“Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 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 heart of fools. Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this” (Ecclesiastes 7:7-10).
Life can teach us much if we are prepared
to learn. Life is transitory and filled with adversity. The transitory nature
of life should not cause us to fail to exercise prudence in learning the best
way to live life.
The author of Ecclesiastes, referred to as
the Preacher, offers wise counsel for life, especially in the face of
adversity. We should be impressed with the abiding relevance and timeliness of
divine wisdom in our own time with its challenges. The experience of adversity
and oppression can sometimes cause us to act foolishly. Much better if we learn
from it.
One of the inherent dangers in adversity
is the temptation to compromise one’s integrity. “Surely oppression drives the
wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart” (v. 7). How tragic when one
who is otherwise prudent allows his judgment to become so distorted! Extreme
circumstances may cause us to act out of despair or carelessness. The result is
to make a fool of oneself.
Adversity calls for patience, but in such
times our pride often gets in the way. “Better is the end of a thing than its
beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (v.
8). The reproof of the wise is at first hurtful, but in the end proves
beneficial—“better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man” (v. 5). It is also
true that patience is needed, especially in tough times. Rather than giving up
or compromising our integrity at the first sign of trouble, it is better to
follow through to the conclusion of the matter.
Impatience often leads to uncontrolled
anger. “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the
heart of fools” (v. 9). Bitterness and resentment too often come when we do not
deal with the adverse circumstances of life with wisdom and patience.
Our impatience with our present circumstances
sometimes causes us to glorify the past. Rather than living in the reality of
the present and facing its challenges with wisdom, patience, and courage, we
too often resort to an unrealistic sort of nostalgia. We long for “the good old
days,” convinced that they were better. One problem with this kind of thinking
is that it weakens our resolve to deal with today’s problems realistically and
soberly. It is also mistaken because it is, in reality, an illusion. It usually
overlooks the fact that every age has its own share of evils—injustice,
immorality, oppression, and adversity.
Of course, in Ecclesiastes, the Preacher
has already warned about this fallacy. He has declared that one age is very
much like another. “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is
what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9).
In every age, such circumstances tend to
deceive people to think how unfair and cruel life is, and as a result, to
compromise their commitment to principles of truth and righteousness that never
change. And this unrealistic thinking, the Preacher says, is “not from wisdom.”
Dan Petty
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