” holiday. Next, he coldly turns away an appeal to help feed poor children with a “Bah, humbug!” Finally, we see him enter his dreary and dark home to eat his soup alone by the fireplace. It is evident that with all his unending labor and great riches he is unsatisfied and unhappy. Perhaps he would feel lonely, but his hard heart is beyond feeling anything. He has amassed so much, but who will get his wealth when he passes?
Once two brothers were fighting over the family inheritance, and one of them wanted Jesus to settle the argument. Jesus replied:
“‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” (Luke 12:14–15, NIV)
If life doesn’t come from the abundance of our possessions, then where does it come from? It comes from the riches of our relationships. First, our relationship with God, and then our relationships with others. I observe people I know who give themselves to building and maintaining relationships with others. They invite people over to their homes; they fix meals for them; they reach out to them on social media; they pray for them. These are the people who thrive in social environments. They are happy because they are surrounded by friends who care about them. But others are isolated, detached and selfish. They are unhappy and unsatisfied because we were created to be interdependent upon others.
As we start the New Year, my goal is to be less like the old miserly Scrooge and more like the new generous Scrooge. If life consists of the abundance of our relationships, then let’s do everything we can to increase our relational wealth!