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Welcome to Mariners Church Weekend Message Podcast, inspiring people to follow Jesus and fearlessly change the world. Discover your purpose and get connected by visiting MarinersChurch.org or click the link in the show Notes.

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Thank you. So good to be with you today. If we haven't met, my name is Eric. The 2025 World Happiness Report was recently released. Researchers for the last several decades have been tracking the life satisfaction and happiness of individual countries, and they rank these countries based on what people in those countries say about their satisfaction and happiness with life. And then in 2025, the United States of America reached the lowest level we've ever been on the report, number 24. Still lots of countries beneath us in terms of happiness, but we've never had this many countries ahead of us. This is from the report. The fall in life satisfaction cannot be explained by economic growth, at least not by average national income, as GDP per capita has been on the rise in the US and Western Europe since the mid 2000s. Translation, consumption and wealth are up. Contentment is down. And of all generations in the United States of America, the generation most impacted, according to this report anyway, are young adults. Those age 18 to 29, if they were, a country in and of themselves would be ranked 62nd, the lowest level of happiness of any generation in America. This is from the report as well. Unlike other nations, young adults in the US Also report lower quality of connection than other age groups. So the World Happiness Report paradoxes abound. We have a generation that is more technologically connected than any other generation in American history, and yet less connected relationally. We have more wealth and income and less contentment. What is happening? Sociologists, psychologists, economists put together all kinds of theories based on research. And if you're in some of those fields or disciplines, you perhaps have heard these theories and they really apply to us. Let me give you several real quickly that shows what's going on in us. One is called the hedonic treadmill. This is a psychological term that essentially says if you live your life thinking that the next thing that you get is going to be what makes you happy, that you're essentially on a treadmill, a hedonic treadmill, looking for pleasure. And then when you get the thing, the promotion or the possession or whatever it is that you're longing for, it actually only adds to your baseline happiness incrementally and very shortly, and you quickly return to your baseline level of happiness. And so some of us are living our lives on this hedonic treadmill, thinking the next thing is gonna do for me what nothing else has been able to do. There's the Easterlin paradox. This is an economic principle which says that as wealth goes up in a society, interestingly, happiness does not go up in proportion. We know this is true in the US in the 1950s, the average home in America was under a thousand square feet. Today the average home in America is more than 2,500 square feet. So we live in big places, we have more space. In the 1950s, the average meal at a fast food restaurant in America was 415 calories. Today it's 1400 calories. So we eat more, we consume more, we live in bigger places, we eat more, we watch more. When I was a little kid back in the day, I used to have to get up from the couch, there was no remote control and walk to the television. And I had four, three channels. And I had to adjust the antenna to be sure it was nice and clear. Today you can stream content from all different kinds of platforms. It's an endless number of shows and movies to watch. We have much more content and we are less content. This is the Easterlin paradox. Then there's relative deprivation. This is a sociological principle which says that you judge your happiness not by what you have, but based on what other people have. You may remember, like I do, that in eighth grade I got a new pair of Nikes to go to school. I got them in the middle of the summer. I kept them in the box. I didn't want them to get scuffed up before the first day of school. I took them out of the box, put them on the first day, and I loved them. They were awesome. Until I got to school and noticed that many of my buddies, they didn't only have new Nikes, they had new Nike Air Jordans. And my parents would not buy Jordans because they were too expensive. And I thought that was ridiculous. But now looking back, I think it was wise. But whatever. Back then I thought it was ridiculous. And I did not judge my happiness based on what I had. I judged my lack of compared to my friends and was all of a sudden disappointed with what I had. That is relative deprivation. Here's another economic term. This one will really make sense to you even though the term is long. Diminishing marginal utility says you enjoy the first unit of anything you purchase the most. So you buy a pizza. The first slice is the best. The third slice, buy the fifth slice. You're like, what am I even doing to my body? Why am I eating this? But the same is true when it comes to income at least that's what researchers from Princeton University found out. In 2010. They researched 450,000Americans and they concluded, now this was 2010, that the income of $75,000, that after you passed that, that it was just marginal increase in happiness, that once you got to that threshold a whole bunch more didn't add much quality to your life. Now that was 2010. Obviously the baseline would be higher today and in Southern California, but the research is still really compelling that there is not greater satisfaction the more and more you get. And if you're a therapist or psychologist, perhaps you've used this term with some clients, arrival fallacy, which says you think that when you get this, you'll arrive this place in your career, or this possession or this asset, that when you get this, you'll be alive and you get it and it's not enough. All of these terms are developed. What would Solomon, the wisest person in the world, say if he observed the World Happiness Report and saw us consuming more and more and being less and less content? He would not disagree with any of the terms that psychologists and economists and sociologists are saying he's observed all of that in life. But he gave one term in the book of Ecclesiastes, vanity. All of this is chasing the wind. It's meaningless, meaningless, meaningless. Or as we will see in the passage that we studied today, he calls it a sickening tragedy that you can actually get more and have less joy if you'll allow Solomon to challenge you today. I believe in a couple of moments when we walk out of gathering together today, that perhaps you will see some secrets to not getting more, but enjoying more. If you actually ask God the question as we study the text, how can I enjoy more? Not how can I get more? I think God will have a word for you. So we're going to spend some time in Ecclesiastes. We're in chapter five, page 42 in the series guide that we handed you. I'm actually going to read more passage from Solomon than is listed here. And it's not the team who put this together's fault, it's my fault. As I studied, I realized I wanted to, to spend more time in some of the passages surrounding this. And so we're going to go from chapter 5, verse 10, all the way through chapter 6, verse 9. It's a long read. It's going to take several minutes to read. Anytime I read a long passage, I remind myself I'm not reading man's words. These are God's words. And so Hear the word of the Lord for you. Ecclesiastes 5:10. The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver. And whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply. What then is the point to the owner, the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes? The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much. But the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep. There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun wealth kept by its owner to his harm. That wealth was lost in a bad venture. So when he fathered a son, he was empty handed. As he came from his mother's womb, so he will go again naked as he came. He will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. This too is a sickening tragedy. Exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind? What is more, he eats in darkness all his days with much frustration, sickness, and anger. Here is what I have seen. To be good, it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good. And all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward. Furthermore, everyone to whom God has given riches and wealth, he has also allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, for he does not often consider the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart. Here is a tragedy I have observed under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. God gives a person riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself. But God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy. A man May father 100 children, live many years, no matter how long he lives, if he is not satisfied by good things and does not even have a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he, for he comes in futility, and he goes in darkness, and his name is shrouded in darkness. Though a stillborn child does not see the son and is not conscious, it has more rest than he is. And if a person lives a thousand years twice, but does not experience happiness, do not both go to the same place. All of a person's labor is for his stomach, yet the appetite is never satisfied. What advantage then does the wise person have over the fool? What advantage is there for the poor person who knows how to conduct himself before others Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. This is God's word. Now, in this passage, which I'm going to take some time to show you, Solomon wisely contrasts two different approaches to money, to finances, to resources, which all of us have. Money, resources given to us by God. All of us will make financial decisions this week in our lives. And Solomon, the wisest person who ever lived, who received his wisdom from God, says there's really two different approaches which when it comes to you and money. Approach one is people who receive money as a gift. And approach two is people who revere money as a God, receive money as a gift or revere money as a God. You will see, as I point out in the passage, that money is a good gift, but a greedy God. And you are going to decide, is money going to be a gift for you, or is it going to be a greedy God that is never satisfied and therefore you're never satisfied? Let me walk you through some of the text. And so we're going to see Solomon say that money for you can be a greedy God. Notice this verse 10, the one who loves silver never satisfied. Love's wealth never satisfied. That if wealth is your God, it's a cruel God, a greedy God who is going to ask more and more from you so you can supposedly get what you think is going to satisfy you, and you're never going to be satisfied. And you'll become just like your God, you'll become greedy yourself. We actually see in verse 12 that the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep, so never satisfied, no sleep. Look at verse 14, wealth that is lost. So wealth can be temporary, it is fleeting. Look at verse 13. Wealth kept by its owner is to his harm, so never satisfied. No sleep and to his harm. And some of you are wealthy, or you have friends who are wealthy and you've seen this to be true. You've seen families that after there's a death in the family, there's legal lawsuits among family members for an inheritance. Or some of you are wealthier friends with someone who's wealthy, who always wonder if that person really loves them for them or if they're just after their money, that there's damage that can happen to someone's soul. We keep reading. We see in verse 17, what is more, the person who is wealthy. Being wealthy is not bad. Solomon was wealthy. What's bad is if wealth becomes your God. What is more, he eats in darkness, much frustration, sickness and anger. And so this wealth if wealth is your God, is corroding this person's soul. Solomon gets even more explicit in his language. In verse five of chapter six. He says a stillborn child has more rest than he. That this wealth, when it's your God, actually ruins you. And then he says in verse seven, as he said before, that a person's labor is for his stomach, but the appetite and is never satisfied. The person is never satisfied. That wealth or money, if it's your God, it's a greedy and a cruel God. But Solomon also says that wealth can be a good gift. It's up to you. Is it gonna be your God, or are you gonna receive it as a gift? Are you gonna revere money as a God or receive it as a gift? He says in verse 12 that the sleep of the worker is sweet. That if you receive your job as a gift, that you can have sleep that is sweet. Cause you're not putting pressure on the job to do for you what only your God can do for you. That you can receive life, including your job, as a gift. He says in verse 18. This is verse 18. Here's what I've seen to be good. It's appropriate. We saw in chapter three that this word can also be translated beautiful. So it's beautiful to eat, drink, and experience good. All in all, the labor one does under the sun during the days of life God has given him. So if you will receive your days as a gift, you can enjoy, it's appropriate and beautiful to eat, drink, and experience good. In fact, he says at the end of this section that the joy of your heart can come from God as a gift. You can enjoy resources, you can enjoy labor as a gift from him. And then he ends this section in verse nine. Better the eyes. Better what the eyes see than wandering desire. So what's in front of you, what you can see if you receive it as a gift, that's better than this insatiable desire for more and more and more. So a contrast. Is wealth. Is resources for you a good gift? Or is it an insatiable, cruel God that destroys you? Now, there is a paradox that perhaps you saw in this text that I want to point out to you. I think this is really fascinating. Maybe you noticed this tension. This is chapter six, verse two. Notice what Solomon says. This is so fascinating. I hope you find it so, because I sure do. Here we are, six, two. God gives a person riches, wealth and honor. So God's the one who gives all of us whatever we have. God gave it. God gives a person riches wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself. But this is crazy. Notice this. But God does not allow him to enjoy them. What God gives, but he does not allow him to enjoy Him. Now notice the language. Riches, wealth, God gives, God does not allow to enjoy. Now look, just a couple verses earlier in chapter 5, verse 19. It's the same language God has given. So God gives riches and wealth. But notice he has allowed him to enjoy them. Are you seeing this? God is the One who gives everyone everything they have. And there's some people in verse 19 that he allows to enjoy. But then you flip over to chapter six. There are some people. God's still the One who gives, but he does not allow him to enjoy. What is this? Why is it that God allows some to enjoy and doesn't allow others to enjoy? This passage is so fascinating. God is the One who gives everything to anyone. Everything you have, whether you believe in God or not, is from God. God gives everything. He gives to every person. It's all from him. All a gift from Him. But some people he does not allow to enjoy. And other people, he causes them to enjoy. Are you being cruel to me, God, that you're not allowing me to enjoy? Because some of you, if you're honest and you know I love you, so you're gonna let me get into your face for a moment. You're on that treadmill and you're perhaps thinking, why is he not allowing me to enjoy? Is he being cruel to me to not allow me to enjoy? He's actually being very gracious to you because he doesn't want a worldly thing to be enough for you. He wants it to frustrate so that you'll look to him and find him to be the One who is your ultimate God. The One who can actually satisfy you. So he frustrates you so you'll look to Him, So he doesn't let you enjoy. But for those who do look to him, he allows you to enjoy. God's the One who gives everything. He frustrates some, doesn't let some enjoy, and others he lets enjoy. Those he lets enjoy are those who see God as their ultimate God and therefore receive everything else as a gift. And therefore they can enjoy. But if you take resources and money and you make that your God, he will not allow you to enjoy because he's being really good to you. Because he wants you to find him as your God. Now, Solomon has observed life. He's the wisest person who ever lived. Like we have observed life If Solomon would go to a Lakers game and watch the Jumbo Trine, this is what I think Solomon would observe. What some of you have observed that a Lakers game, he will see in the very top section, a dad and a son who's 12 years old who've been. They've been saving all year to go to the game, to sit way up high. They get there 35 minutes before game time and they watch all of the preparation. When the T shirt cannon people come out and they're firing T shirts, they're standing there and they're going for it. They so badly want to get the T shirt, they're on the edge of their seat, glued in the entire game, loving every single moment, receiving it as a gift. The Jumbotron focuses in on them and then focuses in on someone who's on the floor seats. And in the middle of the game during an impressive play, person is just on their phone, bored and tapped out. Now, Solomon would not say that everybody in the nosebleed section is filled with joy and everybody in the floor seats is miserable. That's not what he's saying. But he is saying that sometimes people who have little, God allows them to enjoy more. And people who have more, God doesn't let them enjoy any of it at all. So if you read this passage and you let Solomon confront you, it would cause you to ask the question, how do I enjoy more? Not just get more. There's two people who go out to dinner tonight. One will go to one of the most expensive restaurants in Southern California. This is his fifth time in three weeks to go there. And when the food comes out and he cuts into his steak, it's not like it was two times ago. And so he calls the server over and he sends it back. The server brings it back and he cuts. It's still not right. I said medium rare plus, plus. It's just not perfect like it was two times ago. And so though he's having the best meal, he's not even enjoying what he's having. Somebody else will be at Chronic Taco tonight tasting a massive burrito and be like, this is the best meal I've ever had in my life. There's some who enjoy more. So you don't just want more, you want to enjoy. How do you enjoy more? There's three keys, I believe, based on this passage and the whole counsel of God's word, that you need to not only have more, but to enjoy more. The first is all for the giver, the reason God causes some to enjoy and Some not to enjoy is that those who enjoy have all for God, all for the giver. Therefore, they enjoy all that God has created because God is causing them to enjoy, because God sees in his sons and his daughters all for him. And God is like, I'm gonna bless my sons and daughters to enjoy this bite, to enjoy this meal, to enjoy this game, to enjoy this city. They're gonna enjoy because they are delighted in me. I'm gonna cause them to delight in my blessings. It begins with all for God. Two people will stand in front of a sunset tonight or tomorrow or in front of an ocean view. And one person, tears will well up in their eyes as they're like, this is amazing. My God is so creative, and this is so beautiful. And someone else will be on their phone, completely oblivious to the beauty in front of them. Two will walk through a city. Somebody will see all of the architecture and marvel over the creativity of God expressed through humanity. Will see the diversity in that city and all a reflection of God's creative design and just soak it in and love it. And somebody else will walk through that same city and just go to the hotel as fast as he or she can. A lack of awe for his gifts shows a lack of awe for the giver. You have awe for the giver. You enjoy what he gives more. So it begins with awe for the giver. A wise prayer for you to pray would be, God, increase my awe for you. Help me have greater awe and wonder for you. So that's number one, all for the giver. He's the giver of all. Second, you need appreciation for the gifts. All for the giver. Appreciation for the gifts. You dishonor God if you take the gifts and you make them your God, but you also dishonor God if you don't enjoy the gifts that he gave you. Two years ago, I bought my third vehicle I've ever owned in my life. Only you're like, aren't you old? I'm 50. And this is the third vehicle that I had bought. How when I was 18 years old, I got my very first vehicle. My dad and I bought a truck before I went off to college. It was a used pickup truck. And I drove it for 18 years. I drove it for 18 years. And the reason I did is I read a financial advisor named Larry Burkett that said, buy a used vehicle, drive it till it dies, pick it up, dust it off, and drive it some more, and take the money that you would have paid into a lease payment or to a car payment, and you invest. And so that's what I did for 18 years now. I was a senior vice president at a publishing company. I was responsible for $500 million in revenue, and I still drove the 95 Nissan pickup truck. And people were like, dude, you're craz. You make more than 4,000 employees that report up to you. Why are you driving this? I was like, I love it, dude. I love it. I love that you're asking me this. I love this truck. He gave it to me. And here's why I love it. It reminds me where I came from, and it reminds me that my identity is not based on what I drive. So I drove it for 18 years, and then it finally died. It was over. I would have driven it longer, but it just died. It passed on. It was a sad day. Passed on. And then I bought a Jeep Wrangler, and I had that for 12 years. So 18 years. 12 years, 30 years. I had two vehicles. And I would have kept driving the Jeep Wrangler until my oldest daughter, Eden, got her driver's license and essentially stole the Jeep Wrangler from me. So at that point, I need to buy another vehicle. And so this was the first time I ever have bought a vehicle as a pastor. First time. And so I'm going to buy this used Audi. I liked it, and I just wasn't 100% sure, but I had all the paperwork and I had saved money, was going to pay cash. That's what we came. I've always done paid cash for the car and drive it for a really long time. And so I had it set to do that. And I was driving down the road, and I went by a car dealership, and there was a convertible BMW like, featured. And I was like, dang, that looks so good. I wonder how much that is. I mean, the top was down. I love Southern California so much. Driving with the. I mean, this. The wind hit my face, the sun. I used to drive with the Jeep top off. This would be so awesome. So I pulled in and I was curious how much it was, and it was used, so it was less than I thought it would be. And I did a test drive, and then I told the guy, listen, I'm just gonna be honest with you. I'm not paying that sticker. Here's the paperwork I have from the Audi place. I'm about to go buy it. If you can match this, I'll take it. He said, man, there's no way I can match it. All right, man, that's cool. Thanks. Enjoy it. No, no, no, let me talk to my supervisor. Let me talk to my supervisor. And so he comes out and he says, we'll match it. We'll sell you this Beamer convertible for this. And then it's like when the dog reaches the train, he doesn't know what he's gonna do if he actually catches it. I was like, oh, shoot. Am I allowed to have this car as a pastor? Am I? So I took a picture of it and I texted it to my direction, our directional elders, my bosses here at the church. And I said, hey, guys, I have to get a new car. This is how much it is. And I just want to know, would you feel comfortable, your pastor, driving this car? Would you support me in this purchase? And some of you are like, eric, you're a grown man. Why are you. Listen, they're my leaders. I'm under their authority. I wanted their review. And they said, how much is it? I told them. They said, man, it's a great deal, Eric. Buy it and enjoy it. And so I bought a Beamer convertible. I bought a Beamer convertible. Hang on, hang on. That's not the end of the story. That's not the end of the story. And so for two weeks, I loved it. I mean, I'm driving this thing. It goes fast, brah. It goes fast. The wind is hitting my. I'm loving it. And then one day, I pulled it into the parking lot here, and this guy who's a junior in college, I was his life group leader for four years, he sees me pulling in and he's like, bro, my pastor in a Beamer. I was like, dude, no, no, no, dude, this was. This was. This was less than the jeep I bought 12 years ago. Listen, I pulled out. This is how much it was, bro, it was not even that much. And it got in my head. It got in my head. And so I could. I stopped enjoying it. I stopped enjoying it. And so I traded it in for a used Toyota Tacoma, which I can put my mountain bike in and my stand up paddle boards in. And people are like, man, that's so cool. My pastor's down to earth driving a truck which is more expensive than the used Beamer that I have. I tell you this not to talk about my maturity, but to actually talk about my immaturity. It's my immaturity. It's my immaturity that I couldn't enjoy it. This is really not a story about my holiness. This is a story about my lack of ability to enjoy a gift he gave me, which is wrong. And dishonoring to him. So I'm not here to at all put a burden of shame on you. Everything you have, he gave you. Honor him by enjoying it, but don't take it and make it your God. Cause then it will crush you. If he's your God, you have all for him. And then all the gifts you have are just gifts from him and you enjoy them as gifts from Him. So you need all for the giver, appreciation for the gifts. And here's what you need. Number three. You have to attack your greed. Greed threatens to ruin your soul. You know what greed is? It's the insatiable desire for more. And this is what Solomon is saying. He's saying the person who receives resources as a, as a gift, they enjoy. The person who constantly wants more, they never enjoy. And they won't enjoy because God won't allow them to enjoy. God won't allow you to enjoy. If greed corrodes your soul, he won't allow you to enjoy because he wants your heart for him. So you have to attack greed. Listen, greed plagues all of us, me included, all Christians, every generation, every culture. But let's be honest about where we live. If there's any place in the world that is going to challenge you with greed, it's Southern California where it is normal for people to be over leveraged in debt way more than they can handle to keep up an impression in the community that I'm a person of means. Some of you have a lease payment on a car that is extravagantly bigger than what your income is. And you do it because you think it's going to make you successful in other people's eyes. And you're dying inside. You're dying inside. You thought it would make you feel alive and you're dying inside. Greed is going to ruin you unless you attack it. Greed attacks you, so you have to attack greed. You got to fight greed back. And there's only one way to fight greed. There's just one way. Just one way. You got one weapon. That's it. Generosity. It's the only weapon you have against greed. Jesus wants your heart to be in his kingdom, not in the kingdoms of this world. And so the way that you get your heart in his kingdom is really simple and it's really clear according to Jesus. He says this in Matthew 6:21. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. Here's what Jesus teaches. Wherever you put your resources, your heart's going to follow. Now some of you have tried to do it the opposite. I've heard people misquote this verse. Some people say, where my heart goes, that's where I'm going to put my treasure. Meaning if I get passionate about something in the kingdom of God, if I get excited about something my church is doing, if my heart is in it, then I'm going to put my treasure there. Jesus says, no, that's the wrong order. You put your treasure there and then your heart goes there as well. A good friend of mine is in the middle of a large startup and he has built this impressive organization and he's raised private equity funds for this large startup. He's a founder, has a co founder and the large private equity firm that they've worked with told them, we want you to give your own money to the startup. We've learned that with the founders we work with, it's actually, it just works better if the founder invests heavily in his or her own startup. And I said, I said man, I don't, I don't know if these guys are Christians, but like they're quoting Jesus. I totally agree with him. I totally agree. You give and your hearts, you're gonna have more skin in the game. You get wherever you give, wherever you put your treasure, your heart goes. That's why they're doing it. Makes complete sense. That's what Jesus is saying. You want your heart to be in his kingdom, you put your treasure there and your heart will go. I know you want your heart to be in his kingdom. I know you do, because the kingdom of this world's not been enough for you. But if you really want your heart to be in his kingdom, you put your treasure there and your heart will follow. So let me be really specific. What I encourage Christians to do is that the first check you write is to his kingdom, every time you're paid, that you give first to the kingdom of Jesus. When Kay and I were married, I was a part time youth pastor and Kay was a bank teller. Our, our total income a year was $16,000. We decided I was a new Christian. I had read the scripture that we were going to tithe to our church, the place where we were fed, the place where we were in community and that our whole marriage, the first check we would always write would be the tithe to the church that God had placed us in. And so for 30 years we have tithed. People have asked me, has God blessed you man? He's blessed me so much. People sometimes want some kind of awesome story. Like one day I walked in the backyard and there was a pot of Gold. It was crazy. It's not true. No pot of gold. But here's what he has done. He's met all of my needs according to his riches and glory. Here's what he has done. And I understand this even more after studying this passage. He's caused me to enjoy his blessings. Hey, I really did enjoy that 95 Nissan pickup truck. For 18 years, I enjoyed it. People made fun of me about it. It was impossible to get a speeding ticket in it. It would start shaking violently at 70 miles an hour. I enjoyed it. I loved it. I can't explain it other than God caused me to enjoy. If you will, steward resources with all for God, appreciation for the gifts and attacking your greed, God will cause you to enjoy. The Apostle Paul wrote a group of Christians in Corinth about how they should give. And in Second Corinthians 8, 7 and 9, he said, this is why I want you to give. You know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich for your sake, he became poor so that through his poverty you might become rich. This is what he essentially was saying, I don't want you to give if you think by giving you're going to get God to love you more. And I say the same thing to you if you're brand new to the Christian faith. And the last thing I want you to do is mishear me saying, if you give, God's going to love you more. Nope. No. No. We give because he's already loved us. We give because he's been generous and gracious to us, because he gave everything for us. Then Paul said in 1st Corinthians 16:1 2, here's how you should give on the first day of the week in keeping with your income. So first day of the week, regular, in keeping with your income. Proportionate that as your income increases, your giving increases. As your income decreases, your giving decreases. When I moved here, I took a significant pay cut from my role as a senior vice president. And so my get, my income went down, my giving went down. When my income goes up, when I get an advance for a book I wrote, then my giving goes up. So your income goes up, your giving goes up, your income goes down, your giving goes down. You give proportionately. Now, people then ask, okay, proportionate to what? Now here's where Christians debate and we have different viewpoints and we can respect each other's viewpoints on this. Some Christians believe proportionate is a reference to the tithe. In the Old Testament, the tithe is 10%. Other Christians say, no, the Tithe is not mentioned in an instructive way in the New Testament. It's just be generous. But many of those who say just be generous say it's actually more than the tithe, more than 10%. Why? Because if it was 10% in the old Testament under the law, and the law leads to death, the law shows us we can't earn God, wouldn't it be more, not less, under grace? If the law is 10%, wouldn't the blood of Jesus demand more? And so some believe it's more than 10%. What I encourage you to do is to give first to his kingdom. On your way out today. I wish I had more time, but I need to stop. On your way out, we will have this handout for you. It just explains how giving happened at the Church of Corinth and how giving happened in Galatia and then what we believe giving should look like at Mariners. Thousands of you have never heard me talk about giving. I don't do it often. In fact, I looked. It's been about a year. It's been about a year. So thousands of you have made, across all of our congregations, have made Mariners your home in the last year. And our elders have pointed out, not in a way like Eric, you're not doing a good job, but in a way like here, hey, just observe this. The growth of our church in terms of people making Manor as their home is outpacing the generosity of our church. And I always say, listen, when the text gets to it, I'm going to get to it. Well, here we are in Ecclesiastes, and the text is here. If you've made Mariners your church, I invite you to be generous to your church because of how Jesus has been generous to you. Let's stand and let's worship him. Let's give him our praise and our worship. All right, Extend your hands, please, and let me pray a prayer of blessing over you as we go. Jesus, I pray you'd bless your sons and daughters this week, that you would remind them that you are gentle and approachable and that you love them. Cause your face to shine on them. I pray they will experience your mercy and your joy this new week. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Go in peace. Have a great week.