Ziklag 12.20 - Fleshly Securities

The Human Race for Profit Under the Sun

King Solomon looked at the world with unparalleled clarity, saw through the noise, the glitter, the false promises, and went straight to the heart of the matter.

Solomon asked the big question, the eternal question: What’s the point? What’s the point of all this work, all this effort, all this chasing after profit, if it leads to nothing?

Let me tell you, this isn't sad news.

Oh no.

The Illusionary vs the Real

The wisest Man there ever was understood profit better than any Wall Street monkey, better than any tech gurugod. Solomon, after Moses, was the first to write about the dichotomy that the world has become in debate/dialogue under via Platonics.

It starts with two kinds of profit—one real, one fake. And, let tell you folks: We’re living in an economy drowning in the fake.

There’s a Hebrew word Solomon uses, sha‘ah. Sha‘ah is the profit that looks good on paper, that feels secure in the moment, but when the storm comes, it’s gone—poof! It’s the mirage of wealth that can’t buy peace, the illusion of power that collapses under pressure.

You see it everywhere. People build their lives on it, entire systems run on it. It’s the speculative market promising you riches, the empty talk promising change, the quick fixes that solve nothing. Solomon saw it all. He warned us: “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.” And yet, here we are, trusting in wealth that vanishes when it’s most needed.

But Solomon didn’t stop with exposing the fake. Like you and all followers of Christ Jesus, he was a believer in the real, the common, the shared. He called it ytr—the profit that remains.

This isn’t about money, folks. Mammon never lasts. This is about true value: glory. The fruit of honest work, the blessing of doing things the right way, that kind of gain that doesn’t disappear even after the steak is all eaten up.

In Ecclesiastes, he asks: “What profit has a man from all his labor under the sun?” Let me translate that for you: What’s the point of working, building, striving, if you’re leaving God out of the equation?

Here’s his answer: Without God, everything is vapor. That’s right, vapor. He uses the word hevel, which means mist, a puff of air that’s here one second and gone the next.

That’s what life feels like when you’re chasing the fake, when you’re stuck in sha‘ah. But when you bring God into the picture, everything changes. Even the hard work, the struggles, the daily grind—they all start to mean something.

Solomon wrote: “In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty.” He wasn’t just talking about working hard; he was talking about working wisely, working faithfully, trusting in the One who gave you the work to do to be your final author.

Put in the effort, align with God’s design, and see results matter—not just for today, but forever. This isn’t about getting saved or pleasing God. It’s your about heart kissing Mammon goodbye once and for all.

It’s all vapor. The more we chase these illusions, the more empty we feel:

• Financial markets built on speculation, ready to collapse at the first sign of trouble.

• Politicians and corporations making promises they can’t keep.

• People chasing likes, shares, and followers, thinking it’s going to make them whole.

The Way Out

The Way of Jesus Christ is everything that he said. He is just as true when He speaks today as He was back then. The pure Word of God is always about the basics, about the real:

• Work hard, as working for the King. Honest labor, done in faith, brings rewards that last, satisfaction with the soul and peace in the heart being worth far more tan all riches of the earth.

• Live in the moment. Enjoy the simple gifts—your family, your food, your friendships. These are God’s blessings. Heaven is here already, so far as you are willing to believe it.

• Trust in God. He’s the source of all true profit, the anchor when everything else is shaking. Your Father knows what journey will make the most of you. His is real life. He is the one that takes vapor and makes it something solid, something eternal, even a fragrance ascending in glorious fidelity for all time.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate ytr, the profit that never fades, the foundation that can’t be shaken. Solomon’s wisdom finds its fulfillment in Him. Jesus said it best: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

The Choice

Will let the world pull you by the nose, chasing sha‘ah, the shadow of gain, the “savings and loan” religion of snakebites and trap doors?

Or shall you pray for ytr, the profit that lasts? Don’t expect it to bring you more stuff. Expect, in the Kingdom, to find more and more satisfaction out of what you already have, for the greatest profit of all is that which God himself give.

The race under the sun is not a dead end. Stop dancing with shadows and walk a real road. Labor for that which remains. Buy friends for ever.