things that people say

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

FORGIVE AND FORGET

January 2016 (27)Ecclesiastes 7:19-22

19 Wisdom makes the wise man more effective than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Because there is not a righteous man in the land who does good and never sins. 21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, otherwise you might overhear your servant cursing you. 22 Because your heart remembers that many times you have yourself cursed others.

things that people say

One of the keys to healthy and productive relationships is revealed here. It fits both the work environment and marriage and the family as well. Sometimes people say the wrong thing, and reveal the wrong attitude. You have a choice of dwelling on what they say, or mentally stepping back and trying to get a handle on why they really said it. The more you live in the anger and injustice of what they said, the more destructive it will be for the relationship.

Solomon’s advice is very hard to follow – especially when you feel abused and harmed by someone’s words or attitude. But the wise person chooses not to take those harmful words to heart. Forgive, because we all do stupid things. Remember the last time you said or did something stupid?

LORD, help us to develop the skill of letting hurtful words go. Show us how to forgive and forget.

Posted in criticism, forgiveness, Solomon, wisdom | Tagged | Leave a comment

obsession

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

TOP DOG IS STILL A DOG

January 2016 (26)Ecclesiastes 7:16-18

16 Do not be obsessed with proving yourself more virtuous than anyone else, and do not strive to prove yourself wiser than everyone else. Why should you destroy yourself like that? 17 Do not be obsessed with becoming excessively wicked, and do not be stupid. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is better that you should take hold of the first warning, and not ignore the second, because the one who fears God will benefit from following both of them.

obsession

Solomon’s life was a case study in the ills of obsession, so this serves as a confession and warning not to follow in his footsteps. He tried to be the best at everything, and have the best of everything. Other leaders have tried to be the most evil, and to destroy the most. Solomon lashes out against both forms of obsession. He is not arguing against purity and sanctification. He is arguing against being driven to prove yourself greater than others. True wisdom causes us to find our value in our relationship with God, not in comparison with our neighbour.

LORD, give us the wisdom to seek your kingdom instead of seeking to build our own.

Posted in balance, contentment, pride, Solomon | Tagged | Leave a comment

cockeyed karma

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHAT GOES AROUND…

January 2016 (25)Ecclesiastes 7:13-15

13 Watch what God is doing, because who can make straight what he has bent? 14 In those times when you are flourishing — be joyful, but in those times when you face misfortune think about this: God has made one as well as the other, with the result that no one can know for sure what the future holds. 15 During the days of my impermanent life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a virtuous man dies prematurely in spite of his virtue, and sometimes an evil man lives long in spite of the evil things he does.

cockeyed karma

Sometimes when you read the wisdom literature – particularly Proverbs – you get the idea that karma is happening, because there are so many admonitions to do the right thing, with assurances that God will bless you for the choice. But the collector comes on the scene (along with Job) and tells the other side of the story. Karma does not always work. Sometimes God sends you a curve ball, and you get what someone else deserves. Living right does not come with guarantees. The LORD wants children who obey him because they respect and love him, not for the rewards.

LORD, give us the wisdom to do what is right, even when we get no reward.

Posted in commitment, integrity, Solomon | Tagged | Leave a comment

life preserver

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHAT’S THAT IN YOUR LAP?

January 2016 (24)Ecclesiastes 7:9-12

9 Do not allow yourself to be angered quickly, because anger stays in the lap of stupid people. 10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” because it is not wise to ask that. 11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who recognize the light of day. 12 Because wisdom can provide protection, just as money can provide protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of the person who possesses it.

life preserver

Wisdom – particularly the kind of wisdom that avoids the angry grudge – is described as a life preserver. But those who spout out angry criticisms when something happens they don’t like – they are described as carrying the anger with them on their lap. In modern parlance, they have a chip on their shoulder. It does not change their situation, but it surely changes them, making them hard to live with, and inclining others to avoid them.

LORD, preserve our lives by keeping us from angry grudges.

Posted in anger, criticism, self-control, wisdom | Tagged | 1 Comment

patience in spirit

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHAT IS YOUR LISTENING PREFERENCE?

 

January 2016 (23)Ecclesiastes 7:5-8

5 It is better for a man to hear the criticism of a wise person than to hear the party song of stupid people. 6 Because like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, that is the laughter of the stupid people; this also shows how impermanent life is. 7 Because corruption can drive the wise mad, and a bribe can destroy his heart. 8 The end of a thing is more significant than its beginning, and to be patient in spirit is more helpful than to be proud in spirit.

patience in spirit

Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and patience in spirit is a discipline of maturity and wisdom. It is the ability to do what is right, not just what feels right at the moment. A person with patience in spirit will not allow herself to be lured in by the party crowd. She would rather hear the criticism of a more mature person, because she can grow from that. She is humble enough to see beyond the temporary fame and pleasure and views the end of the road that starts with corruption and bribery.

LORD, grant us patience in spirit, no matter what it costs us to gain it.

Posted in discernment, humility, maturity, patience, pride, wisdom | Tagged | Leave a comment

frat house and funeral home

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

WHERE ARE THINGS MORE REAL?

January 2016 (22)Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

1 Having a good name is more significant than owning valuable ointment, and the day you die is more significant than the day you are born. 2 It is more significant to go to the house where people are mourning than to go to the house where people are feasting, because this is the end of all humanity, so the living should bear this in mind. 3 Sorrow is more significant than laughter, because sadness of face shows something significant in the heart. 4 The heart of the wise looks for the house where people are mourning, but the heart of fools looks for the house where people are partying.

frat house and funeral home

Solomon looked for wisdom wherever he could find it. He found it more often at a funeral home than at a frat house. He discovered that laughter tended to be an escape from reality, but mourning brought people back to the essentials. After discerning that life is temporary, he found that those suffering the loss of a loved one are the most in touch with the way things really are.

LORD, even in our times of laughter, may we always be mindful of and appreciate the lessons we learn in mourning.

Posted in discernment, Solomon, sorrow, wisdom | Tagged | Leave a comment

shadow life

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

ME AND MY…

January 2016 (21)Ecclesiastes 6:10-12

10 Whatever has come to be was already decided, and it is known what a man will be, and that he is not able to argue that point with the one stronger than he is. 11 The more words he uses, the more empty they are, so how does that benefit a man? 12 Because who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his temporary life, which he passes like a shadow? Because who under the sun can tell man what will happen after him?

shadow life

The shadow analogy as a description for life is very insightful. First, it speaks to the brevity of our lives. They are temporary. They come and go with the sun we are all under. Secondly, the shadow analogy is appropriate because a shadow does not have an existence independent of the sun. We can argue free will all we want, but each of us will eventually succumb to the decisions made by our sovereign God. Bank on it.

LORD, my life is a shadow. Make it a good shadow.

Posted in dependence upon God, discernment, time | Tagged | Leave a comment

the wandering appetite

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

HUNGRY?

January 2016 (20)Ecclesiastes 6:7-9

7 Anything a man works for gets eaten, yet his appetite remains unsatisfied. 8 Because what advantage does the wise man have over the stupid one? And what does the poor man get for knowing how to conduct himself before others? 9 Better is what you can now see over the target of the wandering appetite. This reality also shows life’s impermanence. It is like striving after wind.

the wandering appetite

Greed, lust and gluttony occur when our natural appetites are allowed to wander into extremes. Wisdom looks at the forbidden targets and trains the body to walk away – to focus on enjoying what you can now see over against the empty promise of what greed, lust and gluttony wants. Wisdom reminds me that today’s pay check is a gift, my beautiful wife is a gift, my daily bread is a gift. Wisdom does not teach me to remain unsatisfied. It teaches me to find satisfaction in the right gifts.

LORD, steer my appetite, so that it never wanders from the gifts you have given me.

Posted in blessings, dependence upon God, wisdom | Tagged | Leave a comment

that one place

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

STOP RACING RATS!

January 2016 (19)Ecclesiastes 6:3-6

3 If a man has a hundred children and lives many years, so that the years of his age are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s enjoyable things, nor is he properly buried, I conclude that a stillborn child would be better off than he. 4 Because it comes into this temporary world and goes out in darkness, and its name is covered by darkness. 5 Furthermore, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest sooner than he does. 6 –even if he could have lived a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no enjoyable thing. Does not everyone go to that one place?

that one place

The one place where everyone goes is Sheol – Hades – the grave. It does not matter how long you live, or how much you do, or who you leave behind. It is an appointment we all will keep. A person who accomplishes much but never considers that reality is a worse failure that a stillborn infant. The world is full of such people today. They are deeply engaged in the rat race, never stopping to think of that one place. Solomon had the wisdom to re-evaluate his life, and he urges us all to do so.

LORD, show us how to stop the race long enough to focus on your gospel.

Posted in ambition, discernment, relationship with God, Solomon | Tagged | Leave a comment

no victory party

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

COME, LORD JESUS!

January 2016 (18)Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

1 There is something wrong that I have noticed under the sun, and it is such a burden to humanity: 2 God gives a man wealth, property, and the respect of others, so much that he does not lack a thing that he wants, but God does not enable that man to enjoy the gifts, but a stranger ends up enjoying them. This shows how impermanent life is; it is a terrible wrong.

no victory party

Imagine a contest in which both teams continue to train and compete, but the competitions never complete so that no one is ever declared the winner. As such, there is never a victory party. Solomon said that life is like that. A person might strive for progress, success and satisfaction, but too often he is dead long before anyone ever realizes how successful he was. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.

Because of Christ, we now know that no life is ever wasted. There will be an eternal victory party when our Lord returns. We need not fear the impermanence that Solomon saw as a terrible wrong. Because that impermanence is actually temporary.

Thank you, LORD, for the promise of eternal joy.

Posted in eternal life, future, second coming, Solomon | Tagged | Leave a comment