Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
7:1 Strive for and value an honorable, respectful reputation. There are a lot of luxurious things we could strive for in life but spiritual fulfillment comes from a righteous lifestyle.
In Philippians 1:23 Paul confessed that he wished to depart from earth to be with Christ, but understood how important it was that he was alive on earth preaching the gospel. He valued his time and his purpose here; in this second verse of chapter 7, a similar mindset is implied. The day of one's return to Christ is a greater celebration even than birth here, which is a celebration indeed.
7:2 We learn more through humility and moderation than we do from popularity and feasting. The quality of our character suffers if we are ignorant of reality, we become arrogant and detached.
7:3-4 Sorrow can teach us very much about what to value and how to obtain happiness; through a relationship with God, often commenced in a time of sadness, helps us to achieve true peace and joy in our hearts. A wise person mourns because they are aware of disparity and hardship but a fool rejoices in ignorance.
7:5-7 Constructive criticism is better than flattery. A wise person loses their wisdom when they use their abilities to oppress others; and a deceitful act debases the quality of one's heart.
7:8 We can find peace, if not joy, in the end of a thing if we have submitted our lives to God's will. He decides what should be in our lives and until when, though His reasoning is not always clear (usually it eventually becomes evident).
It is better to be patient than proud. Humility will reward itself in its own time, though circumstances can sometimes cause one to believe they must boast themselves.
7:9 Do not resort to anger, anger is the device of the foolish. We cannot communicate ourselves or our point from such a distracted, chaotic state.
7:10 Move forward, as Paul advised in Philippians 3:13-14:
... but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Lingering on the past prevents us from learning, growing, changing and fulfilling new purpose.
7:11-12 Righteous wisdom inherits eternal life from God: compassion, discernment, justice... these are elements of wisdom that God hopes we we will learn and cultivate throughout our lives. Divine wisdom becomes our defense while the rest of the world relies on money.
7:13-14 Consider the work of God in your life, throughout life... everything He has done has order and purpose. Solomon encourages us to enjoy the prosperous blessings of God but also to learn from times of adversity. Adversity teaches us to level up in character and trust in God.
7:15 Solomon had seen much. He saw righteous men die and wicked men prolong their life. But life on earth is temporary for everyone. Eternal life comes after this one... and the righteous man who died seemingly too soon, would live forever, while the elder wicked man would be done living for good. Our character, our behavior, our beliefs here on earth matter now and beyond on our present circumstances.
7:16-18 Live with moderation. It would be foolish to act overly righteous and wise; remember always that you and others are imperfect. We always have something else to learn, something else to improve. To believe oneself overly righteous would cause one to be self-righteous, haughty, and a bother to everyone around.
And though you keep in mind that you are imperfect, do not use it as an excuse to behave evilly. Do not die spiritually while living on earth by behaving unjustly. Solomon's advise to us on how to balance our behavior is the revere God, to listen to Him and be receptive to His instruction and sometimes discipline.
7:19 A wise person uses their wisdom to strengthen others, even inadvertently. A wise person does not strive to lord over others or to instruct them but to make them stronger. For God's wisdom makes us stronger and we are meant to proliferate blessings, to share them and allow God's love and blessings to abound among humanity.
7:20 An iteration of Romans 3:23... we all fall short of the glory of God. We must be humble enough to accept that truth and remember it when we are about to too-harshly or hastily judge another person. We can judge behavior... God has taught us right and wrong, but we cannot right off another person... it is God's job to serve as judge in that department.
7:21-22 People vent and overreact and react badly because of misunderstandings or hormones or circumstances in their lives... we must not take it personally. True, sometimes people have good constructive criticism about our behavior and we should listen to that as well as God's instruction. But sometimes people just talk and they do not mean what they say or they have not put much thought or care into what they say. In times like those, we must remember that we are guilty of the same... and often we really care about the people we momentarily bashed.
7:23-26 Solomon sought wisdom and explored and contemplated and he felt the worst thing was for a person to be enslaved to sin and foolishness and futility. We are released into freedom when we live to please God. The chains of desire and shame and depression fall of when we commit our lives to the will and purposes of God.
7:27-29 Solomon sought many things but one thing he was sure he found was that God made humanity to be righteous. He intended us to be kind and fair and honest. The fact that our behavior is often opposite of that is something we need to correct while we are here.
