“Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool. A fool’s laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This is also meaningless.”
Ecclesiastes 7: 5-6
Think of someone giving you a compliment…an insincere compliment. Those who insincerely try to makes us feel good about ourselves or flatter us, usually have ulterior motives. But you can tell when someone truly loves you and is looking out for you, by their honesty…telling you the truth in love to lead you back on the right track when you go astray.
“Don’t long for ‘the good old days.’ This is not wise.” Ecclesiastes7:10
The “good old days” are a myth. They weren’t always good. Solomon is warning us not to live in the past. Those days only appear good to those who are trying to avoid living in the present. God has given us today to live and serve Him! “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118: 24
“Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.” Ecclesiastes 7: 14
God allows good and bad in our lives. We usually give ourselves credit for the good times, and then turn around and blame God for the bad. No, it doesn’t say He causes the bad, it says He allows the bad. Something good always comes out of the bad…it may take many years and many tears, but remember that God promises everything to work out for the good of those who love Him!
At the end of Chapter 7, Solomon teaches about the limits of human wisdom… “I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I say to myself , ‘I am determined to be wise.’ But it didn’t work. Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reasons for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness.” Ecclesiastes 7: 23-25
Solomon is warning us to not be obsessed about understanding everything that happens in our lives. He emphasizes that no matter how much we know, we will never understand it all. I’ll end today’s post with words from David Jeremiah…”When I read Solomon’s words about the perspectives and power of wisdom, I am so thankful to be a New Testament saint. For Paul wrote in Colossians 2: 3 that in [Jesus Christ] is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Thankfully we don’t have to have our own wisdom. We can have the wisdom of God by having Christ.”
Amen?