Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

[10] He that loveth  silver  shall not be satisfied  with silver;  nor he that loveth  abundance  with increase:  this is also vanity.  [11] When goods  increase,  that eat  them: and what good  is there to the owners  thereof, saving  of them with their eyes?  [12] The sleep  of a labouring man  is sweet,  whether he eat  little  or much:  but the abundance  of the rich  will not suffer  him to sleep. 

What does Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

If a rich man is covetous, all that his increasing wealth will bring him will be the need for greater vigilance and more anxiety (cf. 1 Timothy 6:9-10). For example, more wealth in the home may lead to more locks and burglar alarm systems and the hassle they bring. "To look on" ( Ecclesiastes 5:11) means having to keep an eye on them.
"How often have we read of an athlete-say, a boxer-whose golden moments found him surrounded by an entourage that gladly shared his wealth, but whose twilight days saw him both broke and abandoned. Wealth can carry its own frustration-that was the Preacher"s apt observation." [1]