Piper - "Make War!"

This is a message that we all need to hear almost every minute of every day. The effects and music are kind of . . . uh . . . corny. But the message is true and life changing.

Ecclesiastes 10:16-20

"Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter." (Ecclesiastes 10:16-20, ESV)

Bad leadership makes for bad nations. Such advice is rather obvious and hardly needs to be stated. Almost everything the Preacher says here all would agree with. An immature king who fills his official positions with drunkards and pleasure-seekers will bring ruin to the land. How much better a noble king with officials who eat for strength and not in gluttony. The laziness of the glutton and sensualist destroys the house. The Preacher mocks their thoughts with his sarcastic refrain “bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.”

It is this last refrain that stings most in our affluent American context. “Bread is for laughter” is a phrase not that far from modern advertising slogans. We hardly even consider food a source of strength and life. Food exists to make us happy. Who cares if masses are starving to death. Who cares if I’m a going to die and have no real hope. I’ll just have my glazed donut with chocolate icing and multi-colored sprinkles, and I’m happy. There is nothing wrong with enjoying good food, but when enjoying good food becomes one of the chief pleasures of life, then there is a problem. Foolish rich kings get detached from the reality of suffering and death due to their abundance. So do Americans.

But it is not just food. “Money answers everything.” No need to do hard work. If you have money, you have all that you need. Whereas the apostle Paul says, “Money is the root of all kinds of evil,” the foolish affluent say, “Money is the root of all kinds of good.” How do you raise good kids? You buy them stuff. How do you help poor nations? You give them money. How do you get personal joy and satisfaction? You spend money. I think perhaps we are so flooded with abundance we cannot even begin to comprehend life, meaning, and joy a part from it. That’s a problem, because money doesn’t have all the answers. In fact, it doesn’t have any of them.

Ecclesiastes 10:8-15

"He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city." (Ecclesiastes 10:8-15, ESV)

In another set of proverbial tidbits, the Preacher offers warnings about the dangers of foolishness. The first two proverbs make the point that you need to know the dangers of what you are getting into. The proper conclusion to be drawn here, I think, is just as splitting logs and breaking walls produce certain expected dangers so also playing with folly produces certain obvious problems. What follows then is four lessons on the dangers of folly and the corresponding benefits of wisdom.

Lesson 1: Folly requires more labor and gives less success. A fool is like a man working with a blunt blade. He tries and tries to succeed, but never addresses the real issue. Wisdom, on the other hand, discerns the error and so succeeds. The blade, I think, is the person. The fool works to fix all the things around him, which demands extraordinary effort. When he fails, he concludes that it’s the circumstances or people around him. He never stops to think, “Hmm, maybe I’m the problem. Maybe my blade is dull.” Whereas, the wise man knows that most of his problems are due to his own character, or lack of it, and so focuses his effort on self-reform.

Lesson 2: The fool destroys himself with his own words. He is like a snake charmer who, rather than calming and charming the snake, stirs it to strike. Not real effective. Likewise, a fool stirs up those around him to strike rather than gain their favor. His mouth is his own worst enemy. The wise man wins people with his gracious, beneficial, and intelligent speech. So if you are looking to sharpen your blade, your mouth is a pretty good place to start.

Lesson 3: The fool talks a lot . . . about . . . nothing. Oh he thinks he is talking about something. He heaps pile after pile of words about what is and what is going to be. No matter the subject, home life, parenting, career choices, politics, religion, restaurants, ad infinitum, he is an expert. And he is more than willing to share his effusive wisdom. So if you are looking to sharpen your blade and looking at your mouth, your perceived wisdom might be a really good place to start.

Lesson 4: The fool has no idea where he is going. All his efforts are a wearying, draining, frustrating toil. Why? Because they have no purpose. He is not going anywhere. He is accomplishing nothing. He has no plan. This lesson seems aimed directly at American youth these days. Fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-five year-olds have no plan. They have no goals. They don’t know where they are going, or where they should be going. Let’s face it, our younger generations (of which I am a part) are lazy. But are we lazy because we just don’t want to work, or because we can’t see the point of working? For many, I think it is the later. A life without a plan or without great, significant, world-changing goals is a tedious, pointless life.

Sermon of the Week

This sermon is really a plea aimed at secular, postmodern, New Yorkers to consider the truth of Jesus. Tim Keller does an excellent job highlighting the uniqueness of Jesus. If you tend to think of Jesus as a great moral teacher or know people who do (which is pretty much all of us), than you will find this sermon extremely helpful.

Who is this Jesus? (right click and select "Save as . . . " to download)

Distortion of Beauty

This clip is a reminder of what a culture obsessed with image and sex does to quench its own appetite. I once remember a photographer saying that not even Cindy Crawford was good enough to be Cindy Crawford. Indeed, makeup, plastic surgery, hair style, elegant and lavish clothing aren't enough to get the beauty we crave. We are a culture awash in a fantasy world. No wonder reality never seems to satisfy.

Ecclesiastes 10:1-7

"Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves." (Ecclesiastes 10:1-7, ESV)

In our world of image and show where looks and talent make you powerful, the advice of this passage may seem rather lame. Character revealed in wise choices is what is at stake here. The thrust is basically that wisdom empowers and strengthens while foolishness weakens and debilitates. The Preacher lists four proverbs and then an anecdotal illustration. The first proverb is pretty clear. A little folly can spoil much wisdom. One foolish choice can undermine an entire life of wise choices. How many people do you know that have lived seemingly responsible, effective, and prudent lives, and then they are caught in an adulterous act or found with drugs? We see it in the headlines and in our circle of acquaintances. The few bad choices they have made completely undermine all the good they have done.

The second proverb adds that the natural direction of wisdom is to strength and that of foolishness is to weakness. In the ancient mind, the “right” was the position of power, might, and authority, and the left was the side of weakness and inferiority. The third proverb is more condemning. The fool can walk on the right road, and many do, but all will still know that he is a fool. The statement “he says to everyone that he is a fool” does not mean the fool boasts about his stupidity. It means that every time he opens his mouth it is clear to all that a fool stands before them. In other words, a fool cannot conceal his foolishness with good behavior. His mouth will always give it away. Thus, the fourth proverb, which encourages calmness and a refusal to make brash rebuttals and accusations (i.e. “do not leave your place”), promotes wise and guarded speech even in the face of royal persecution.

The text ends with a story about a foolish ruler who sets folly in high places and wisdom in low ones. When the Preacher says he has seen “slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves” he means that he has seen the wisdom of princes in slaves and the foolishness of slaves in princes. Society is turned upside down. A foolish king has given authority to unworthy fools and poverty to worthy princes. The ones who can strengthen the kingdom have no power to do so, and those who ruin it have all the power. Foolishness leads to the left, to weakness.

We have a somewhat bizarre belief in America. It goes like this. You go to school, to college, you get a B.A. or even masters’ or even a Ph.D., and therefore you are on your way to making a tremendous difference in the world. Or you have athletic or musical talent, maybe you’re even incredibly attractive and popular, so you are on your way to a great life doing great things. That depends. Perhaps, you are on your way to a miserable life doing worthless things. Perhaps, your marriage is going to stink, you get depressed, you become an alcoholic, you hurt your children, and die in shame. Ph.D.’s, basketball skills, and nice legs aren’t going to change any of that. But character will. You can ruin your life and others through foolishness, and there are plenty of fools with Ph.D.s, or you can take the path of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9

" But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6, ESV)

What is so difficult about reading this book is that it is difficult to tell when the Preacher is building a case for meaning or when he is tearing down the pop views of significance. Here again the project seems like demolition. I’ll take the whole chapter on simply because most of it is repeating ideas that the Preacher has already expressed. I am sorry if the post gets kind of long and confusing.

The righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, all have the same fate. Death makes this life vanity, and the evil that lies within all human hearts only exacerbates the problem. The good news is you’re not dead yet. Your love, your hate, your joy, your memories, you accomplishments will one day perish along with everyone and everything else. But that day has not come, at least not yet, so cheer up. It’s very difficult not to assume that a load of sarcasm lies behind these comments. He sounds kind of like a doctor saying, “You’ve got three months to live, but look on the bright side you’re not dead yet.”

" Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10, ESV)

The Preacher is again commending joy to us, but here it seems a hopeless joy. He sounds kind of like “carpe diem” (“seize the day”) meets “eat, drink, and be merry.” Work with all your might! Seize the day! Do something, for you may not have a tomorrow. Mixed with “Live it up. Enjoy what time you have left. You only have one life.”

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them." (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, ESV)

“Time and chance happen to all.” This sentence is what gives it away, I think. When we start thinking about life as “time and chance,” then God has left the picture. With a God, there is no “chance.” So I say again, I think the Preacher is demolishing any hope of meaning in world without God. So far all his comments seems layered with sarcasm. “You’re not dead yet, so be thankful, enjoy life, and do something worthwhile.” Of course, if all we have is “time and chance,” what exactly is worthwhile? And how are we supposed to enjoy it?

"I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good." (Ecclesiastes 9:13-18, ESV)

In typical fashion, just as all light is going out, the Preacher throws in a spark of hope. If “time and chance” is all we have, then wisdom, strength, knowledge, etc. have no real meaning. You don’t “win” because you’re wiser or stronger. You “win” because you get lucky. The best die just like the worst. Not much light in that tunnel. But the Preacher through this little anecdote points out that wisdom, even when forgotten, often saves the day. Their is an order to the universe that wisdom can uncover. Perhaps time and chance are not all we have. Wisdom, which is living according to the order of the universe, accomplishes more than might and power. And sinful fools, who obviously shun wisdom, can wreak great destruction.

Thus, life viewed apart from meaning (i.e. as only “time and chance,” which is the modern, materialistic, evolutionary worldview) really stinks. What’s more, says the Preacher, it doesn’t really work with the way life is. Wisdom does work. Foolishness doesn’t. So choose the way of wisdom and meaning

Ecclesiastes 8:14-17

" There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out." (Ecclesiastes 8:14-17, ESV)

Back in 7:13 the Preacher declared, “Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked?” Since then the Preacher has been weaving together his musings to bolster that declaration, and here reaffirms it. His conclusion is the same that he has offered throughout the book. Righteousness will not get you longer life or more prosperity. Wisdom has its limitations. The world is full of selfish, destructive people. We are married to some, we are ruled by others. And often their narcissistic acs of relational demolition provide them with prosperity and comfort. Our days are full of anxiety and restlessness (“neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep,” an obvious overstatement, but you get the idea). Indeed, the works of God are past finding out. Who can begin to understand his ways in this world? Who can make make straight what he has made crooked? Thus, the Preacher’s oft repeated conclusion: “I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful.”

I’ve had a thought about where the Preacher is going yet. I cannot offer it up with firm certainty, but each day I’m growing more confident. The thought is this. What is life about? Is it about getting rich and prosperous? Is it about an avoidance of pain? Is it about being unaffected by evil? Is about attaining a mass of wisdom? Is about your love life? Is it about entertainment? And on and on the list goes, and the answer is always “NO.” It is always “no,” because evil abounds, suffering is inevitable, and death approaches. So what could this all be about? And I mean not just the good (health, prosperity, family, etc.) but also the bad (death, suffering, injustice, oppression, etc.). The Preacher always says, “joy” - it’s all about joy. Joy is the only explanation for why both the crooked and the straight could exist. Of course, you immediately wonder, “How? Life is vanity and full of pain. The Preacher is constantly showing us how happiness is impossible. How then can he commend it as the meaning of life? And how in the world can pain and evil point to joy?” This theory only makes sense if joy is found outside of circumstances, relationships, comfort, etc., if joy can exist or even increase in the midst of pain, if joy has an infinitely greater source that the “good life.” That, perhaps, is where the Preacher is going.

Sermon of the Week

Here is another sermon from the Desiring God Conference Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World. This sermon is by Mark Driscoll on the church's role of contextualizing the gospel. It is both entertaining, provoking, and insightful.

The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World

Language with no authority

This is funny, but also tragically too true. Our culture's distaste for truth and authority even manifests itself in the smallest of ways as Tailer Mali's slam poem suggests.

Ecclesiastes 8:10-13

" Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God." (Ecclesiastes 8:10-13, ESV)

The Preacher laments that the wicked do not meet justice for their evil quickly. It is a complaint many have. The wicked go in the holy place to worship God, and then come out and oppress, steal, threaten, deceive, etc. And what happens to them. Nothing. They get to live it up while bringing ruin to their many victims. However, the Preacher’s complaint may not be what you think. The reason he grieves the lack of swift justice is that “the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.” He does not doubt that the wicked will meet justice, for “it will not be well with the wicked.” Their day is coming. What is distressing is that men are left to pursue evil with little restraint. They can fully immerse themselves into greed, lust, oppression, and be healthy, fat, and rich. If you hurt people, you do not immediately suffer. You are free to hurt people, and so you use your freedom.

The Preacher’s mentality is a far cry from our own. We wonder how it is that a loving God can punish any of his dear creatures, while the Preacher wonders how God can let them go free. This disparity between us and the Preacher has many causes, but one of them is that we tend to have a rather naive view of the world. Surely people aren’t that bad, are they? I mean, yeah, rich billionaires think only how to fill their pockets often at the cost of the poor, violent gangs charge into villages and slaughter every man and boy and rape every women and girl, civil wars break out causing the bloodshed of millions, men buy and sell other men and women as sexual property, terrorists blow up thousands of non-militants for the glory of their god, parents drag their children through heart wrenching divorces, but the world isn’t that bad. It seems to me that our hunger for justice should at least equal our hunger for love. If there is no justice, then all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-9

" Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt." (Ecclesiastes 8:1-9, ESV)

Following the Preacher is a bit like riding a roller coaster. Just when you think he is climbing the heights into profound wisdom he comes hurdling down with more melancholic musings. He begins here with a couple of questions. The message is that wisdom is of the greatest worth. It has the potential to transform misery into joy. One problem. How do you get it? Who is wise and who knows what’s going on?

So the Preacher offers up some minimalist moralisms. In other words, this advice sounds a bit like, “Life is lousy, but here is what you do to get by.” And the primary way to get by in the ancient context is not to disturb the king. King’s carried the authority of God (8:2). Don’t oppose him, don’t question him, and just lay low. Do your best to do what he says. If you apply all the wisdom you have, you can figure out how to obey the king’s instructions in a just and proper manner. The picture seems to be of a king who has given unethical or unjust orders, but the servant figures out how to obey the king in an ethical and just manner.

However, do not think the Preacher fails to see the unfairness of the absolute rule of kings. Great misery and injustice are caused by them, which leads to his complaint about “when man had the power over man to his hurt.” That is, he laments a man, a king, whose will controls other men often to their hurt. Ancient kings were constantly embroiled in war over land and power, and men were sent to their death in order to fulfill the lust of their king. So what do you do as a soldier? You are being sent to your death, and there is no escape. Discharge is not going to happen, at least not in the middle of the battle. Wickedness and treachery will not deliver you. You must simply carry out your orders with as much justice as is possible.

The Preacher pictures a pretty miserable situation, but it was the situation in which many lived in the his day. And many still live it in today. It is a result of a broken and messed up world. Men have power over other men, but the men who have power are as corrupt as all other men. There is no way to change it. You just do the best you can. As Christians this reality leads us to thirsting for the day when One will reign over all, and he will reign with perfect righteousness and justice for the good of his subjects.

Ecclesiastes 7:25-29

"I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." (Ecclesiastes 7:25-29, ESV)

This passage may sound like a piece of ancient, patriarchal, anti-woman rhetoric, but a closer look may reveal something a bit different. First, observe that although the Preacher says he did not find “one woman among a thousand,” he also says that among the thousand he only found one man (not the best odds). So the paraphrase is: “You’re lucky to find a good man, and you’re even luckier to find a good woman. I’ve found one good friend, but I have yet to find a good wife.”

Secondly, a little cultural background might be helpful. In ancient culture, a man didn’t have women friends. When you searched for a woman, as the Preacher says he has, you are searching for a wife. What guides the search? Women were often seen as pieces of property for sexual pleasure and the production of children (especially sons). The Preacher is suggesting that there is more to a wife than looks and fertility. In fact, beauty could be nothing more than fetters and snares if the character of the woman is not upright. This reality is “more bitter than death,” because a man longs for, even needs a good wife. Often, though, he searches in vain. Thus, the Preacher’s comments are actually a bit more progressive than first glance might indicate. Women are people not property. Thus, they should not be pursued just for their function, but for their character. A culture that puts a such a premium on function inevitably leads to the neglect of character, not only by male pursuers but by the women themselves. I think this is what the Preacher is suggesting when he ends by lamenting mankind’s fall from uprightness to many “schemes.” He does not place the blame on women, but upon “man.” The joy of romantic love has been perverted, and thus robbed of much of its value.

The ancient culture may seem oppressive and unseemly in comparison with modern standards. But have we really come that far? Our obsession with sex inevitably results in valuing function over person, external beauty over character. We search for (or at least fantasize about) the best sex partners rather than for the best life partner. Relationships are robed of intellectual and emotional intimacy in favor of genital stimulation. And the result . . . a good woman is still difficult to find. I don’t blame women, though, at least not mainly. After all, when the size of your breasts beats beauty of your character, how much attention are going to give to character?

Sermon of the Week

This sermon was given by Voddie Baucham at the 2006 Desiring God National Conference. In it he clearly puts forward the difference between a Christ-centered world view and a secular world view.

The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World

Piper - God beats sex

These are powerful words for a culture like ours immersed in sexuality. In this clip John Piper, I think, gives a vision of having a passion for something far greater than sex. Such a passion is the only ultimate defense against our sexual sin.

Ecclesiastes 7:15-24

"In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?" (Ecclesiastes 7:15-24, ESV)

I think the Preacher continues where he left off. Life is much more "crooked" then we are tempted to think. Righteous people die young sometimes, and wicked people sometimes live for a very long time. What is worse, righteousness itself can lead to a quick death (I think that is what “perishes in his righteousness” means), and wickedness is the means for prolonging life for some.

The Preacher then says some shocking things like, “Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?” Odd, to say the least. This statement is more for shock value, for he quickly encourages the reader again to get wisdom and fear God. What it seems the Preacher is concerned with is a kind of arrogance that assumes that total righteousness and grand wisdom is humanly attainable. He says, “Be careful about becoming too righteous (read “in your own eyes”), because there is no such thing as a righteous person who never sins.” Furthermore, “Do not go around offended at what others say about you, for you have said some pretty lousy stuff about others.” That is, don’t forget that you are just as unrighteous as they are. And the same goes for wisdom. Yes, seek wisdom. It is of tremendous value, but at the same time realize that most of wisdom is “deep, very deep.” So deep the Preacher asks, “Who can find it out?” Don’t ever think you’ve arrived at righteousness or at wisdom. No matter how much ground you gain you will never be near what you ought to be.

These words provide a helpful balance but one that is difficult to maintain. How do you seek wisdom and righteousness without feeling pretty proud of what you have attained. The Preacher’s response is simple, fear God. The fear of God is the foundation of humility. Your future is in his hands. Ultimately it is not your wisdom or your righteousness that will bring you meaning and life. It is God.

Ecclesiastes 7:11-14

"Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him." (Ecclesiastes 7:11-14, ESV)

Money can make life more stable and secure, especially in the Ancient Near Eastern context that the Preacher is writing in, but it doesn’t help much if it is not accompanied by wisdom. Though the Preacher understands the limits of wisdom (see 2:12-17), he also argues that its pursuit is extremely valuable. His words are worth pondering. Many of us Americans seem to think that money in the bank, a nice home, a nice car, etc. are key to living happy, secure lives. But money without wisdom is useless. Pursue wisdom with greater tenacity than you pursue money. I think that is where the Preacher is going.

However, the Preacher immediately qualifies his statements on wisdom. The Proverbs repeatedly claim that the path of the wise and righteous leads to prosperity, health, joy, and long life; whereas, the foolish and wicked find hardship, disease, sorrow, frustration, and quick death. There is, in other words, a general pattern weaved into the fabric of human society so that wise and virtuous choices lead to flourishing, and foolish, self-centered choices lead to ruination. When you see this pattern, the temptation is to think that every wise choice leads to immediate prosperity, and every foolish choice leads to immediate destruction, or that every wise and righteous person is wealthy, healthy, and happy, and every foolish guy is poor and destitute. But life just isn’t that streamlined. God has made things a bit more “crooked” than that. Prosperity doesn’t always come through wisdom, and adversity is not always on the heels of foolishness.

Why might have God made life so unpredictable? There are more answers than one to that question, but for starters I think humility is a good answer. And I think that is the Preacher’s answer. It is almost as if he is saying, “Wisdom is good. Get as much of it as you can. But don’t get too cocky. Don’t think you’ve got this life figured out. Don’t think that just because you’ve acted wisely and virtuously that tomorrow is going to be easy.” If God had made a simplistic cause and effect universe (good always brings good, and bad always brings bad) then we would pretty naturally come to the conclusion that we are in control of our lives, our destinies, our world. Such control is stripped from us and forces us to see our creatureliness. We hate not knowing the future, not having control. That is, we hate being creatures, and we hate not being God.

Ecclesiastes 7:8-10

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools. Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this." (Ecclesiastes 7:8-10, ESV)

Excitement runs high when we begin things, but there is something far greater than beginning things - finishing them. The end is better than the beginning. To begin something is very easy. To see it through takes work, determination, perseverance, and maturity. Most of us begin many things and finish very few. You don’t have to do a lot of things to make a huge impact on this world. You just have to chose to begin great things and see them through. But seeing a project through requires a great amount of patience. Our impatience tells us that since things are not moving along as we had hoped that the project is futile. “Just quit,” cries our impatience. And most of us listen.

There is a root cause to this impatience, for the opposite of patience, says the Preacher, is pride (“the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit”). It is our arrogant claim that all should work according to our plan that drives us to pout and quit. “How dare the world not work as I wanted it! How dare there be problems! When I do something the universe should cooperate.” We don’t say things like this, just things very similar like, “I thought it would be easier,” or “Why does everything seem to go wrong?” We are so arrogant that we are shocked by difficulty.

But there is more, for this arrogance that we call impatience has two further effects. It breeds anger and whining. Though there is such a thing as just anger (like anger over the Holocaust) most of our anger does not fall into this category. Most of it is the result of pride and impatience. A project, a relationship, our career slips out of our control, and we erupt. In fact, there are few things that inflame the proud more than loosing control. One form of our anger is complaining, like the Preacher’s question, “Why were the former days better than these?” Wisdom does not ask that question, he says. Foolish pride does. Thus, complaining is the language of the angry, proud, and foolish.

Sermon of the Week

This sermon by John Piper was delivered at Passion, a conference for young evangelicals. It has become a very influential sermon, and has led to a book titled Don't Waste Your Life and an entire ministry aimed at younger people. It is one of my all time favorite Piper sermons, and I've listened to many. Warning: the sermon is pretty revolutionary. At least it was for me.

Boasting Only in the Cross