Been There. Done That. Now What?
03/26/2006 - Wisdom Reloaded
In his book Living on the Ragged Edge, Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a friend of his who called him up one day and in a deep, husky voice said, "Hello, Charlie. I called to tell you that I've come back home." Swindoll hadn't heard from his friend in years and dumbfounded all he could say was, "Where in the world have you been?" And for the next hour the tears flowed as his friend unveiled an account of his fifteen year downward spiral.
Chuck and his wife, Cynthia, had met the man during their early days in seminary. He was a high school student at the time, a bright, teachable, humble guy with an appetite for spiritual truth that seemed insatiable. They both agreed that they had never met anyone with more promise or greater potential.
By the time he graduated high school he was convinced that he wanted to go to seminary and serve the Lord full time one day. And since he was gifted in languages, he chose to do his undergraduate studies abroad. And that's when things began to unravel.
The isolation he felt being far from home and the lack of community with other believers eventually took its toll. Disconnected from a church his spiritual fervor started to cool. His simple faith and his humble spirit began to erode.
He married a young woman from another culture with interests much different than his own. And when he came back to the United States to enter his first year of seminary his marriage began to suffer. He was bored and disinterested in his studies and resented the amount of time he was required to spend pouring over the basic truths of Scripture. Yet even so, he breezed through the language courses and had no trouble grasping the finer points of theology. But his attitude continued to sour. He felt the faculty was far too rigid and narrow in their thinking.
And so a little over halfway through he dropped out of seminary, angry and disillusioned. He became all the more cynical and pursued a lifestyle that was out to prove to others that he was truly "free." And that caused his marriage to suffer even more.
Eventually, he grew to despise his spiritual roots and went to Europe to work on his doctorate, studying under one of the most renowned scholars in the field of archaeology. He learned a new language and became conversant in it. Years passed. He drank heavily. His marriage ended in divorce, but he earned his degree and immersed himself in research and teaching doing all the things he thought he wanted.
But he was empty … horribly, desperately, tragically empty. Sitting alone in a dark apartment halfway around the world was a brilliant man in his thirties, holding some of the most enviable academic credentials, seriously considering suicide. Swindoll writes, "I don't know anyone who better epitomizes Solomon in the midst of his miserable journey. My long lost friend could have posed for the portrait Solomon paints in his journal."
During the telephone conversation his friend verbally walked Swindoll through his long journey back, often pausing as he struggled to describe the emptiness and the futility that he felt.
At one point he said, "You remember telling me that I wouldn't find God in a seminary?"
"Yes, I remember."
"Well, you were right. There's nothing to be found simply in the academic truths of theology. If your heart isn't right, theology won't help."
"That's exactly what I was getting at," Swindoll said.
His friend added, "Well, I've got another statement you can pass along - you won't find wisdom in the halls of intellectualism either!"
After all he had been through, after a decade and a half of running, fighting, struggling, wrestling, arguing, and absorbing everything that "under the sun" living had to offer, the man finally returned to his senses. He was coming back home. Been There. Done That. Now what?
Today we reach the halfway point in Solomon's journal and as we turn the corner we find a man who is coming back home. He's emerging from his mid-life crisis and rediscovering the importance of wisdom once again.
This morning we continue our series called Been There. Done That. Now What? with a teaching I've called "Wisdom Reloaded." Because after discovering that pleasures are meaningless and work is meaningless and promotions are meaningless and riches are meaningless King Solomon comes back to wisdom living. If you have a Bible meet me at Ecclesiastes 7 and let's look at the first half of this chapter today that's simply called "Wisdom."
Solomon's name is synonymous with wisdom. What patience was to Job, wisdom was to Solomon. During his lifetime he wrote 3,000 proverbs. Yet in the first six chapters of his journal wisdom takes a back seat as Solomon's passions grab the wheel and put the pedal to the metal. But now, in chapter seven, he's coming back to his senses. In fact, during the last half of this journal he'll use the terms "wise" and "wisdom" about thirty-five times. He's coming home. He still has a ways to go, but his pilgrimage is taking a turn in the right direction.
From a literary standpoint you'll notice a stylistic change in Solomon's writing. Up until now his journal has read like a narrative, but now he shifts to a proverbial style rattling off brief, crisp, sound bites of insight on how to handle life.
Often proverbs in Scripture come in the form of couplets, two statements put together. And sometimes the couplet makes a contrast using the word "but" like Proverbs 15:1, A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Sometimes the couplet completes a thought and is connected with a word like "and" or "so" such as in Proverbs 15:30, A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
And sometimes the couplet makes a comparison and the two statements are joined by the terms better/than as in Proverbs 15:17, Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened calf with hatred.
And that's the form of couplet that Solomon chooses in Ecclesiastes 7 as wisdom returns in a series of comparative proverbs where the King records seven specific things that are better than their counterparts. Let's unpack them and discover how and why Solomon began to find his way back home.
Look at Ecclesiastes 7:1 , A good name is better than fine perfume.
In that culture it was common for people to cover themselves with perfumes or ointments. They didn't take a shower or bathe everyday like we do, instead they tackled body odor with a splash of Polo or a spray of Giorgio Armani. And they did it for the same reason that we do, to make a good impression, to come off well.
But Solomon says it's better to have a good reputation than to make a good impression. Behind a good name is a good character. And a good character means that you can be trusted. When you say you're going to do something, you do it. When you make a promise, you keep it. When you get a bill, you pay it. Your word is your bond. Someone has said, "Character is who you are when no one else is looking."
But the emphasis of the culture we live in is not on character, but on cosmetic surgery and beauty and image and what we look like on the outside. And there's nothing wrong with taking care of our physical appearance. I'm not saying that. But ultimately the most important part about us is not what we look like on the outside, but what we're made of on the inside which is why God says in 1 Samuel 16:7, The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Solomon's return to wisdom starts with a character check. Now look at verses 1-4 , and the day of death better than the day of birth.2It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every one;the living should take this to heart. 3Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. 4The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Where you are at the end of the race is more important than where you are at the beginning. The day of death is better than the day of birth. In other words, it's better to come to the end of your life with a good reputation, a good name, than to enter life with great celebration, but not to finish well.
When I was a distance swimmer in college my strategy was to negative split my races. That means I swam the second half of the race faster than the first half of the race. That's a technique that's often used in distance running as well. Those who set world records in the mile, for instance, often negative split the race and run the second half faster than the first. They're picking up speed when they cross the finish line. I knew that if I was even with my competition or even behind halfway through the race, sometimes by as much as a length, I was still going to win.
And that's how I often think about life. I want to negative split the race of life and finish strong for Jesus Christ. I want the second half of my life to find me more committed to Jesus than the first half of my life. I want to be picking up speed when I die. I don't want to get any younger, I don't wish I was in my teens or twenties or thirties or even forties anymore. I don't mind birthdays. I'm closer to the finish line today than I've ever been in my life and I want to finish well. When I was swimming a mile, 66 lengths of the pool, and I was pushing through the pain on lap 51 I didn't want to go back to lap number 20 or 30 or 40. All I could think about was getting to the wall at the end of the race.
I want that good name which is why we all need to go to funerals. We all need to think about the legacy we want to leave behind. This week I was talking to a man who attended the funeral of friend who died in a tragic head on collision. There were 1,500 people at the funeral and he said it was an amazing experience as this man, a committed believer, was eulogized by his children and his friends in a room that was packed. He had a good name and the day of his death was better than the day of his birth. And those experiences can prompt us to reflect on what it is that people are going to say about us. What's the legacy that you're going to leave behind?
One of the most significant homework assignments I ever had in seminary was to write my own obituary column, to think through what it is that I want people to say about me at my funeral.
You see Solomon knew what it was to party. He did it all. Every night he sat down to dinner with hundred's of people who were feasting and drinking and joking and laughing, but that's not where we gain perspective on life. More life lessons are learned in a funeral parlor than in a banquet hall.
That's what 9/11 did for people, at least for awhile. It got a whole nation thinking about what's really important in life, things like our families, our friends, our homes, our God. What are you living for? What's the target on the wall for your life? What's the legacy you want to leave behind?
Solomon tore the target off the wall during his mid-life crisis. But now he's coming out of his funk and he puts the target back up again. He wants to have that good name as his legacy.
If we're going to be men and women of character, if we're going to finish the race with a good name, then sometimes we need to hear some hard truth from those who have the courage to confront us which is why Solomon says in verse 5, It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise personthan to listen to the song of fools. 6Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
It's better to be warned and corrected by a friend who knows us and loves us and cares about us than to receive accolades and flattery from the crowd. Praise from the lips of fools, Solomon says, is like a thorny branch thrown on a fire. It makes a lot of noise, but it generates no heat.
Unfortunately, not all of us have those kinds of friends. We haven't taken the time or the risks to cultivate that depth of community. And so, like Solomon, we can drift for years because we haven't given anybody permission to speak into our lives, to wipe the ketchup off our face. If they tried we'd fly off the handle or get all kinds of defensive.
But that doesn't stop God from pursuing us. The rebuke that we need can come from other sources as well. It can come from a spouse in a marriage or a parent at home or a boss at work or a teacher at school or a coach on the field or a judge in court or a counselor in an office or from the Holy Spirit simply taking the Word of God and driving it into our heart. God will get us the truth. The question is what will we do with it? We'll never finish life with a good name unless our hearts are open and soft and teachable to the rebuke of the wise. But as long as we're defending ourselves and comparing ourselves and rationalizing our behavior we'll get no where. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Look at his next proverb in verse 7, Extortion turns the wise into fools, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Solomon has already warned us about the dangers and limitations of money. And here he adds another one. The mishandling of money can rob us of our good name. Just watch the news any given evening and you'll see plenty of examples of this. But men and women of character can't be bought. They pay their bills, they pay their taxes, and they give money away generously to keep themselves free from the grip of greed.
Verse 8 says, The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. 9Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. 10Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
Once again, it's not how well we start, but how well we finish that matters the most. And to finish well we need patience. Patience is better than pride. Patience with people. Patience with God. Patience with circumstances. Patience with life.
This week I received an email from someone who was commenting on last Sunday's teaching and in a portion of it they wrote, "There are certain weeks when your teaching, meant for everyone, seems specifically directed at me. That never seemed to fit more than it did this morning. This past Friday after five and a half excruciating weeks of waiting, I was notified that I did not get the job we had discussed. My unemployment, which has reached almost five months, continues. As the frustration grows, I get more and more discouraged, and my confidence, which is usually unwavering, continues to weaken. That changed today when I heard the Lord speak through you. While my knuckles are as white as they can be, I was reminded this morning that I am not alone!"
Patience and waiting are so hard. But they are so necessary to living life wisely and well. Be careful, he says in verse 10, not to live in the past. Stay in the moment. God has something for us right now. Besides the good old days were not always as good as we remember. But even if they were, they're still gone and we can't go back and relive them. The danger is that if we live in the past we'll miss out on what God has for us in the present.
Someone has said, "Beware of the kind of nostalgia that continually says, 'If only …' and 'What if …' Memories that please are delightful, but memories that plague are destructive. And it's essential to know the difference."
Finally, he sums up this section with two benefits of wisdom. Look at verse 11, Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thingand benefits those who see the sun. 12Wisdom is a shelteras money is a shelter,but the advantage of knowledge is this:that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.13Consider what God has done:Who can straighten what he has made crooked? 14When times are good, be happy;but when times are bad, consider:God has made the oneas well as the other. Therefore, you cannot discover anything about your future.
Can you see that Solomon is emerging out of his funk and starting to think clearly again? Wisdom he says is a good thing. It can protect our lives and keep us from going down all the dead end streets that he explored. Wisdom adds quality to our lives. That's the first benefit.
The second benefit is that wisdom brings God into the picture, a God who loves us enough to allow good times and bad times to come into our lives. And we can't always figure it out. Who can straighten what he has made crooked? God alone knows the perfect mix of blessings and burdens that we need in our lives. We don't what the future holds. But we know who holds the future and we can trust him.
In his book The Problem of Pain C. S. Lewis described this same idea this way, "We want … not so much a Father in heaven as a grandfather in heaven … whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of the each day, 'a good time was had by all' …. I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines. But since it is abundantly clear that I don't, and since I have reason to believe, nevertheless, that God is love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction."
"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word 'love,' and look on things as if people were the center of them. People are not the center. God does not exist for the sake of people. People do not exist for their own sake … We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us."
When times are good, be happy;but when times are bad, consider:God has made the oneas well as the other.
There's hope for Solomon. And there's hope for all of us who have torn the target off the wall. Wisdom can be reloaded and once again begin to guide our lives. Let's take a page out of Solomon's journal today and pursue a good name, be humble and teachable and open to rebuke, and patient with how God is working in our lives.