I've recently learned that I'm about as stupid as they come. For all my thinking, I'm an incredibly unwise man.
Yet, the writer of Ecclesiastes had great wisdom. I'm thankful he has shared some of that with us. From Chapter Five:
Watch your step when you enter God's house.
Enter to learn. That's far better than mindlessly offering
a sacrifice,
Doing more harm than good.
When you tell God you'll do something, do it—now.
God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it.
Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.
Don't let your mouth make a total sinner of you.
When called to account, you won't get by with
"Sorry, I didn't mean it."
Why risk provoking God to angry retaliation?
("I'm sorry, I didn't mean it" didn't help me a bit. I know what Solomon speaks of.)
The following is from Chapter Seven (yes, I skipped Six; it's too deep; it needs to be read in the context of the whole book):
Don't always be asking, "Where are the good old days?"
Wise folks don't ask questions like that.
On a good day, enjoy yourself;
On a bad day, examine your conscience.
God arranges for both kinds of days
So that we won't take anything for granted.
It's best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.
(Now-w-w he tells me....)
There is not a righteous man on earth
who does what is right and never sins.
Don't eavesdrop on the conversation of others.
What if the gossip's about you and you'd rather not hear it?
You've done that a few times, haven't you—said things
Behind someone's back you wouldn't say to his face?
God made men and women true and upright; we're the ones who've made a mess of things.
Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life.
When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.
Ecclesiastes is a good book when you're dejected; it's comforting somehow.
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