12 ¶ And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and
madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even
that which hath been already done. 13
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes are in
his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that
one event happeneth to them all. 15 Then
said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me;
and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is
vanity. 16 For there is no remembrance
of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the
days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Solomon turned wisdom and foolishness, being wise or being
mad, over in his head and as he thought about those things he realized that no
one who would come after him would do any better than he did. He had everything
a man could possibly want and yet he still felt it did not answer the questions
that plagued his soul.
He understood that wisdom was better than the foolishness he
pursued by far. The common Christian has answers that Solomon did not. Paul
told us;
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or
vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. 4 Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Solomon’s introspection, his focus on the pursuit of the
questions to his answers, was not satisfying. Although wisdom is certainly
better than the folly of wine and excess and sin, for the Christian,
satisfaction must come in the pursuit of the needs of others, and in their
benefit. None of us will ever be truly happy if we seek our own wisdom only.
For Christ is our wisdom.
1Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God…30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God
is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
The answers to our soul’s hunger for satisfaction must come
in the service of others for Christ. We will never be happy serving ourselves
only. Seeking knowledge and wisdom by itself alone will never produce the
feeling of fulfillment that man and woman desires. The monk in the monastery,
the everyday Christian huddled over his Bible or in prayer, cannot hope to know
the contentment and peace that comes from acts of service in Christ’s name.
Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water
to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he
shall not lose his reward.
We need to commune with and have fellowship with our Lord
through His word and prayer. But, at some point we must leave our Jerusalem and
encounter a lost world for Him. We must engage our mission field or we will
never find satisfaction as a Christian.
Our mission field is our family, our coworkers, our
neighbors, all first, and then strangers we meet randomly. It is the difficult
relative who is skeptical about your beliefs. It is the coworker whose wife
left him, the neighbor who has lost a child, and the stranger with the worried
look on his face at the gas pump. A good, Christian mother is the classic
example of this as she serves her children and their children, perhaps, her
entire life, selflessly, putting her own comfort and health aside to move them
forward, always talking about her love for Christ. The man in the church family
who quietly goes about helping others and making himself available for the
assistance they need but cannot obtain on their own is another example. These
are only two and there are many others.
A pursuit of knowledge and wisdom and understanding by
itself is no knowledge, wisdom, or understanding at all if they are not bound
up in mercy and the ministry of reconciliation with Almighty God. Trust me, I
am the classic bad example of the person who has used knowledge as a shield,
wisdom as a cloak, and understanding as a panic room to protect myself from
confrontation and facing my own personal failings.
Solomon could see that, initially, he was better off being
wise than being a fool. But, in the end, both the wise and the foolish wind up
in the same grave. One is no better off than the other. If you have been a wise
person your whole life, prudent, careful in the things you do and cautious in
the things you allow, always using your head in every situation and being
disciplined in every way, you will still wind up dying like any fool who burnt
out their body in wine, food, and excess. In a relatively short period of time
you will not be remembered any more than the fool who you think is living
stupidly.
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