Mo' Money, Mo' Money?

After some recent disastrous nights, we decided to hit the "pause" button on poker tournaments this past week. The timing was ironic, because of a book we've been studying lately. It's a book that talks about acquiring money and wealth (among other things). Consider these words from a wise man:

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. - Ecclesiastes 5:10

Ecclesiastes is a Biblical book which comes right after Proverbs - and King Solomon is commonly considered to be the main writer of both. That king of Israel could write knowledgably about wealth because he had plenty of it:

The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land. - I Kings 10:14-15

Our NIV Study Bible says "666 talents" came to about 23 metric tons of gold. That's 23,000 kilograms, or more than 50,000 pounds. With the price of gold this weekend at about $1,184 per ounce, that computes in modern terms to more than $900 million per year! This makes the WSOP Main Event almost look like chump change.

Yet King Solomon came to realize all that wealth eventually comes to an end....

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?.... - Ecclesiastes 2:17-18

We've never seen a safe buried alongside a wealthy person. It wouldn't be "safe," anyway, because people would be tempted to steal it.

Our point is that if you're playing poker simply to run up a bankroll, that can be fleeting. Even if you keep setting earnings records, you'll lose it all when you die (Proverbs 27:20). That's why it's better to make something else your top pursuit....

But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

The Bible promises God's Kingdom will last forever. That's where our "treasure" focus needs to be (verses 19-21). Is that where yours is - in the poker room, and outside it?