A Brutally Honest Take on Work and Wealth

We spend an enormous amount of our lives thinking about work and worrying about money. How much should we save? How hard should we hustle? Will we ever have enough?

The book of Ecclesiastes meets those questions head-on—with refreshing honesty.

Written by “the Teacher” (Qoheleth), Ecclesiastes doesn’t offer clichés or easy answers. Instead, it introduces us to a key idea that shapes everything else: hevel—a Hebrew word meaning vapor, smoke, or breath. Something real, but fleeting. Visible, but impossible to grasp.

Think of smoke. You can see it. It looks solid. But the moment you try to grab it, it slips right through your fingers. That, the Teacher says, is what money is like. It’s real and useful—but if you try to build your life on it, you’ll eventually discover you’re standing on nothing.

The Big Idea: Money is a helpful tool, but a horrible god.

Below are five timeless insights from Ecclesiastes that help us hold work and wealth with wisdom and humility.

1. Work and Wealth Are Good Gifts from God

Ecclesiastes is clear: work itself is not the problem. In fact, the Teacher calls it a gift.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NLT)

“And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it… this is indeed a gift from God.”

Notice where wealth comes from—from God. That means we are not the source of our wealth; we are stewards of it. The Bible never commands us to be poor, unemployed, or lazy. Instead, it consistently warns against idleness.

Work is good. Earning is good. Enjoying the fruit of your labor is good—when it’s received as a gift, not treated as a god.

2. Don’t Sacrifice Your Peace for a Paycheck

While work is good, toil is not.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NLT)

“Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”

There’s hevel again. Hustle culture promises fulfillment but often delivers exhaustion. When success steals your sleep, your joy, and your sanity, something is off.

The Teacher observes that those who work hard tend to sleep well—but the wealthy often lie awake at night, anxious and restless. More money doesn’t always mean more peace.

3. Money Can’t Buy True Happiness

If money could satisfy the human heart, then having more would finally be enough. But Ecclesiastes says otherwise.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NLT)

“Those who love money will never have enough.”

The problem isn’t having money—it’s loving it. Wealth constantly promises happiness just one step ahead: a little more, a little better, a little bigger. But that finish line never arrives.

The New Testament echoes this wisdom, warning that the love of money leads to sorrow, spiritual drift, and deep regret. Money makes a terrible savior.

4. Enjoy What You Have Right Now

Here’s one of the most practical lessons in Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 6:9 (NLT)

“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.”

Wealth can’t buy happiness—but what you already have can be enjoyed. Contentment isn’t getting everything you want; it’s learning to appreciate what God has already given.

Gratitude replaces coveting. Presence replaces comparison. Jesus reinforced this truth when he warned that life is not measured by how much we own.

5. You Can’t Take Any of It With You

Ecclesiastes repeatedly reminds us of a simple reality: we arrive with nothing, and we leave with nothing.

Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NLT)

“We can’t take our riches with us.”

This truth isn’t meant to depress us—it’s meant to free us. There are no hearses pulling U-Hauls. One second after you die, your net worth is zero.

That’s why Jesus ends his parable in Luke 12 with a warning: a person is foolish to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.

The Solid Ground Beneath It All

Money is hevel. Real, but fleeting. Useful, but unreliable.

God, on the other hand, is solid ground.

The gospel invites us to stop worshiping the gift and start trusting the Giver. True wealth isn’t found in what we accumulate—but in a relationship with God that can never be taken away.

Luke 12:21 (NLT)

“A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

That kind of wealth lasts forever.