Chuck Larsen

After Solomon advises us not to be overly righteous he reminds us of our fallen nature. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” This biblical reality is repeated very often in scripture in both Testaments. One commentator says It “is an affirmation of the falleness of all humanity (cf. 1 Kgs. 8:46; 2 Chr. 6:36; Job 15:14–16; 25:4; Ps. 130:3–4; 143:2; Prov. 20:9; Rom. 3:9–18, 23; 1 John 1:8–2:1). This shows the foolishness of perfectionism and/or human effort (cf. vv. 16–18).”

Keeping the context of the passage, the verse immediately preceding this verse expounds on the value of true wisdom. Verse 19 says, “Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.” He then proceeds to give us the most profound piece of wisdom that he has. When the scriptures teach us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” it necessitates our taking our rightful place amongst the whole population of the human race; we are all sinners. It is in the reality of our weakness that true strength can be found. This may have been the basis for Paul’s comment that it was in his weakness that he became strong. I would argue further that it’s the reality of our sinfulness that becomes the very foundation for living a life of integrity. When we fail to come to grips with our own sinfulness, we inevitably “must redefine sin or diminish the standard of holiness.” It takes the focus off of God and puts it on myself. It can lead to devastating result. Church history is full of examples. Let me give you one of the more extreme examples to make my point. I had to write a paper in college on the Oneida community.

It was founded by John Humphrey Noyes and was based on a notion of perfectionism. The Oneida Community was the best known of about fifty utopian communes that operated in New York State in the second half of the nineteenth century. Oneida members (about three hundred of them) started a tableware company that still thrives today. It was hailed in its day as a model of Christian brotherhood and holiness. It was discovered in 1879 that the Oneida Community also practiced communal marriage. Every woman was considered married to every man, and all were at liberty to have sex with anyone else in the community they chose. Worse, children were expected to be sexually active as soon as they were old enough. Noyes himself usually initiated the young girls as soon as they reached puberty. Noyes, like all too many perfectionists, simply adapted moral standards to suit his own preferences. I know this is an extreme example, but as one writer said, “Ultimately all perfectionists are forced to devise down-scaled definitions of sin, holiness, and perfection that can accommodate the imperfections of human carnality.” A life of integrity begins with the wisdom that we are all sinners. Admitting it is a huge step towards a healthy, happy and wholesome life. On husband said, “Now, my wife’s parents have not spoken to me in four years, ever since I made a sarcastic remark about their perfectionist tendencies at a Thanksgiving dinner—ironically, they had forgotten to bring the apple pie.”

Solomon taught us that life just isn’t fair! The righteous will often suffer at the hands of the wicked and the wicked will often prosper at the expense of the righteous. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race or bicycle rider for that matter. The wicked may cheat you out of your success. The wisest person doesn’t often receive the greatest reward. True wisdom and worldly ways often collide! With this in mind, Solomon gives us some sound advice in Ecclesiastes 7:16-18. He says, “So don’t try to be too righteous or too wise—why kill yourself? But don’t be too wicked or too foolish, either—why die before you have to? Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be successful anyway.”

In a national survey by a very reputable Christian statistician, in answer to the question, “What is the single, most important element for success?” 41 percent said faith, 25 percent said family but only 11 percent said a balanced life. I think Solomon is emphasizing the role of faith, reverence for God, in building a satisfactory life. In chapter six he told us that a life devoid of faith is a life that’s not worth living. Truly, a life lived totally “under the sun,” is a life in which you can’t get no satisfaction. Yet, when God is added to the equation we can live a satisfying life. Further, Solomon is teaching us that from the perspective of faith we can balance our lives in such a way as to live a healthy, happy, and wholesome life “under the sun” with all those around us; in the home, church, on the job, in our community, and in the world at large.

Trying to be too good will ruin your life. Being too evil will ruin your life. These two contrasting rules must be balanced. Smith says, “By accepting only one of these rules, harmful consequences will ensue. If one becomes overly righteous, i.e., he trusts in his own righteousness, his trust in divine providence may be undermined, especially in bad times. If he is overly wicked, he will bring upon himself the penalty of sin. He must cling to both principles.” Lives of faith will keep us balanced as we live with the tension between the two extremes. Reverence for God will keep a person from all excesses. The godly life is a balanced life

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).