Ecclesiastes 7:15-20 (Knowledge with Humility)

¹⁵ In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
¹⁶ Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
¹⁷ Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?
¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
    than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
    no one who does what is right and never sins.

Perhaps you need to hear this today:  you do not have control.  

I needed to hear that yesterday.  It was a doozie of a day at work, and I was beginning to get all wrapped up in the silliness of it all when a co-worker reminded me, "It's out of our control."  And she was right.

We spend an awful lot of time fretting over things that are simply out of our control, don't we?  Our anxiety and constant thinking about them doesn't change a thing.  And when I can remember this very fact, and can let go of whatever stress I may feel about not being in control, I suddenly feel free!  Amazing how that works!

Here's one thing we don't have control over:

In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.

Have you seen incredibly good, joyful, righteous people die young? And all the while, have you seen wicked people living longer than all the kind people around them?  I've seen both.  Many times!

But we are not in control.  He is.  I don't get it most of the time, but when I do see wicked people living a long time, I often remember when Peter reminded us that "The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).  He's giving everyone as much time as possible to decide to turn to Him, even the most evil people there are.  And despite their evil, He can still use them for His purposes.  So don't be surprised when bad people live long.

We don't know it all, and we don't know what God is doing; therefore,

Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself? 

 Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time? 

 It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

Solomon reminds us here to not be "overrighteous."  Don't go around thinking you have all the answers and you know better than everyone else.  Pride comes before the fall.

And don't chuck it all because you're not in control and don't know all that God is doing by saying flippant things like, "Well, I won't wear a seat belt.  God will keep me alive if He wants me here," because that's just foolish and you may just die before your time.

Rather, we must hang on to both of these.  Avoid extremes in the area of our hearts and attitudes.  In this life of inequality, we need to focus on one thing: to live in godly fear of the Lord and to honor Him.  We need to focus on ourselves, not on how other people are doing in their Christianity. 

If evil people are still living, that's okay.  God's got it.  It's out of my control.  And if good people are dying, we don't need to be shocked.  God warns us that that will happen on this Earth.  Either way, we trust Him, and we keep working on ourselves.  We need to remember that no matter how righteous we may think we are, we are still just a sinner saved by the grace of God.

As John Newton, the former slave trader and author of "Amazing Grace," said, "When I get to heave, I will be amazed at three things.  I will be amazed at those I thought would be there who are not there, those I did not think would be there who are there, and the fact that I am there at all."

Early in his ministry, Paul called himself the least of the apostles.  Later on he said he was the least of all Christians.  Then he said he was the chief of sinners.  The older he got, the more he saw God, the lower he became in his own estimation.

Like these two men, I want to remain humble.  The longer I know Christ, the more humble I hope to become.  But I can tell you this, humility won't come when we think we have the last word on knowledge and righteousness.

Let's leave that to Jesus.

¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
    than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
    no one who does what is right and never sins.

There is nothing better than wisdom.  There is nothing better than walking with God and revering Him.  Just don't let it go to your head.  Beacause there is not a single one of us who is perfect and has it all together and knows everything.  But keep learning anyway.  Stay in the Word.

In fact, no matter how many degrees you have, if you don't soeak in the Bible, you're stumbling through a minefield.  But if the only book you study is is the Bible and its wisdom, and you have no other degrees, you'll still have a joyful, happy life.  You may not have lake house with a jet ski, but can you live with that?  Wisdom is better than ten rulers.  You can surround yourself with the greatest, most knowledable men, but if you know and fear God, you're ahead of the pack.

So it's good to be wise, but make sure you temper it by "being downwind of yourself," as one author likes to put it.  Don't focus on the fact that you're growing compared to the people around you.  Look at Jesus, and let Him be your standard...then you'll remember who you really are.

I'm just a sinner saved by Grace.




Molly Monroe

 

Ecclesiastes 7:8-14 (The Good 'Ol Days)

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 shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

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 this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

Like I said last week, it was a big week for me.  Saturday marked four years since Mom went to Heaven.  And for any of you experiencing significant grief right now, I hope you will allow me to encourage you with this: it does get easier.

I remember people saying that to me, and I waited and waited for the "easier" part to come...it took a bit longer than I thought it would.  Like, years.  But finally in this fourth year, I think I've come up for breath more than I ever have.  I can think of my mom and smile much more than I cry.  And I do have days occasionally where I don't think of her at all, and that had never happened in the first three years.

But for the first three years especially, and even now occasionally, I will think of what verse 10 is saying, and I'll wish for "the good ol' days," when everyone was alive and living under the same room, playing games together and traveling together.  Life seemed so simple, so perfect.  But Solomon immediately says wishing for the good ol' days is not a wise thing to do.

It's so easy for us to live in the past and to wish for the past, isn't it?  

And it's easy for us to go there because thinking about the past and spending energy on "the past" requires nothing of me.  You know, I know, and God knows that I can't change the past -- there's nothing that can be done about what has been.  It's already done.

So spending my time and energy on the past is my easy cop-out to not work on the present.

Sometimes I'd rather stay hovered over The Past because spending time on The Now will hurt.  Thinking about what steps I could take at this moment might require something of me, a sacrifice perhaps.  I might have to deal with my current feelings and emotions, ones I wish I didn't have or could have dealt with in The Past.  What are we trying to avoid by staying focused on The Past?

Or perhaps it's something we're trying to gain?  Perhaps by focusing on The Past, I can go back to the old idols that made me feel safe.  I wonder if by focusing on The Past, I get to feel important again, or loved, or powerful, or free, or young.  

But that's not wise. Why?  Because that is not reality anymore, and staying there will only harm us in the end.

Do you believe that things happen for a Reason?  Do you trust that that old relationship maybe didn't work for your good?  Do you believe that even in loss there is much more to be gained?  Do you believe when God says, "Behold, I am making all things new" (Rev. 21:5) that He also means you, and in order for you to change you can't stay the same and things can't stay the same as they always have been?

If there's one girl who hates change more than anyone, it's me.  Just this week, Josh asked me to switch sides of the bed with him so he can hear better due to a hearing loss he has.  One would think that as his wife I would move in a heartbeat so he could hear better, right?  Wrong.  I have pouted (as light-heartedly as I could) and whined and complained.  It has been difficult for me to move to a new side of the bed.  I've been on the right side for five whole years!  I'm attached to "my side."  I comfortable and secure there.  I don't like change!

But with change comes wisdom (as verses 11-12 tell us).  With wisdom comes a shelter and a comfort that we can't know without change.  And the wisdom we get from facing these changes head-on will preserve us.  It will make us ready for the next time, because there will be a next time.

Verse 13 says to "consider what God has done."  He is the one who allows these things into our lives, but He never does so without a reason.  And we may never know that reason.

Can we trust Him even when He never gives us a reason?

He doesn't owe us anything.  He is God.  His thoughts and ways are much higher than our human minds can ever comprehend.

So, we have to just trust Him.

He knows what He's doing.

"So when times are good," says verse 14, "be happy."  When things are peachy, enjoy them.  Laugh a lot, smile constantly, enjoy every great moment in the day, and just soak up the delight of it all.  God has made these good times.

"But when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other."  He is doing something in you.  Don't miss the blessing by trying to change what cannot be changed.

Adversity and prosperity -- God brings them both.  You can be sure that the future won't look exactly as you hope it will, but you can be sure that with any pain will come wisdom.

And from my own experience, I wouldn't trade it.

Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 7:1-6 (Why Death is Better than Life)

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 everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
³ Frustration 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 the rebuke of a wise person
    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.

Now, if you're like me, you read that for the first time and thought, "WHAT?!"  You mean to tell me that death is better than birth, mourning is better than feasting, and frustration is better than laughter?  And then perhaps you thought, "Okay, Mr. Solomon," as you leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms, "I'm listening.  What could you possibly say to make that make sense?"

But, see, I get it.  And if you've suffered any kind of significant trial, perhaps you will, too.

As of this Saturday, my mom will have been in Heaven for four years.  Four. Whole. Years.  I truly can't believe that is the number, and I'm sure every year I will say it again, because I really didn't think I'd make it this long.  I thought I would have died of a broken heart by now.  

But I haven't.

In fact, my heart is much stronger now than it ever was before.

And that's Solomon's point.

For me, cancer and then the death of my mom is what finally put everything in perspective.  And I can say now, without a doubt, that our trials always have a purpose.  They ALWAYS have a very beneficial purpose.

Trials purify you.

Trials show you what you are, because whatever comes out of you when you're hit, that's what you really are.

Trials show you that you can't make it on your own.

Trials perfect you.

Trials make you pray.

Trials make you go to The Word.

Trials make you trust.

Trials make everything you heard in Sunday School become real.

Trials make you turn to Christ.

Trials show you who your truest of friends are.

Trials show you what really matters in life.  And it's not stuff.

Trials prove you -- whether you're a Christ-follower, or just like the idea of being one.

Trials humanize you and make you sensitive.

Trials make you sweeter and gentler.

Trials make you more like Jesus.

So don't think for a moment that your current trials have no purpose or are being inflicted upon you for no reason.  Because it's during the trials that you have a choice -- perhaps one of the biggest choices you will ever make -- are you going to keep holding on to Christ, or are you going to let go of Him and of all you've learned about who He is up to this point?  Are you going to trust that He's working something in you that's bigger than you ever thought, or are you going to walk away from the growth and maturity that He wants to produce in your life?

See, trials do good things in us.  Good things!  But the rub is that these are things we probably would never choose to experience on our own.  So, God has to lead us through some pretty dark waters, perhaps against our will, because He knows that trials are not always The Worst Thing.  Because He knows that trials will make us better than we ever were before.

Our loving God is not as committed to our short-term happiness as He is to our character.  And He knows that to make us better than we are today, we are going to have to walk through a few fires.  He doesn't desire our smiles and laughter as much as He desires our hearts and our devotion and our obedience and our trust.  And so how do we learn those things?

Trials.

If you want Christ, sometimes death is better than life.  Sometimes crying is better than laughing.  Sometimes losing your mom to cancer is better than anything that's ever happened to you before because the pain makes you real.  The pain will get your thinking straight.  The pain will bring you closer to God.  The pain will make you more like Jesus.

I miss my mom like crazy.  I would love nothing more than to have her walk up to me right this moment and tell me she's back.  But I know that the growth I've experienced in the past four years is something I would have never known if she were still here.  Because death brings life, and her death brought new life to my relationship with Jesus Christ and increased my trust in Him.

I know I will see her again, and she knows that, too.

And in the meantime, Lord, just keep strengthening my heart and my love for You.  Keep bringing me trials if that's what's gonna make me more like You.




Molly Monroe

And please tell her I love her.

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 (For the Love of Money, Part 3)

I know a woman who has a lot.  She has a great family, a beautiful home, a luxury car, takes many nice vacations, wears beautiful jewelry, and buys many nice clothes.  Now, if I stopped there, you might have thought something like, "wow, it must be nice to be her."  Because I did, too, for a while.  But the more I was around her, I noticed that she would often bring her possessions up in conversation -- she wanted to make sure everyone knew just how much she had -- and she she would often make sweeping, verbal judgements of other people completely based on their house size and the neighborhood in which they lived.  

At first, I was angry.  I was angry that she was judging people solely based on their house size.  I was angry that she was constantly bragging about what she had, as if she was rubbing it in my face.  I was angry that she had all of this abundance and rarely shared it with anyone, and if she did, she made sure you knew about it.  And then it hit me:

She doesn't know Jesus.

She has all the stuff money can buy, and yet, she is miserable.  She does not exude joy and love and peace.  She oozes anxiety and judgement and comparison.   And this, Solomon tells us, is a tragedy.

For the final segment on money, we see next a man, who I picture to be much like this woman I know: 

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: ² God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
³ A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. ⁴ It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. ⁵ Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man— ⁶ even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

This man is wrapped in blessings (money, possessions, a large family), and yet, he can't enjoy them all because he doesn't know from Whom these gifts have come.

Do you know how hard that is?  Have you ever received something anonymously?  When I was in elementary school, American Girl dolls were just coming out.  I wanted one so badly, but based on their price, I knew I would never receive one...and I had made peace with that, as much as a ten-year-old can.

Until one day, a huge box from the American Girl company arrived.  I was so confused.  Surely they sent this to the wrong person!  But no, inside was a note for me, but the giver had not signed it.  As I picked up the "Molly" doll from the box, I wanted to be able to thank someone for this incredible gift, but I didn't know who to thank.  It bothered me for years, and for a few days I even had trouble enjoying the gift because I was so focused on who to thank. (I still don't know who gave me that doll, so if you want to come forward, I think it's been long enough.)

We really do want to know who to thank, don't we? And so what a blessing it is to know Who is the Giver in our lives, isn't it?  It allows us the ability to enjoy everything we have been given even more, from a tasty glass of lemonade to a big, schmancy house!

I'm praying that this woman in my life will come to know the Lord, the Giver of all good things, soon.

⁷ Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
    yet their appetite is never satisfied.
⁸ What advantage have the wise over fools?
What do the poor gain
    by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
⁹ Better what the eye sees
    than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
    a chasing after the wind.

Our appetites for more are large.  Our eyes roam across the earth looking for more that we want, and we are bombarded by commercials, advertisements, and billboards telling us that we "need" more in order to be happy and healthy.  But that's a lie!  God will give us all we need, and His gifts often don't come in the form of material possessions.   

I have a weakness for all things home.  I am on the mailing list of every major home design store.  As those magazines pile up on my counter, I gaze at the stack as I wait until the weekend when I can sit in the sun room and savor each page, dreaming up ideas of what I might do in my own house.  It's a delight, really!

But occasionally, I have caught myself seeing things that look incredible and thinking of how I "need" them, then I think about all that I don't have in these magazines, and suddenly I am no longer content with what I have.  In fact, sometimes in those moments, I can feel myself stepping further into all things worldy.  I forget for a few minutes that we will NEVER be satisfied by stuff, so I need to constantly make it my goal to be content with what I have.

We must be careful that while we work to feed our earthly appetites, our souls are not going hungry.

It might be time for a magazine fast for me.

¹⁰ Whatever exists has already been named,
    and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
    with someone who is stronger.
¹¹ The more the words,
    the less the meaning,
    and how does that profit anyone?

¹² For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

God will not let us be happy through things.  He has stacked the deck of life and determined that life is to know Him.

He has made all things for our pleasure, but they are not meant to be the constituents of a perfect, little life.  If we think that a "perfect life" is the best thing for us, we are sorely mistaken.  God wants us to be happy, but that's not the only thing He wants for us, because He knows that true happiness comes only through walking with Him by faith no matter what life brings.

He gives, and He takes away.  Blessed be the name of the LORD.



Molly Monroe

Ecclesiastes 5:13-20 (For the Love of Money, Part 2)

¹³ I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
¹⁴   or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
    there is nothing left for them to inherit.
¹⁵ Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
    and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
    that they can carry in their hands.

¹⁶ This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,
    and what do they gain,
    since they toil for the wind?
¹⁷ All their days they eat in darkness,
    with great frustration, affliction and anger.

¹⁸ This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. ¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. ²⁰ They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

Few of us know how to handle lots of money.  Think about the man who wins the lottery, but is bankrupt a few years later and worse off than before.  Think of the entertainers who make millions just to spend it all away.  And I think of myself when I get $20 from someone for my birthday -- it's often gone in a matter of 24 hours!

So, I like the honesty of verse 13, "wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners."  Let's be sure: wealth can cause great harm to us.  Hoarding doesn't mean that you aren't spending it -- it just means you aren't sharing it.  It's nothing new, apparently, that people like to hoard their money, and it's also not surprising to God that when we do this, we can be harmed. 

People can be killed because of their money.  They might lose family relationships because of their money and their decisions with that money.  They might become addicted to substances because of their money.  Or they might become the most lonely they've ever been because of their money.

Life can be so much more simple without lots of money.  Sure you can pay all your bills on time, but that might be the single great thing about it.

Have you ever considered that one of God's great mercies to you is He restricts the amount of money you can make?

So, now what if God has given you some money.  Well, here's what Solomon says:

¹⁸ This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. ¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. ²⁰ They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.

No matter how much money we have, we need to work and we need to enjoy what we have!  Enjoy today rather than being concerned about the future.  Do the work God has given you to do, and then come home and spend time with your family, have a nice meal on the back porch together, go buy some frozen yogurt afterwards, and enjoy what God has given you.  Don't hoard it -- share it!  Be thankful and content, and no matter how much you have, God will keep you so busy being glad that you won't have time to look back on what it used to be or on what's to come.




Molly Monroe