Ecclesiastes: Chapter 7: 1-12

Chapter 7: 1-12: The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly:

The Green Dragon | The Shire, Matamata, New Zealand

Solomon wants us to remember that he has done everything to the absolute fullest throughout these verses, context is king. He attained all pleasures, riches, possessions, desires, and everything we pursue today, and did it well beyond anything we will ever be able to accomplish. We can attempt to make ourselves more desirable by being fit, driving a nice car, wear nice clothing, have a huge mansion - however, if we don't live in a way that loves others and honors God, it is all pointless - but in the end, regardless of what the external body presents, people value character. I long to have depth! I don't want to be known only for external attributes. Something that we all share is that our external body will perish one day. Death is the ultimate re-birth of us because we are entering into glory and our full potential will breakthrough because we will be perfect in Him. Death is to be celebrated! (This does not mean we shouldn't mourn or cry for those we love who have passed, that is right and good, but in the end, they have escaped from the bondage of earth.) This is the Christian truth in death. Witnessing a funeral is better for us than the best party we could rage on at because we have a reminder to analyze where we are in our own life. Funerals are better for us than New Year's Eve at 11:59 pm. Why? Because parties only reveal surface-level things and never delve deep into our hearts. Death reveals to us the issues that we have in our own life, we can dive deep into our hearts and souls and seek help from the master surgeon (God). Those who are wise will seek their pastor, elders, family, brothers, and sisters in Christ during mourning. The fools will drown their sorrows with sex, alcohol, drugs, activities, trinkets or toys, etc. Numbing our pain is a foolish choice, we must diagnose and treat the sin and brokenness within us. We should surround ourselves with those who truly care for who we are on the inside, not what we show on the outside. It is better for us to have someone who will tell us when we have done something wrong, not a yes-man. The confrontation of sin is one of the greatest gifts from a loving friend. The wisest of people will surround themselves with people who will see evil, sin, or wrong acts and call them out. The fool will surround themselves with other fools who only sing praises to one another, regardless of what they do. The fool will be drowning in the middle of a sea of sin and won't admit that anything is wrong. They will remain positive throughout the ordeal and it will kill them in the end. The wise man screams in agony and says: "I'm drowning! Save me! I need help!" We cannot save ourselves. We do this every day that we live in secret sin and disregard it as something we can handle without admitting it to anyone. We must admit that we are sinners and show God's redemption through our sin. Only He can make straight the path of the wicked. We cannot just learn the language and go through the motions while we are drowning in the middle of the sea. It is okay for us to struggle, it is okay for us to admit we need help, it is okay that we fall short, everyone does! We cannot allow our pride to destroy our lives and let us die in vain. Take the time to analyze your heart and see the wickedness within yourself. I know, as I analyze my own heart, that I am a very wicked, twisted, perverted man who struggles (and has struggled) with many different issues. From pornography to debauchery, lust to hate, dishonesty, and pride. My heart is far from God, but I long to be fully cleansed. It took me until the age of 24 to finally have my pride broken and seek counseling for many issues including being a pathological liar, who was lost in a world of self-seeking pleasure. It took extreme circumstances for God to break me down and show me how lost I was and how I had hurt others through it. However, God knew what it would take to bring me to my knees sobbing, and then restore me in Him. He lifted my head from the tear-stained dirt and He shattered the walls I had placed around me. The pain comes when we are honest and open with those we love and cherish, but, the beauty of the Gospel is that you are free from the bondage of surface-level relationships. We can be free to love others regardless of where they are in life. Life isn't about earning our salvation, we can put behind us the shallowness of our world and seek more than just sex with physical beings but begin to love souls. The power of loving someone's soul is far greater than any love that can come from loving a physical body. It isn't real, it is a fake-love that will never satisfy. The body will wither and die, our souls will live forever. We should long to make love to our spouse's soul and seek satisfaction from bringing one another joy through the splendor of God's ever-giving grace. This is beautiful. This is true love-making. This is God's plan for marriage: Enjoy one another through a life of stirring one another's affections for Christ and experiencing His creation while cultivating relationships. He wants us to experience the fullness of His creation and seek the joy that can only be found in Him. He is our prize. We must place our focus on the end goal. 

"Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." - C.S. Lewis                                   

If we present ourselves in a humble and honest way, we will build a respectful name for ourselves (generally speaking, of course) within our community. This is a part of how we are being called to live in order to spread the word of the Gospel as Christians. 

Dear Lord, I pray that you will place on my heart the conviction of my current sins and engage me in a war against them. Put in me the freedom to share my sins freely so that they may be seen and not kept secret. Allow me the power to release the bondage of sin that is on my heart and cling to you. Amen. 

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