Chuck Larsen

Some years ago, loaded with old comic books and radio tapes from the 1930s, some five hundred people flowed into Tempe, Arizona, for a three-day national nostalgia convention. The conclave featured comic book collectors who swapped “Captain Marvel” for “Superman No. 1” or simply paid up to $200 for a rare copy of the first “Batman” series. They also watched movies from the silent screen era and listened to radio broadcasts from the thirties and forties. One of the DVD sets often offered by PBS to raise money for their broadcasting is the oldies but goodies music from the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Nostalgia is big business in our culture. I often immerse myself in yester yore when things were so much simpler, values were much clearer, and worries and responsibilities were easier.

In Ecclesiastes 7:10, Solomon is still talking about making better life choices. Here, however, he assumes that his readers have a specific perspective that must be confronted. Usually we think that Solomon is addressing a younger generation, but in this verse it sounds like he’s speaking to the older generation, challenging us not to fall into nostalgic reflection that may cause us to look at our present situations or even the present generation as something less than the past. Solomon writes, “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” George Ball said, “Nostalgia is a seductive liar.” Yes, when I’m honest, nostalgia really is looking back with love and longing at lives we couldn’t wait to leave. Alexander Dumas exclaimed, “Oh, the good times when we were so unhappy.”

Some once said, “You may be old at 40 and young at 80; but you are genuinely old at any age if: You feel old; You feel you have learned all there is to learn; You find yourself saying, ‘I’m too old to do that’; You feel tomorrow holds no promise; You take no interest in the activities of youth! You would rather talk than listen;
You long for the ‘good old days,’ feeling they were the best.” When Bill MacDonald comments on this verse he says, “Another foolish activity is living in the past. When we constantly harp on ‘the good old days’ and wish they would return because they were so much better, we are living in a world of unreality. Better to face conditions as they are and live triumphantly in spite of them. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

Life is usually made up of choices that we make along the way. All of our choices have consequences and change our destinies. It was this reality that Robert Frost so poignantly pointed out to us in his little poem, “The Road Not Taken.” After he had made his choice to travel on one road rather than the other, he says, “I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” We all know what this is like because we’ve all looked down the roads that diverge from yellow woods and made our choices. In Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon has been pointing out that some choices bring about better results in life than others. His presupposition is that we still stand at the crossroads of choices that we still make every day. He wants us to take the road that leads to a fuller more meaningful life. He said that a good name is better than great riches. He said it’s better to go to a funeral than to go to a party. He said sorrow is better than laughter. He said that it is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. Then he told us that where a road comes out is more important than where it begins. To slow us down to weigh the choices we make a little more carefully, he tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:8, “…the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

We’ve all heard the phrase, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” I thought it was Elvis Presley who first said it in his song, “I can’t help falling in love with you.” Musically, however, it was first included in a song written by Johnny Mercer in 1940. Ever since it has been repeatedly used in songs by many others; Frank Sinatra, Ricky Nelson, Bob Dylan, Mamas & the Papas, Charles Manson, Smashing Pumpkins, Brian Adams and even Bow Wow Wow! It’s also to be found in too many more to mention in literature as well as music. Its modern origin, I believe is in Edmund Burke’s speech in which he talked about the causes of the French revolution in 1790. Abraham Lincoln used it in his speech about slavery and revolution in 1854. Even James T. Kirk used it in In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He said: “I’m a great one for rushing in where angels fear to tread.” So am I! it more often than not leads to irreversible consequences.

The phrase “proud in Spirit” refers to emotional, passion driven responses. Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 makes that clear. It says those who are “patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit. Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.” Jude warns us about the rebellious that are quick to rush in to war where angels fear to go. In Jude 9, Michael is said to have patiently waited for God to act. There is no shame and regret in patience like there often is in impetuous pride. It’s patience that produces character (Romans 5:4). It is foolish pride that brings about regret and longing looks down roads that can never be reversed (Proverbs 16:18).

Solomon has given us three “better than” statements in the first three verses of Ecclesiastes chapter seven. He said that a good name is better than great riches. He said it’s better to go to a funeral than to go to a party. He said sorrow is better than laughter. And next, in Ecclesiastes 7:5 he gives us the fourth “better than” statement: “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.” Verse six compares the song of fools with “the crackling of thorns under a pot.” The fire produced by thorn branches make a lot of noise but don’t produce any lasting heat. The snap, crackle and pop of the songs of fools might win our attention at the moment, but will ultimately desert us in our greatest moment of need and teach us nothing about the true meaning of life.

Kathy gave me “The History of Rock and Roll” for my birthday. It is a 10 part series produced by PBS. She knows I’m a child of the 60s! Since I broke my arm, I’ve had some time to watch it. Honestly, I’ve never felt more convicted of the foolishness (stupidity?) of my fascination with the music of my youth. From Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and yes, even the king himself, Elvis, all the way through Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Kiss up to the punk rock era and into the 90s, and beyond there’s nothing but the snap, crackle and pop of gimmick after gimmick to momentarily grab our attention. Yes, the talentless screaming and ranting and ravings accompanied by the lewd lyrics and antics of the performers can be described in no other way than the songs of fools. The series ends with the 90s, but thinking of Miley Cyrus makes me think that the world is still obsessed with snap, crackle and pop of fools. There is actually a contemporary rock band called, “Snap, Crackle & Pop.”

Solomon’s song in Ecclesiastes may not contain much snap, crackle or pop, but it stands as a timeless example of the music that matters: a rebuke from the wisest man in the world inspired by God to bring lasting warmth as we walk together through the valley of the shadow of death. Ryken summarizes this truth well: “This is why the Preacher says it is much better for us to hear the rebuke of the wise. Someone who cares enough to confront will tell us to get serious about life and death. Listening to the constructive criticism of a godly friend can save our soul. Wise people will say all of the things that Ecclesiastes says. They will tell us that living for pleasure and working for selfish gain are striving after wind. They will tell us that God has a time for everything, including a time to be born and a time to die. They will tell us that two are better than one in facing all of the toils and trials of life. They will tell us that because God is in Heaven and we are on earth, we should be careful what we say. They will tell us that money will never satisfy our souls. In short, they will teach us not to live for today but to live for eternity.”

Solomon said that a good name is better than great riches. He said it’s better to go to a funeral than to go to a party. Now he says, Ecclesiastes 7:3, “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.” This verse brings to mind a poem that Robert Browning (I think?) wrote:

I walked a mile with Pleasure; she chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser for all she had to say

I walked a mile with Sorrow, and not a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!

Life lessons are valuable and are most often learned through hardships rather than good times. Life lessons learned the hard way seem to stay longer, sink in deeper, and affect greater results. Therefore in living out our lives with lessons learned our hearts are indeed “made glad” because of the benefits of lessons learned. I remember that Solomon often speaks to his son in his writings. God, therefore, is speaking to us as His children. Butler brings into his discussion on this verse in Ecclesiastes the life of Joseph: “Though Joseph was only a teenager and the favorite of Jacob, he was not allowed to sit around the camp doing nothing; for Jacob put him to work tending the flock. Work is therapeutic. It helps build character much better than play. A person needs to learn to work when they are young. Industriousness is a mark of good character.” If you follow Joseph’s life you might see how lessons learned the hard way helped prepare him for the great successes God had planned for his life. He named his children names that reflected a happy heart.

A. W. Tozer said, “God cannot use a man until he has hurt him deeply.” Great men and great women are shaped by pain. There is a time for laughter, Solomon already taught us that and for many of us there isn’t enough of those times in our lives. I’m working on an Easter sermon which I’m going to name, “the last laugh.” I’ve truly enjoyed my research on the role of laughter in the bible and am somewhat excited about what I’m learning. Yet, I have to agree with David Jeremiah when he says, “Man’s highest purpose is not to be happy, but to know God. And we know God the best when we face things we can’t do without Him. …Troubles cause all of us to stop the routine and ask more serious questions about life. For that reason, sorrow is better than laughter.” But if the sorrow leads us to know God better and to love Him more, there is no greater reason to be happy. Abraham and Sarah had many trials before the birth of the promised heir. They named him Isaac which means laughter!