Saturday, June 2, 2012

Saturday, June 2 -Pamela

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Song of Solomon 1-8
Today's scripture focus is Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

which Tammy shared her thoughts on here. So, I will add my thoughts on Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 today, which was the scripture from yesterday. However, as I read what I thought was going to be the passage I was going to post onI couldn't help but think of a quote that my friend Janice pinned on pinterest the other day:
So I thought I'd still share it. :)

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
    and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
    than what has already been done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
    just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise man has eyes in his head,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.
15 Then I thought in my heart,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said in my heart,
    “This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
    in days to come both will be forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise man too must die!


It's hard not to be at least slightly discouraged when reading through passages that express the blunt reality that regardless of anything that happens in our life, we all meet the same end. Whether rich or poor, wise or a fool, we all die.

I enjoyed reading Tammy's thoughts yesterday about the 2 (BIG) buts to this reality. It is easy to see the "buts" in this scripture passage as well. Even though, the wise and the fools meet the same demise,

The wise man has eyes in his head,
    while the fool walks in the darkness



and

light is better than darkness



It is better to see where you are going by having light rather than fumbling around in the dark trying to find your way. When you have wisdom and knowledge it acts as a light and "light is better than darkness" because it allows you to see.  I did a school chapel recently that talked about light and darkness and I think many of the truths can be applied here as well. When we are in "the dark" because of our foolishness (our sin) we struggle because we are not able to see our way. We lose our path and we don't see a way out of our foolishness. As we gain wisdom (through God's power) we begin to shine and we illuminate the dark areas of our life and also draw others to our light.

One of the other "buts" I thought of as I read this passage is the value of education. If it truly didn't matter if you were wise or a fool because you die anyway, then what use is education? If we didn't learn to read, or count, or basic social skills it might not matter when we die, but it does matter as we live. Acquiring new skills, mastering new tasks, earning degrees, etc. are important tools to be able to use in our life regardless whether they matter after.

Yes, we still die at the end of it all, but I don't think it is entirely true that

"For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
    in days to come both will be forgotten"


I think we are remembered for the actions we take and our influence on other for the choices we make long after we have passed. Will we be remembered for passing on light and helping others shine, or will  we be remembered for our stumbling in the dark?

Tomorrow's scripture focus Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Prov 1-3

1 comment:

Tammy said...

And even if we aren't remembered for long - our influence (both good and bad!) can effect eternity. That's a both sobering and inspiring.

And the cartoon was perfect :)

Thanks Pam!