1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools.This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelteras money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
Let's take these one at a time - you could almost do a post on each one!
1 A good name is better than fine perfume,
Wisdom helps you build a good name. And nowhere is your character forged more than in the crucible of hardship. That's when character shines through, when reputations are built, when people of faith continue to trust God through the hardship. That's what you want to teach your children - give them pride in a family reputation, a family legacy - "Reimer's don't do that", etc. We've used that phrase and we do really want to drill that into them. We want our family name to be synonymous with integrity, honesty and faithfulness. And as Christians, we also want to be faithful to the name of Christ because we bear His name.
and the day of death better than the day of birth
Just like Paul said in the NT - "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). Our new life begins the moment we meet Him, and lasts forever. Death brings us into the fulness and perfectness of that new life. The day of our death truly is better than the day of our birth because it is then that we are finally ushered into the very presence of God.
In light of that? How should we live?
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
Mark Driscoll says....
Wise people see that all of life is opportunities that God is giving them to learn. You need to know this. Every single minute of every single day, God is giving you opportunities to grow in wisdom and understanding through the circumstances of life, one of which is death. You go to a funeral and there’s this stark reality that someday, I too, will die. So what? So, I should live wisely. The days are few and so, each of them should be invested very, very, very carefully.
If you’re married, someday, one of you will die and the other will be alone. So what? So, wise people say, “We should love each other every day we have. We should forgive sin quickly. We should kiss frequently.” Parents and children should know that, at some point, one of them will die. So what? So, while they’re together, they should wrestle. And cuddle. And play ball. And hang out. And go swimming.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
When something truly sorrowful has happened, when it's really been a bad day - it's ok to admit that. We need to embrace our grief because the only way to joy is through the grief, through the valley of the shadow of death. Expressing our grief, sorrow and pain through tears is cleansing and good for the heart.
Fools drink, dance, and laugh through their problems. All they’re doing is ignoring and avoiding them. Wise people embrace it and mourn through it...knowing that on the other side is God and opportunity for joy.Wise people go to the house of mourning - they cry together, pray together, love and encourage each other. Fools try to cover up their pain with worldly pleasures, and it doesn't work.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools.This too is meaningless.
Wise people choose their friends very carefully. When trouble comes you need wise friends who are willing to go to the house of mourning with you, instead of foolish friends who try to remedy a serious problem with a silly joke, like an annoying cackle in your ears. When you're hurting you don't want a comedian, you want a friend who is willing to sit with you, cry with you, pray with you and hurt alongside you.
A wise person also choose their friends wisely because our the reputation we mentioned earlier. You are known by the company you keep. The friends you choose will impact people's perception of you. This doesn't mean we can't befriend the lost - not at all! But our close friends need to be people we want to be associated with and trust our good name to.
Wise friends will also rebuke you in love when necessary. And though it hurts, wise people recognize their friends loving rebuke as good for the soul.
A wise and loving friend will also rebuke you when it's necessary. And though it hurts at the time,
7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
This one's pretty straightforward.
Wise people know that money comes from God. That money belongs to God and that money is to be received wisely and used, stewarded, spent wisely. And wise people are so concerned about their reputation and character that they would never take money that didn’t belong to them.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
It's not how you start, it's how you finish and what you do to get there. It's not how fancy your wedding was, it's how deep your commitment to your spouse is and whether 50 yrs later finds you holding hands rocking on the porch still in love. Wisdom doesn't boast and then not follow through. Wise people don't boast about things they're going to do, they just do them.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools
We need to be slow to anger. Fools have no self-control and allow their anger to spew out with no thought to the consequences. Wise people are slow to anger.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”For it is not wise to ask such questions.
Wise people recognize that there really is no such thing as the good old days. Since the fall every day has been a bad day - some are bad in different ways, but it's all bad. Looking back isn't the answer.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
There's no doubt that money is a good thing and helps us in many ways. Money pays the bills. It helps us out of hard times. It pays for medicine when we're sick. It's definitely useful and helpful. But so is wisdom. Money without wisdom will likely destroy your life. But wisdom will shelter you. It will be your compass, it will get you through, it enables you to make it. Wise people seek wisdom and embrace it as the gift of God that it is.
13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
Fools try to straighten out life. But we can't. No one can. When we sinned, God cursed us and made our lives crooked in order for us to see our need for Him.
14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
The good days are from God, but so are the bad days. Wise people accept both from the hand of God. We don't know what tomorrow holds or what's going to come. But wisdom will get us through it, it will make us strong, and it will give us joy.
And the hard days you’re in, don’t just sit there like a fool, cursing God. Don’t sit there like a fool, like Job’s wife. Sit there like Job and say, “You know what? Some days are good. Some days are bad. Both days are from God. I need wisdom to get through here with him, so that I can be with him in joy on the other side.”
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Ecclesiastes 7:15-22
1 comment:
Really good stuff in this post! A couple of timely reminders, as well.
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