- When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. -
There is one part to verse 10 we did not discuss. The last little phrase almost seems trite when we are discussing money.
Love of money is also vanity. Absolute shocker, I know.
Why did I leave it out? One reason is because it’s obvious. The things of this world will fade away and leave you empty.
The main reason is because the next verses explain it in an unobvious manner. They expand upon the vanity we normally associate with greed.
Does Elon Musk love his money? Who knows? He says he starts his businesses for moral reasons and that he doesn’t own any property.
That doesn’t keep him from some rather bizarre behaviors, like trying to buy Twitter, naming his child X AE A-XII, and smoking weed on the Joe Rogan show.
However, he is the richest man alive. Hard to see how that couldn’t go to his head.
How has he gained that level of wealth? He has founded some of the most successful companies in the world, even reviving the space race.
Musk employs almost 110K employees; that’s an awful lot of mouths to feed.
Why would you vainly labor for riches? To enjoy spending them!
What’s even more vain than that? Not realizing that your level of wealth requires you to make others wealthy in the process and holding that against them.
Note: that’s a good thing. It’s vain to think that greed would lead to anything other than that at a certain scale.
If Musk and other business owners see their employee’s wellbeing as something worth striving for, then it’s hard to consider it vanity.
Let’s move on to verse 12.
Why does the laborer sleep so well? Because the work he performs tires his body and mind. When he returns to his family, his weariness sits in his bones.
That ache for sleep announces he has fulfilled his purpose, providing for his family and ensuring their future.
The rich man does not engage in the physical exertion of the poor. He can rest on his couch, ordering those beneath him to perform the actual work.
It’s hard to snack throughout the day when your hands are constantly involved in their business, but the rich man can find time between orders to shove a few grapes in his mouth.
Who will tell him he can’t?
At night, he feasts on whatever cuisine his heart desires, even those foreign to him. He is able to experiment with his food and enjoys a variety not shared by his laborers.
What happens when he goes to sleep? He has none of the honest labor to tire his body and his stomach is filled with sweetmeats and the accompanying nausea.
Instead, he lies awake, thinking through all the plans he has laid up, the moments in his life he has neglected, and his own failures torment him.
What is the message for us?
Are you rich? Do you employ others? Then labor beside your workers as much as is reasonable. Know a price of your position is feeding those in your company.
Do you work for others? Have gratitude. The grass isn’t always greener, and plenty of times, riches don’t fix your problems.
Know, it’s all vanity, save for that which has eternal worth.
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