Wisdom Is Better

[Read Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20]

Well, it has been quite a week, hasn’t it? It doesn’t matter which side of the political spectrum you are on, it has been a rollercoaster. I’m writing this on Thursday and we still don’t know who has been elected president. In reality, we have no idea when we’re going to find out. 

Then we open our Bibles to the book of Ecclesiastes and read another “this doesn’t make sense” quote: “There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler: Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.” (Ecclesiastes 10:5–7, NIV). I have been reading, and re-reading this passage throughout the week. It’s true. There are many fools who are seated in high positions. There are errors repeatedly streaming from our leaders—certain types of errors that can only come from leaders. We’re seeing the book of Ecclesiastes play out right before our eyes. Does anyone want to say the Bible is irrelevant?

He goes on to say, “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!” (Ecclesiastes 10:16, ESV). The word “Woe” is the opposite of “Blessed.” It means cursed. A land—a country—is cursed when its leaders are children—immature, unequipped to lead. A nation is cursed when its leaders “feast in the morning.” That means they’re lazy. They can’t wait to feast until after they’ve finished their work. They get up and start partying right away. They don’t work. They only feast. A country is cursed when its leaders act this way. 

Many people have quoted John Calvin as saying, “When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.” However, I haven’t read that exact line. Here’s what Calvin said in his commentary on Romans: “For since a wicked prince is the Lord’s scourge to punish the sins of the people, let us remember, that it happens through our fault that this excellent blessing of God is turned into a curse.” (13:3-4). That has a little more bite to it, doesn’t it? It is OUR FAULT that we have poor leaders. It’s because of OUR sins. It’s because of OUR foolishness. We need to take ownership of this and we need to repent. That’s what you do when you fall under the judgement of God. You own up, you repent, and you turn back to God. This is what we need to do as a country and THAT begins right here in our own hearts—right here in the church. 

You see, we got into this situation because we have been foolish. One of the themes of this passage is that a little foolishness outweighs wisdom and honor. It says that in verse 1: “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1, NIV). A tiny fly can make a batch of ointment go bad. In the same way, a little folly can make a lot of wisdom and honor go bad. He says in verse 18: “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” (Ecclesiastes 9:18, NIV). Wisdom is good and powerful, but one sinner—one fool/a little foolishness—destroys much good. 

The last time I spoke about wisdom, Simon reminded me about King Solomon. Now, I haven’t mentioned his, but many think King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. We don’t know that for sure, but there’s a good chance. For now, let’s suppose King Solomon wrote this book AND for the sake of argument, let’s say he wrote it at the end of his life. 

How did Solomon’s life go? When he became King, things went well for him. He went to worship God and God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Kings 3:5, NIV). And Solomon responded by saying something like, “I have no idea what I’m doing. You have made me a leader over YOUR people and I have no idea what to do. Please give me wisdom so that I can lead your people.” Anyone who has been a parent has been here before, right? Parenting is a long process of not knowing what you’re doing, just trying to find your way. Just in case you were wondering, pastoring a church is very similar. So, we continually cry out for wisdom. 

And God is pleased when Solomon cries out for wisdom and says, “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.” (1 Kings 3:12–13, NIV). So, God gives Solomon wisdom like no one before him or after him. Solomon will be the wisest man on earth. 

Yet, how does his story end? I remember noticing this a number of years ago. I remember reading: “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (1 Kings 11:1–4, NIV). I remember thinking, “Well, that’s not very wise, is it? How does that happen to the wisest man to ever live?” Now imagine Solomon reflecting back on his life and how things went wrong, then he writes, “a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). That’s how the wise man falls—through a little folly. A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. 

Then, once a little folly gets in, things get worse. He says, “The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2, NIV). You know, this is the Republican’s favorite verse in the Bible. They get a little grin on their face every time they read it—“Look at this the wise person’s heart inclines to the RIGHT.” Yet, that’s not his point, OBVIOUSLY. His point is that the wise and foolish are heading in different directions. The wise is heading to the right and the fool to the left. You could say the wise is heading to the East and the fool to the West. You take one step down the road of foolishness, and you’re already headed in the wrong direction. A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 

Then he goes on to say, “Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are.” (Ecclesiastes 10:3, NIV). The fool takes his foolishness with him wherever he goes. When we drive on the road, he drives like a fool—and everyone knows. When he goes to work, he works like a fool—and everyone knows. When he enters a store, he shops like a fool—and everyone knows. When he opens his mouth, he speaks like a fool—and everyone knows. 

This is why the author writes, “Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness— and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming— who can tell someone else what will happen after them? The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town.” (Ecclesiastes 10:12–15, NIV). They speak like a fool, think like a fool, and work like a fool. Their foolishness follows them wherever they go—and everyone knows. You can see it from a mile away. A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 

And foolishness doesn’t end well. Stupid doesn’t work. Even though it may seem like foolishness will work for a little bit, in the long run it doesn’t work. The author writes, “Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them. If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.” (Ecclesiastes 10:8–10, NIV). You will eventually fall into the hole you’re digging. If you’re not smart while working with big rocks, you’re going to get hurt. If you’re not smart enough to sharpen your axe, you will be working for a long time. It doesn’t matter how hard you swing. I think Abraham Lincoln is credited as saying, “If you’re given six hours to cut down a tree, spend the first four sharpening your axe” (or something like that). 

Now, we all know these things, but we don’t follow them do we. We still have this tendency to think that a little foolishness isn’t going to hurt anything. I’ve created my own Proverb this week. One that comes from life experience: The fool decides to use his back rather than a jack. It even rhymes :-) 

Back when I ran my dock service, we worked with a lot of heavy equipment—steel docks and boat-lifts. We also bought a lot of equipment to help us work with these heavy objects. We had floats and jacks and wheels and cranks and ATVS and straps and winches and trucks. Yet, these things were slow. And there were many times when my brother and I would look at a boat-lift and say, “I don’t think we need the jack, right? We should be able to lift it on our own. It would probably be smarter to use a jack but it’ll be quicker to lift it.” Well, sometimes it was quicker. Sometimes it wasn’t. Either way, ten years later I’m dealing with back issues because I chose to do something I KNEW was foolish at the time. As the author says, “So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.” (Ecclesiastes 9:16, NIV). A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 

It’s important that we do not embrace a little folly. It’s important that we don’t settle for a little foolishness. Once you start going down that track, you don’t come back quickly. 

Yet, in this discussion, it’s important to recognize the epitome of foolishness—the ROOT of all folly: “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” (Psalm 14:1, NIV). This is the epitome of foolishness and the ROOT of all foolishness—the rejection of God. Ultimately, this is what Solomon found out. He began to taste of foolishness—just a little bit. He began to taste what it was like to live as if there was no God. Once he started down that track, it didn’t stop until his heart had been fully turned from God—he was no longer the wisest man that ever lived. He was a FOOL who lived as if there was no God. A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. One sinner destroys much good. 

Yet “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10, NIV). The fool lives as if there is no God. The wise FEAR God and worship Him. They refuse to taste any foolishness. They recognize that a little folly will outweigh wisdom and honor. They recognize that one sinner will destroy much good. So, they keep their eyes on the Lord and follow him, seeking to do EVERYTHING they do to bring honor and glory to Him—to live wisely in this world.  

If you want to live wisely in this world, seek Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). It says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom” (Colossians 2:3). If you want wisdom, seek Christ. If you’ve fallen into the trap of folly and foolishness, repent, and seek Christ. As a country, we need to turn from our foolish rejection of God, repent, and seek Christ. We cannot repent a little and still act a little foolishly. A little folly outweighs honor and wisdom. We need to reject foolishness completely, repent, and seek Christ. 

And when we do, we will recognize that Christ is more than just wisdom. Scripture also says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NIV). When we repent and seek Christ, we become united with him in his life, death, and resurrection. He not only becomes our wisdom from God, but he becomes our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. Through his redemption he will make all things new. He will replace our foolish wickedness with righteousness. He will replace our foolish corruption with holiness. He will redeem all the foolishness of our past and use it for our good and his glory. We simply need to repent and look to him in faith. That’s what wisdom looks like.