Make Use Of Wisdom

Good morning!

Last week we started chapter seven.

We spent a fair amount to time before studying the first six verses talking about how complex life is.

When we were children, the world appeared to be very black and white.

We didn’t see the gray areas of life.

As an adult, we know understand that much of life is complex and there aren’t simple solutions.

It is important as we read our text today that we keep that in mind.

In particular, as we talk about anger, wisdom, suffering, and prosperity, we need move beyond our childish understanding.

There is great complexity in our emotions and in how our minds work and they both affect how we experience life.

When we are dealing with our own issues or with other people, things are as simple as a + b = c.

The equation changes and there are often multiple variables in play.

Being able to look at life with this understanding doesn’t necessarily change it, but it does help us to address it in a more effective way.

I’ll be the first to admit, I like simple things.

I want to be able to look at a situation, make a quick decision and move on.

However, in order for us to love well, we need to take time to dig in and figure out all the variables so that we can do what is wise rather than what is easy.

That is our goal, after all, to love God and to love others.

Let’s jump into the text this morning and see what the Lord has for us.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–14 CSB

7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind. 8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. 9 Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools. 10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this. 11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, 12 because wisdom is protection as silver is protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. 13 Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.

Sin can spoil wisdom.

We have talked a lot about wisdom recently, but have you thought about the fact that a person can lose it?

Just because we are given information doesn’t mean we are going to make use of it.

Because of free will in combination with sin, we have the option to ignore the wisdom we are given.

That is what is being described in these first few verses.

Look with me again at these first three verses and what they are showing us about wisdom.

We make the assumption that because we gained wisdom, that it will never leave us.

The preacher is showing that this is not the case.

Ecclesiastes 7:7–9 CSB

7 Surely, the practice of extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the mind. 8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. 9 Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

We know and regularly recognize that we live in a world full of sin.

Even though we recognize sin, are we diligent in protecting ourselves from it?

When we are constantly bombarded with opportunities to choose to sin and we do nothing about it, we are setting ourselves up for failure.

If we willfully allow ourselves to live in the midst of temptation, it is not a matter if, but when will we bow to it.

In doing so, we are allowing our inner life to be brought to spiritual ruin.

God’s grace is still sufficient, but why would we subject ourselves and, by proximity, our loved ones to that kind of suffering?

In our text, the preacher is describing the effects of a wise person bowing to sin.

He specifically points to extortion and bribery because he knows that in the area of finances, we are especially vulnerable.

We are vulnerable because, as we have discussed before, it is where we find security.

We shouldn’t, but we do.

Rather than depending on our God and creator to sustain us, we seek security in what we have or what we can have.

This is sin, disguised as goodness.

We think, but I’m taking care of myself or my family.

But we aren’t, we are surrendering to false security and sense of hope.

We have already seen that our money is hevel.

We shouldn’t find security in things that won’t last.

Think about this with me.

Let’s uses fences as a way to understand this.

We have fences to either keep things in or keep things out.

The materials you use for your fence is important.

You can use metal, its strong and last a long time, but it’s expensive.

You can also use wood, but if you don’t get the treated kind, it will rot.

You decide to go with wood, but you don’t get the treated wood.

You look at the two different post and they both seem strong to you.

It’ll be fine you think.

So, you build your fence.

It’s purpose is to keep your animals in and others out.

You rest easy at night knowing that you dog will still be in the yard the next morning.

Years go by, and you can’t see it, but your post are rotting in the ground.

One day you wake up, the fence has fallen and your dog is gone.

But the wood was strong, you think, how could this have happened?

That may seem overly simplified, but isn’t that the same logic we use when finding security in our finances?

We are trusting in something that, by its nature, is fleeting.

It is precisely because we instinctively default to wealth for security that the preacher is talking about it.

The preacher is warning us that this is a weak spot for all of us and even though we may be wise, if not careful, we will give in to the temptation of gaining more wealth .

The result of which is wisdom turning to foolishness because we know it’s wrong, but we let our false sense of security override what we know is right.

The wise aren’t immune to foolishness.

He continues this thought in the second half of verse 8.

“…a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit”

Pride presumes accomplishment and in a world in which all things are temporary, it is not possible to achieve anything with permanence.

All can be lost, money and wisdom are not immune to the hevel-ness of this world.

We find ourselves in a state of foolishness when we believe that, in any area of our lives, we understand all.

If there is any area of your life in which you are unwilling to receive Godly counsel and wisdom, you are proving your foolishness, not your wisdom.

It is a better and more valuable trait to be patient.

To be patient means you are willing to wait, to see a thing through before casting judgment on it.

A lack of patience is evident when anger arises.

That anger reveals that you do not understand and giving way to anger is foolish.

Proverbs 14:29 CSB

29 A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.

When we get angry over a situation, it is often because our pride has told us that we fully know and understand all the variables.

Rather than letting God speak into and reveal His purposes, we lean on our own limited perspective resulting in incomplete information.

If are patient and wait for God’s revelation, we can bypass the heartache of frustration and enjoy the peach that comes by trusting in God.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 CSB

9 Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.

If there is an area of your life where you are experiencing a season of anger or if you automatically default to anger, there is a lack of understanding and wisdom.

It is to your benefit to give that area of your life over to God.

Ask for patience and for God to show you what He is doing.

Our responses to things that happen in our lives, reveals that nature of your heart.

Think about the last week and the difficulties that you faced.

How did you immediately respond in your spirit?

It is good for us to look at our knee jerk reactions because they are the truth about our hearts.

Do you default to bitterness, anger, envy, etc or do you default to patience, kindness, or love?

When our default response to life is sinful, we need to address it immediately.

Sometimes we see it and sometimes we are blind to it.

Last week when we talked about mentors and leaders in our lives, this is one of the reasons that they are so important.

As we confide in those people, we give them and the Holy Spirit an opportunity to call out that sin so we can let God deal with it.

We should value that feedback and be thankful that those people love us enough speak truth.

Is it not our common goal to be like Christ?

If that is our goal, then allowing God to use those people to help us see the sin in our lives and share their wisdom should be our response.

Living in the past will waste our lives.

We are going to jump back and grab the first part of vs 8.

We didn’t discuss it before and it is in the same vein as vs 10.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 CSB

8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 CSB

10 Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this.

Have you ever noticed the text in the bottom of the passengers side mirror on you car?

Hopefully you have, but do you remember what it says?

“Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.”

Any idea why that is?

The mirror on that side is slightly convex.

That means it is curved at the center.

While it is helpful, there is a reason that the warning there.

It is to make sure the driver understands, that while you can see what is behind you, your view is skewed.

This is the same warning that the teacher is giving.

Even though we think we can remember what happened in the past, our memories are not perfect.

Often what we remember is a version of what actually took place, but it is not exact.

Now this varies in degrees of correctness from person to person, but it happens none the less.

I’m gonna show you something about your brain that you may not know.

Take your finger and just place it on your nose.

Now, looking straight ahead, can you see your finger in your peripheral vision?

Yes?, ok, great.

Now take your finger down.

Looking straight ahead again, can you see your nose?

It is still there, you know that because you just touched it.

Why can we see our finger, that is touching our nose, but we can’t see our nose?

The answer is simple, your brain has decided that seeing your nose is not vital information, therefore, it ignores it.

You’ve seen a similar thing with cologne and perfume.

Have you ever noticed that when you put it on, you can smell it, but within just a few minutes it seems to be gone?

The fragrance didn’t disappear, your brain just turned off the information.

There is also evidence that the same thing happens with our hearing.

Our brain fills in the gaps of what we didn’t really hear.

We experience the world through our senses and our brain apparently ignores what it thinks is unimportant.

Now, if your brain, not by conscience choice, but on its own, filters the information that you receive, can it be trusted to perfectly remember the details of the past?

It can’t!

There are numerous legal cases that have been overruled because key eyewitnesses didn’t remember what they thought they did.

After the fact, new evidence comes out that proves that they misremembered.

Looking back on the past and trying to make today like those days is a fool's errand.

Often what we are remembering isn’t an actual representation of what we originally experienced.

There is a bigger issue here though.

Often when we are wishing for the past, it is because we don’t want to deal with the present.

Contrary to the solid science found in the Back to the Future series, we can’t go back.

It doesn’t matter how many flux compositors we have.

We live in the now.

That is how time works for us and spending our time hoping, wishing, or working to recreate something is a waste of time because it will never happen.

It is foolish and reckless to live that way.

I would also like to point out something else that if we are focused on reliving the past.

If we are stuck in the past, we are missing out on new experiences and an opportunity to gain wisdom.

Hoping for and pursuing making things like they used to be means we are ignoring what God is trying to do right now.

We are missing out on the goodness that God has for us now because we are trying to recreate a fleeting moment.

When we try to recreate the past, it is because we are convince that we were happier then.

If joy is what we are looking for, the past isn’t where we find it.

Proverbs 3:13–26 CSB

13 Happy is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding, 14 for she is more profitable than silver, and her revenue is better than gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful. 18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy. 19 The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. 20 By his knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew. 21 Maintain sound wisdom and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them. 22 They will be life for you and adornment for your neck. 23 Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant. 25 Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, 26 for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.

Wisdom is our greatest asset on earth.

Ecclesiastes 7:11–12 CSB

11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, 12 because wisdom is protection as silver is protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

That passage from Proverbs just spelled it out for you.

Wisdom is a characteristic of God and we were created in His image.

The key to enjoying our time on earth isn’t in wealth or past experiences, but in gaining wisdom as we live.

Wealth can help you in many ways, but it can only go so far.

Ultimately it is wisdom, that is provided by God, as we walk through life with Him.

Often God’s gift of wisdom comes through the people in our lives.

Usually those that have had more time on earth and experienced more than we have.

I can tell you from my own life, that I am confronted regularly with things that I need more wisdom on how to handle.

I have purposely surrounded myself with men and women in that I can seek council from and allow them to share their wisdom with me.

I often call Glen and talk with him about what is going on in my life and in the life of the church.

He has more years of experience and by allowing him to share those with me, I become a better person and pastor.

The problem we often run into is our own pride.

Just like we discussed earlier, we think we know all we need to know and therefore, don’t seek advice.

Do you remember when you were a teenager and you had to listen to your parents drone on about the decision you should be making?

Do you remember how dumb you thought they were?

What about now?

Now that you have some life under your belt, do you regret not listening to them more?

If you don’t, we may need to have a conversation about your pride. lol

God gave us the ability to gain and share wisdom.

It would be so foolish of us to not take advantage of that.

If there is an area of your life where you are experiencing hardship, seek out Godly council.

Don’t just listen, do what they are saying.

Make an application for your life and see if it doesn’t help.

Ultimately, if you are desiring to live your life with wisdom and in obedience to God you need to trust God and those He has placed in your life to help guide you.

Trust God with your life no matter the circumstance.

Ecclesiastes 7:13–14 CSB

13 Consider the work of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.

You may think vs 13 sounds familiar and that’s because it does.

We read something similar at the beginning of this study.

Ecclesiastes 1:15 CSB

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

The preacher is reminding us that there are many things in our lives that will be out of our control.

Not only are they out of our control, but there is nothing we can do about it.

We are going to experience times that are good and times that are hard, but in both, we must trust that God is working for our good.

It’s easy to be content and trust God when life is good, but we must understand that often, when life gets hard, God is in that too.

Romans 8:20–23 CSB

20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

Because of sin, the world we live in is not simple and it is not easy.

There is much suffering and all of us will have our share of it.

I’ve told you this before, but as a reminder, when things are hard you will learn more about yourself and God than you will when life is easy.

God is always working in our lives.

This passage from Romans, Paul is making it clear that we will suffer.

Even those of us with the Spirit of God in us will groan in dealing with this world.

The key is though, that we have the Spirit.

When life is hard, we can simply ask God to show us what He is doing.

Whether He tells us or not, we can trust that He is working.

Because of the love that God has poured out on us, we can have confidence that we are not alone and our suffering isn’t pointless.

By far, the wisest thing you could ever do is to trust God.

I can tell you from my own life experiences that God is faithful to sustain you through those hard times.

Even the hard times are hevel.

God will not only sustain you but if you allow it, He will grow you into a man or woman that is more like Himself.

When life gets nuts, go before the Lord.

Talk to Him, ask not only about the end but ask Him about what He wants to teach you in the process.