money isn't everything

The other day I had some time on my hands and I read through the book of Ecclesiastes and a verse stuck out at me (10:19). "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything." I reread is several times because it sure seemed to contradict 1 Timothy 6:10- "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" and other passages in the Bible. I also thought about why this verse seemed to jump off the page at me. According to the Bible blurb, this verse is saying that people think money is the answer to everything, but it is not. Where they concluded that is beyond me, since I read the whole book and though I understood that Solomon was explaining that life without God is meaningless, but there doesn't seem to be any explanation. So today I have been thinking about why this verse stuck out so much to me and what it means to me. I realize that I know at one level that money doesn't bring happiness, it doesn't make life easier, and it won't solve my problems, but on another level I believe that it will. I found myself saying, if we could just pay off our debt things wouldn't be so stressful, if the shop just brought in more income it would be easier, if I could just buy a few things that I want I would be happier, but the reality is, though I may not want to accept it, money isn't the answer. Though, the shop may bring in more money, it just might make Jeff busier and have less time for us, the bills might get paid easier, but we will find more things to spend money on, and most importantly, you can't take it with you, and stuff is just stuff in the end. I am very thankful that I live in the U.S. and I don't think I would want to live anywhere else, I just wish it wasn't so commercialized and competitive. It is hard to break free.