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Phil Campbell MPC, 20^th Feb 2000.

If you've ever had anything to do with the internet, you'll know it's the greatest JUNKMAIL service ever invented by man. Just like the stuff you get in your mailbox; but some of it's quite INTERESTING.

Like this one I got. With the heading QUICK MONEY.

Sorry. Not going to tell you any more.

Anyway, if you're not on the internet, you might prefer another way to get your tips. Like the magazine called GET RICH NEWS. Australia's leading money making ideas. Inside, it's got what it says are 55 quick, easy and very unusual ways to make BIG BUCKS NOW.

Now I just wonder, if they really work, why do the guys publishing the magazine need to publish the magazine? They could just retire straight away. And live on the proceeds.

But that's just being cynical. Because the magazine is chock full of ads for helpful books. Like the one called SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRES. Written by self made millionaire George Sterne. And the ad says, George Sterne knows the SECRETS of making HUGE CHUNKS OF MONEY. That's what has made him very, very rich. More important to you," it says, " he knows how to teach what he practices - THIS CAN MAKE YOU VERY RICH! Absolutely must reading, it says, "if you want to reach millionaire status as soon as humanly possible. 249 pages of UNCOMPROMISING SUCCESS." Only $39.95.

Now I want you to think about that for a minute. And I want you to be honest. Cause I reckon if I had a spare $39.95, I'd probably be a little bit tempted. There's a certain appeal, isn't there, in the idea of accumulating VAST WEALTH. There's a certain appeal in the idea of reaching MILLIONAIRE STATUS as soon as humanly possible. And this uncompromising success stuff sounds pretty darn good.

Now if you're tempted by that stuff like I am, the part of Ecclesiastes we're looking at today sounds a warning. It paints the other side of the picture, the side of the picture that GET RICH NEWS doesn't want to talk about. Because Ecclesiastes deals with REALITY.

If you've missed the last few weeks, Ecclesiastes is a strange bit of the bible. Cause it's a book written by a guy who's trying to figure out what it is that makes life worth living if you take God out of the picture. He puts himself in the place of the ordinary Australian bloke with ordinary Australian values. And he says, okay, what's life all about. And one by one, he looks at the answers. And he highlights the problems with the answers. Until they're all shot down in flames.

Okay, so life's about GETTING AHEAD. Life's about bettering yourself. Life's about MAKING A QUID, climbing the ladder. So you and the family can be comfortable.

Is that how it works? Well, let's have a look.

WHAT DRIVES US?

First of all, lets have an honest look at the question, WHAT DRIVES US? I mean, what's the motive for all these people who are running themselves into the ground to make a quid? He's not talking about just working to make ends meet here. He's talking about the person who wants to go beyond that. And really MAKE IT. WHY DO WE WANT TO MAKE BIG BUCKS?

In the end, he says, there's only one reason he can see that people do that. It's the reason he spells out in verse 4. They're hard words. But here's what he sees. He says, I looked around. "And I saw that all labour and all achievement spring from MAN'S ENVY OF HIS NEIGHBOUR."

We call it keeping up with the Joneses, don't we. Next door gets a swimming pool. I want a swimming pool. Next door gets a ride on mower. I want a ride on mower. Next door gets a cable internet connection, I WANT a cable internet connection.

The teacher looks around, and he says, all this labour and achievement going on around me, he says, it's all driven by MAN'S ENVY OF HIS NEIGHBOUR. Everyone just wants to TOP THE NEXT GUY. He says people aren't just working so they can feed and clothe their kids and have a bit left over for a holiday. They're working to FEED THEIR ENVY. They're working to prove a point. So they can take pride in the fact they've made it to the top of the ladder. You know what he's looking at here? He's looking at the SELF MADE MAN. Who's on his way to the top. So he can look down at everyone else.

Friends, I hope that's not YOU he's talking about. But it's worth looking at yourself, isn't it? And see where ENVY fits in with you. Cause with anyone who's trying to make it to the top of the ladder, it's right in there as number one motive.

THE DOWN SIDE OF LIFE AT THE TOP...

It's a pretty dark picture. And the trouble is, the teacher goes on to say SUCCESS ISN'T WHAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE ANYWAY. He's looked at the motive. Now he gives us a look at the DOWN SIDE of life at the top. And we're going to see there are FIVE BIG DANGERS. Five facts of life that make chasing after success look just as silly as chasing after the wind. Five things you never read about in GET RICH MAGAZINE.

1. RICH AND LONELY

And here's the first. There's no point being rich if you're going to be rich and lonely. You know, I reckon if you took a bit of a survey and you asked people these days why it is they work such long hours, why it is they're driven by the ambition to succeed, they'll look you in the eye and they'll tell you, I'm doing it for THE KIDS. For the family.

Trouble is, there's the wife left bringing up the family on her own, the kids never see their dad, and before long the family is a statistic. One of the 40% that end up in a divorce.

Or what about that poor sad man on the news this week; on his own, more money than he knows what to do with, handing over thousands and thousands of dollars to the woman next door. Buying friendship. And then she decides to adjust one of the cheques a little. Turn two thousand dollars into TWELVE THOUSAND.

And the saddest thing, he says, it's all okay. He still wants to be friends. Because with nobody to come home to, nobody to share it with, what's the point of all the money in the world?

And yet you get this crazy picture in verse 7 and 8. Now here's something meaningless, says the teacher, here's something I've seen over and over again. There's a man all alone. No family. No son. Not even a brother. But he's working flat out. There's no end to his toil. His eyes still aren't content with his wealth.

NO ONE to share it with. But he just keeps going.

It's a picture you see over and over again, isn't it?

See, if you want to see what the priority should be, if you want to see what's REALLY VALUABLE, you can see it in the next few verses. Verse 9 to 12. It's all about FRIENDSHIP. Companionship. It's about the value of RELATIONSHIPS.

Cause you can be the richest bloke in the world, and if you've got no-one to share it with, it's worth NOTHING. The teacher says "Two are better than one", and there are all sorts of reasons. Working together, helping each other through the hard times, keeping each other warm; defending each other. And yet time after time, FRIENDSHIP is exactly what the SUCCESS DRIVE destroys. Cause you're so busy chasing after money, you're so caught up in COMPETITION, people end up just being THE OPPOSITION. Or else inconveniences that are getting in your way. And even your family becomes that. So that in the end, you've got no-one.

The teacher looks around him. And sees people driven by envy. Trying to get rich. He looks around him. And sees people rich. But lonely. And it's exactly the same today.

2. TALL POPPIES

Well, keep going. Cause if you reckon SUCCESS is going to make life worth living, there's a few more things you need to know.

Twenty years ago there was a rock star, his name was John Paul Young. And he had a hit song. It was called YESTERDAY'S HERO. Number 1 on the top forty, girls swooning round him. The song was all about a guy who was a HAS BEEN. Had his day.

These days, John Paul Young's a nobody. Except he's on a mayonaise ad on TV. Where he's sitting unrecognised in a café. With the guy out the back SINGING HIS SONG. Yesterday's Hero. The funny thing is, NOW IT'S ABOUT HIM.

So let me tell you the second reason the ladder to the top is the ladder to nowhere. If you want to make it to the top, if you want to be popular, if you want to be admired... Beware. Cause it's going to come to an end. It never lasts.

And that's the point of the little story about this KING that you get in verse 13 to 16. It's a story about an old king who's got all the fame and glory and power he's ever wanted. And then this new bloke comes along. And suddenly, everyone's following HIM instead. The old king's out on his ear. You can see in verse 15, he says, "I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king's successor." Bad luck for the king. I mean, there he is at the top of the tree. And he gets the shove. In comes the young guy, he's the flavour of the month. You see it over and over again.

But here comes the rest of the story. And it's no surprise. Move a few years down the track. And guess what? Have a look at the second bit of verse 16. But those who came later... were not pleased with the successor." And before you know it HE'S heading for the chop as well.

See, here's how life works; you throw yourself into making it to the top, whether it's in business or in the local council or in politics or in sport or as a pop star; you say to yourself, if only I can make it to the top I'll be happy. And eventually you're going to end up on the scrapheap. Just like John Paul Young singing "Yesterday's Hero." Or Bob Hawke. Or Paul Keating. Yesterday's ROOSTER is tomorrows FEATHER DUSTER. It's chasing after the wind. And if that's what you're aiming for, it will happen to you as well. Success is fleeting.

3. IT'S NEVER ENOUGH

There's another problem to face up to if you're chasing after success, and it's very real. It's the problem that's listed as number 3 on the outline. Enough is never enough. Solomon looks around, and here's what he sees. Rich people. Who've got everything you'd reckon a person could ever need. And yet somehow, it's never enough.

We're in chapter 5, and you can read it in verse 10. Whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

There's the problem. If you're a LOVER OF MONEY, you can never get enough of it. Cause you just love it. You're never satisfied. So you're never at peace. The labourer sleeps easy; the rich man lies awake worrying. And always wanting more.

Someone once asked John Paul Getty, who was then the richest man in the world, they asked him, HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH. And Getty, the richest man in the world, rubbed his hands together and said, "JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE."

Check yourself out. If you're a MONEY LOVER, you're never satisfied. And no matter how much more you get, you never will be. It's a miserable life.

WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND

Okay, two more problems to highlight, and we'll just touch on them quickly. You've got the Christopher Skase type in verse 13 to 15, except he's not quite the Christopher Skase type at all, cause when this guy goes broke he ends up with NOTHING. There's no secret swiss bank account. There's nothing.

Here's something I've seen, he says, and remember, we're looking at people here who reckon MAKING MONEY is the reason for life. How are you going to feel. He says "I've seen a grievous evil under the sun, a terrible situation:- wealth hoarded to the harm of it's owner, or WEALTH LOST through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there's nothing left for him."

Get the picture? You reckon success is important, you reckon it's worth pouring your life into getting ahead? Trouble is, all it takes is a bad season on the farm, or a stockmarket crash, or a recession - you can blow the lot. And anyway. You can't take it with you. So let me ask you... how come so many people are sucked in? Christians included?

5. YOU CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS

Here's the final point, it's the clincher, and you'll see it at the start of chapter 6. If you reckon a magazine like GET RICH NEWS is the key to happiness, think again.

Because on top of everything we've already seen, there's this. The fact is, MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS. And it never did.

So here at the start of chapter 6, you've got the picture of the man who got everything he ever wanted. Wealth. Possessions. Honour. He lacks nothing his heart desires.

Except he just isn't happy.

Read from verse 3. He says a man can have a hundred kids and live many years - well, it'll feel like many years if you've got a hundred kids - but he says "no matter how long he lives, if he can't enjoy his prosperity and doesn't receive a proper burial, I say a still born child is better off than he is."

You can live a thousand years twice over, but if you're not happy, if you're not enjoying it, you're better off dead. And there's nothing you can do to BUY HAPPINESS. Cause happiness is a state of mind.

So there it is. The teacher has looked at the life of success, he's looked at the life of chasing bucks, and he sees five problems big problems. That are exactly the same today.

AMBITIOUS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS

You know, if you make MONEY your life ambition, you're making a big mistake. If you're a money lover, if you're looking for SUCCESS, if you're driven by envy, you're climbing a ladder to NOWHERE.

It's a hard lesson to learn, even for Christians.

I want you to turn over to the new testament for a minute, and go to Marks Gospel. Mark Chapter 10. Cause it's a lesson a couple of the disciples of Jesus had to learn the hard way.

These two disciples James and John were full of ambition. They used to run a fishing business with their dad, but they'd left it to follow Jesus. I don't know, maybe they thought Jesus looked like a better business prospect. Cause the thing they wanted to do most was GET AHEAD. They figured Jesus was GOING PLACES. And they wanted to be up there with him.

It's Mark 10, and I want to read to you from verse 35. James and John the sons of Zebedee came to him, "Teacher," they asked, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask."

What do you want me to do for you, he asked.

They replied, "let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

These guys are ambitious. They want to make it to the top. They want the spots on the right and left of Jesus when he comes into his glory.

And they've missed the point. Because for Jesus, the way to glory is always going to be the way of the cross. For Jesus, the way to be BIG is to make yourself SMALL. The way to be the GREATEST is to make yourself THE LEAST.

And if they want the places on his right and left when he comes into his glory, they're already reserved. Two crosses... for two thieves. One on either side, nailed up beside him . If they want the places on his right and left, he says, then you'd have to be baptised with the same baptism I'm facing. And drink the cup I'm going to drink. That's what Jesus says to AMBITION as he prepares to give up his life on the cross for the sins of a rebellious world.

See, for the followers of Jesus, REAL GLORY COMES THROUGH SERVICE. Not power. Real glory comes through GIVING. Not getting. And yet we so easily forget that, don't we.

Jesus calls the disciples together in verse 42, cause he wants to make it plain. He says, "You know those regarded as rules by the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. NOT SO WITH YOU.

Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the son of Man did not come to BE SERVED but to SERVE, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Friends, I don't know what your ambitions are. I don't know what you're shooting for. But let me tell you, if your ambitions are pointing towards MONEY, and SUCCESS, and POWER; or even if you're just an ordinary little lover of money who's never satisfied. Ecclesiastes tells us, IT'S NOT THE WAY. It's a ladder to nowhere.

And in the end, the only way up is the way DOWN. Following the example of Jesus. Giving yourself up for others. Which is the exact opposite of what you read about in the GET RICH NEWS. Make it your ambition to FOLLOW JESUS. To be faithful. To be godly. To be a servant of Jesus in everything you do. And a servant of others.

Do we believe that? Probably not. Because it's not the message we hear from the world, is it. Or even from some Christians. But let's pray. Pray that God will move in us so we'll take his word to heart on this most important issue. And that we will have our eyes open really BELIEVE that money won't satisfy. And really BELIEVE that success doesn't last. And then let's trade our ambitions for something that WILL SATISFY. And will last. Why not this week take some practical steps. Towards TRUE GREATNESS. Some practical steps. Towards the sort of greatness JESUS has in mind for you. As one who humbles yourself. And serves.