
Image courtesy qimono via www.pixabay.com
When we become unsettled because we had clarity (or so we thought) and then we find our intellect at war with our emotions, what do we do? When we begin to question life and our purpose in it and wonder, “What’s the point”, what do we do? When we begin asking questions and we experience the unintended consequences of those questions spawning even more questions, how do we find our way out of that hot mess? Should we just give up and concede our life and dreams as liquidated damages? Is there a solution?
1 A good name is better than precious ointment…
-Ecclesiastes 7:1 (NKJV)
2 Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting…
-Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NKJV)
3 Sorrow is better than laughter…
-Ecclesiastes 7:3 (NKJV)
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools…
-Ecclesiastes 7:5 (NKJV)
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit…
-Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NKJV)
The ellipses (…) at the end of each of the above quotes is my doing. Even if the quote was a full sentence I’m indicating it’s part of a greater quote. Leaving out the full quote will change the context. The rest of the missing quote will give clues as to why the partial quote is true. I just wanted to focus our attention on the idea of something being better than something else. Please read the entire chapter for full and proper context.



Cadet Blue (a dark blue mixed with gray) is the greatest color invented! Anyone who disagrees is obviously silly. This blue with these specific formulas: R: 24.8, G: 31.8, B: 43.5/ H: 217.5, S: 43, V: 43.5/ Html: 3f516f is the most sublime thing you’ll ever see. It’s visual nirvana! Pristine white, specifically Baker Box White which blinded me after painting the bathroom-true story (ish), is visual perfection. Charcoal Gray is the third most amazing color created! There can be no dispute to these facts!
“I’m sorry…what do your subjective color preferences have to do with anything?!”
One way to start untangling the mess of yarn which happens when we become disoriented and our intellect is at war with our emotional nature is to realize there are things which are objectively better than other things. A clear sense of ourselves (subjectively) helps us keep our life in order, until…it’s threatened or upended. Once that happens the only way to resolve this impossible dilemma is to have an objective source outside of our subjective selves which tells us how we fit in and reveals our purpose, value, etc.
This logical consideration (verses 1-14) is all fine and good until…
Our emotional nature kicks in and begins listing all the exceptions to the rules in order to unsettle whatever resolutions we had just made (verses 15-28). But what about…(insert exception here)?
And here comes one of the biggest questions we all have. Unfortunately, for many this is a dealbreaker for their faith:
15 I have seen everything in my days of vanity: there is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
-Ecclesiastes 7:15 (NKJV)
There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness,
-Ecclesiastes 7:15 (NKJV)
And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.
IF: God THEN: why evil/ bad things happen to “good” people, etc.?
This question is much bigger than I can address here. It will be considered in depth when we get to our study of the book of Job. The book of Job is designed around that question in particular. In the meantime, here are some things to consider:
Part 1: the “good” suffer misfortune, injustice and the like…
- What if…someone dying “early” guarantees their eternity with God. What if a longer life would have led to them rejecting the faith and missing God’s grace? Only God knows…
- What if…”hardship” is instead a desirable difficulty (like weight training) to prepare the individual for something great in the future? i.e. Joseph being unjustly treated by his brothers and Potiphar…read what he tells his brothers later; David spending years on the run from Saul in the wilderness; take your pick of biblical heroes. Hardship is part of the classical “heroes journey” which is why everyone admires it but so few are willing to submit to and endure it-it’s a form of romanticism…
- What if…the “early” death of a “righteous” man will inspire others to turn to God? I wonder what impact Stephen’s death may have had on Saul as he held the coats…for goodness’ sake-Jesus’ example. He died at 33 (ish) and look at the impact that’s had…
- What if…God simply decides for (insert God’s own reasons here) it’s time for that person to die? Why are you overly concerned about it (not to be callous or uncaring)…what is your personal stake in this matter that you choose not to accept it? You do understand your time is now one day closer than it was yesterday-right? Perhaps we should spend less time worried about what’s happening in the world (yes, it is important) and more time making sure our “house” is in order for when (not “if”) our time comes…
- I’m sure there are other reasons (too many to list here). When you think of them, give them some honest thought.
Part 2: the “wicked” live long and prosper…
- Psalm 98:3, Isaiah 45:22, 1 Timothy 2:4: all allude to God’s desire for everyone to be in a right relationship with Him. Everyone without exception traces back through Adam (the son of God). God does not want any of his children to be lost.
- What if…God gives a long life to a “wicked” person to maximize the time they have to repent? What if this will be a topic of discussion on Judgment Day? “You thought you didn’t need me.” “Remember that time (insert blessing here that changed the course of their financial future for the better) and look how long I protected you to give you time to turn to me.” “Why didn’t you?” What will they say? This dynamic is loosely alluded to in Ezekiel 36: 31-38 where God says he will bless Israel after they come back from exile so that they will look back on their sinful behavior and be ashamed because of his grace/ generosity.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 makes reference to God intentionally moving against those who do not love the Truth and hardening them in that position for the purpose of their destruction. What if…the individual is so corrupt they’re irredeemable. Being affluent or “blessed” they’ll have no reason (in their mind) to acknowledge a need for change. As such their fate will be sealed. What if this is God’s desire for this person so he can maximize his wrath against them on Judgment Day when he avenges Himself (avenge-to repay injury for injury)?
- What if the masses, seeing someone who is wealthy and living in a completely corrupt manner inspires them to make changes to propagate justice in that society or to be courageous and live a righteous example and call others to do the same because of the evil they witness?
- Again, there are too many to list. When you think of them, give them some honest thought.
25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks.
-Psalm 18:25-26 (NKJV)
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
-Matthew 12:34 (NKJV)
15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
-Titus 1:15 (NKJV)
Too often when someone has a complaint against God, it’s really just a projection of something they have happening internally. One of the most popular iterations of this today is “racism”. Everyone and everything is “racist”. This is a little more of a conversation than I can get into now, but will try to at some point in the future. What I’ve observed is that those who cry the most about “racism” are in fact the most racist. Their ideology is founded on a double standard. They give themselves an unlimited blank check to say whatever they please but hold everyone else to an impossible standard based on their whims. Again, later…
29 Truly, this only I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
-Ecclesiastes 7:29 (NKJV)
The author of Ecclesiastes (as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit 2Peter 1:20) could not have ended this chapter in a better way. God has made us upright but…because of our inconsistencies with life and doctrine, etc. we ventured off into many schemes. What God has made straight, we’ve made crooked. The only way to correct this is for us to submit our subjective selves to an objective source (God) to provide context for our lives and get everything back in it’s proper place.