Vanity: Life's Teacher | Ecclesiastes 7:1-10

Hear the word of the Lord, Ecclesiastes 7, verses

Ecclesiastes 7:1–10

1 through 10. Better is a good name than good

oil. Better is a day of one's death than the

day of one's birth. Better to go to a house of

mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because

that is the end of all mankind, and the living

puts this in his heart. Better is vexation than

laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may

be merry. The heart of the wise is in the house

of mourning, while the heart of fools It's in

the house of gladness. Better to listen to the

rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to

the song of fools. For as the cackling sound

of thorn bushes under a pot, so is the laughter

of a fool. And this too is vanity. For oppression

gives a wise man over to madness and a bribe

destroys the heart. Better is the end of a matter

than its beginning. Better is patience of spirit

than haughtiness of spirit. Do not be eager in

your spirit to be vexed. For vexation rests in

the bosom of fools. Do not say, why is it that

the former days were better than these? For it

is not from wisdom that you ask this. All right,

it's a lot this morning, so let's pray. Let's

ask for God's favor. Lord God, we come to you

this morning, people burdened by many things,

encouraged by some things as well, but people

created by you and for you. Help us to use our

time wisely this morning to learn from you. Open

our hearts. Open our minds to comprehend the

depths of your wisdom displayed through your

servant Solomon. Use the written word to shock

us, to wound us, and ultimately to guide us and

to heal us towards yourself. We know that beyond

ourselves, the world needs wisdom. Our leaders

need wisdom from above. So we ask for your mercy

upon our government and their leaders that they

would not seek to be wise in their own eyes.

but to pursue the good of others by ultimately

pursuing you. It's no small feat to ask that

powerful people be humbled, but you can do all

things. And we pray that you may soften not only

the arrogant hearts of people in powerful positions,

but also that you may soften the hearts of unbelievers

in our circles of life, friends and family who

have no fear of you. As you conform our hearts

to yours, may your wisdom guide us in our conversations,

our relationships with the unsaved. May we be

gentle and honest, bringing truth and love for

your glory among the lost. So this morning, we

ask that you use the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 7

to deepen our understanding of life, this side

of glory, and that we would ponder things that

truly matter. Use the idea that all is vanity

to teach us and mold us into the likeness of

Christ. We pray this for your glory and for our

good. Amen. Amen. Friends, you may be seated.

Some people thought that Jeff was going to be

here today. I am not Jeff. This is not Titus.

We'll be in Titus sometime after Palm Sunday

and Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I know

he's indignant because I called it Palm Sunday.

You'll hear more about that later, later. The

Sunday before Resurrection Sunday. How about

that? We'll do that when you got a thumbs up

there. So welcome back. Welcome back to our study

in Ecclesiastes. And we are at actually a very

special point in the book. We've climbed the

mountain. We've climbed the mountain of that

argument that is very painful, that all is vanity.

We've listened to Solomon break down everything

under the sun. There is no advantage to be had,

no getting out of the way of his point that we

humans chase soap bubbles. And as we closed chapter

6 last time, several weeks ago, there was a question

at the end. He said, who can tell a man what

is good during his vain time? So essentially,

Solomon has brought his entire argument, the

proof that all is vanity, to this one point.

And he asks the reader, if everything is vanity,

then who can tell you what's good during those

few vain days? Throughout Ecclesiastes, we've

wrestled with hard questions. What is the point

of all of this if we're just going to die? If

the sun rises on the just and the unjust, is

it better just to live my best life now? These

questions show that we've been confronted with

the wisdom of Solomon. He's been forcing us to

consider these things, and now here in chapter

7, we reach the top of the mountain. That's what

these verses are, specifically verses 1 through

10. They're all about drawing us to the turning

point of his argument and the turning point of

the entire argument. And I pray that the slides

are right, because I actually didn't check them

ahead of time. So let's find out here. Testing,

testing. There we go. Hey, that looks familiar.

That's the outline we've been following. Nine

sermons in, and here we are. The turning point

of Ecclesiastes 7. You see the first part of

the book, the problem, all is vanity. The second

part, the proof. From all the way back in chapter

1, all the way through chapter 6, the proof that

all is vanity. Today, we get to start with the

prescription with life as vanity. And verses

1 through 10, that vanity is life's great teacher.

Now Solomon asked that question in the close

of chapter 6. Who can tell a man what is good

during his few vain days? And now he is going

to answer. Instead of just asking questions,

he's going to answer. He's going to tell us what

is good. So if you have your Bibles out, get

them ready for Ecclesiastes 7. I promise we'll

be there in a moment. But I want to tell you

a little story. Growing up, I went to a small

little elementary school in Shell Beach, California.

Some of you might not even know where that is.

Some of you might. Anyone know where Shell Beach

is? Yeah, see, that's a very small... Anyone

know where Pismo Beach is? It's right next to

Pismo Beach, so you've driven past it if you've

been on the 101. Now, it was a unique place to

grow up. I went to that elementary school with

a soccer field that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.

We had field trips to the tide pools. Our mascot

was a great white shark. That was pretty cool.

If you want to know what it was like, that's

actually a picture of what our playground was

like. And we didn't have the fence back then

either. It was just wide open. It was before

the safety things today. Now, blessed doesn't

even begin to describe it. Most of us kids, we

took that for granted, but I always loved the

ocean. Years ago, I wanted to work with ocean

animals, so it was a special environment to grow

up within. Now, when I was in fourth grade, we

had a choice of which fifth grade teacher class

we'd like to go into. It was a small school,

right? We had everyone who knew everyone, two

teachers per grade. That was it. Now, usually,

whichever teacher you got for fifth grade would

influence the teacher you got for sixth grade.

That's just the way it worked. Nothing else worked

that way until you got to fifth grade and then

sixth grade. And of course, one of the fifth

grade teachers was known for being fun and entertaining

students with lots of hands -on learning activities,

and the other was known for being tough, but

fair. So as a young student, Which class do you

think we all wanted to be in? Not hard to imagine.

Further, in sixth grade, there was a similar

dynamic. So if you got into that fun fifth grade

teacher's class, you were going to get into that

fun sixth grade teacher's class as well. To a

young person, that felt like the biggest decision

of my life. If I get into Mr. Sharp's fun -filled

fifth grade class, then I'm going to get into

Mrs. Simpson's awesome, activity -laden sixth

grade class, and my life is going to be amazing

and perfect leading into junior high, right?

Yeah, naivety of youth. I begged my parents to

request that fun pathway, and they did. But with

60 students in two classes, half of us would

be left disappointed. Guess which half I was

in? So when the letter came, it was like reverse

Hogwarts. It wasn't exciting. And I was in Mr.

Howland's fifth grade class. Now, poor Mr. Howland.

You could tell on the first day of school, our

class was not nearly as excited as Mr. Sharp's

fun -filled class. That same part, or that same

little... Play structure. The second that the

bell rang to start school, his class was hooting

and hollering, walking in from the playground,

and we were all just walking like, you know,

Charlie Brown. Oh, man. Okay, here we go. Walking

into his class for the first time, and we all

noticed that Mr. Howland's room was very, very

different. Very different. It wasn't decorated

like the other teachers. He didn't have kitschy

motivational posters about being the best you

or awkward affirmations or a bunch of participation

awards. Remember, this was the 90s. Nothing like

that today. No, instead, he had a Darwinian -esque

collection of nature posters. Survival of the

fittest and you try to succeed until you're dead.

That was his motivation. Mr. Howland, he also

had several animals in his class. He had a sarcastic

blue and gold macaw that loved to tease students.

He had a giant four -foot -long iguana and a

very scary -looking seven -foot -long albino

Burmese python. Now, that is all true. You can

check with my mom. All of that is true. It sounds

fantastical. In a public school, nonetheless.

This is not private. Now, throughout the year,

as the other class had fun events outside and

they seemed to learn everything through an activity,

Mr. Howland taught us how to learn. He taught

us how to reason. He taught us how to disagree.

And though I don't even think he realized it,

he taught us about death. It was no more apparent

than whenever he needed to feed that snake. Now

that was an activity he usually reserved for

off hours, as you can imagine why students would

be screaming. But our class, we begged him. We

begged him to feed the snake in front of us.

So one fateful day, we turn all of our desks

on their side. We tip them so they create a phalanx

barrier, right? Those of you who love history,

Jeff, you appreciate that reference there. A

phalanx barrier like the Romans to keep the snake

on one side and the student safely on the other.

And we all sat on our desks, peering down like

spectators at the Colosseum, awaiting for that

white and yellow python to strike its prey. That's

a reasonably sized, slightly slow white mouse.

And we watched. for a few moments, wondering

how the snake is going to strike. Most of us

had not seen that in real life. And then came

the moment that we all begged for. That snake

slowly began to move towards that unsuspecting

mouse, and the poor creature had nowhere to go.

Our barrier ensured that there was no escape,

and as the mouse realized it can't go around,

it can't go horizontally, it needed to go up

somehow, it crossed in front of the snake. And

as quick as lightning, the snake struck and began

its feeding process. I will not describe that

in detail. If you are interested, ask Zion. He's

really interested into snakes and lizards right

now these days. So he will describe in detail

how all of that works. As a bunch of fifth graders,

we looked on. And that initial glee of getting

to watch the snake feed. slowly began turning

into something else. Now, sure, the boys, myself

included, we thought what we just witnessed was

awesome. That's so cool. And the girls were like,

it's awful. It's terrible. But in that moment,

we also realized that for the snake to live,

something had to die. Now, Mr. Holland, he may

have been a Darwinian environmentalist, an ardent

supporter of the Sierra Club. Talk to me later

about that. But God used him to help a group

of fifth graders come to grips with the reality

of death. Now, I have many more stories about

Mr. Howland, including the time that he let the

macaw out of its cage, the time the iguana escaped.

A lot of animal stories with him, actually. There

are other ones, too. Fond memories of how he

pushed myself and my classmates to think, to

consider, to reason. To grow. And though I didn't

want Mr. Howland the summer before fifth grade,

by the end of the year, I was excited that for

the first time in his 30 -year teaching career,

he would be taking on sixth grade. And I petitioned

to be part of that class. Mr. Howland eventually

became one of my favorite school teachers. Now,

he didn't teach me God's word. He was not a man

that I wanted to grow up. to imitate, but he

was a man who taught me much. And I still remember

many of those lessons today, 30 plus years later.

And I set the stage for us with that story because

today we're going to see that the great teachers

of this life are not our comforts or our pleasures

or our blessings, but our trials are the great

teachers in this life. So now take a look at

your text. Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verses 1 through

Ecclesiastes 7:1–2

2. Solomon makes a statement about what is good.

Or in Hebrew, tov. How many of you have gone

to Ibex? You learned how to say bokeh tov every

morning, yes? Hopefully you did not shame Mr.

Varner. Now tov, the statement there, what is

good. Here it's about popularity, reputation.

How do I know that? Well, look at oil. We don't

use oil the same way as in the ancient Near East.

Some of you may be thinking, hmm, is this olive

oil, avocado oil, seed oil, animal oil? Don't

ask RFK about oil if you want to know what this

passage means, okay? Cooking is not the reference.

The reference in verse 1 is about good oil being

perfume or cologne. Oil for fragrance. So Solomon

is saying here that one's character, not your

name, because your name is not just the letters

that are there and how you pronounce them. That's

not the name. It's your actions, your life. That

is associated with your name. And that is better,

a good name, than just making you smell nice.

That's similar to what Peter says about a woman's

adornment. Many of you know this passage. Instead

of the external, it should be the hidden person

of the heart. 1 Peter 3, verse 3 to 4. Your adornment

1 Peter 3:3–4

must not be merely external, braiding the hair,

wearing gold jewelry, putting on garments, but

let it be the hidden person of the heart with

the incorruptible quality of a lowly and quiet

spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

I think that Peter understood the wisdom of Solomon.

You don't get a good name from good perfume.

You can't staple fruit to a tree and call it

good. Similarly, no amount of fragrance can mask

an ungodly character. Walking through trials,

according to James chapter 1, produces character.

James 1 · chapter mention

You don't get a good name. You don't get a meaningful

life apart from trials. A carefree life that's

full of ease and comfort, that's an empty and

shallow life. Now, the second half of verse 1

brings an uncomfortable truth to our doorstep.

It's that pain has a purpose. Pain has a purpose.

Now, in our culture, we do everything we can

to delay and to mitigate death unless it comes

to abortion or physician -assisted suicide. The

only two things. Everything else. We try to slow

the sands of time that affect us all. And the

more means we have, the more capacity we have

to do that, the more we endeavor in such a way.

Every trial, though, do you know this? Every

trial prepares you to meet your ultimate enemy.

Death. Death. That's the emphasis of verse 1b

through verse 2, that every person... must face

the reality of death. That's the house of mourning.

And you must take it to heart. Some of you know

Samuel Rutherford. Some of you were in Rutherford

Hall at some point during your time at Masters.

He lived when Scottish Christians were being

persecuted severely at the hands of the tyrannical

Bloody Mary of England. And he once wrote this.

There are quotes on the screen for you. I've

never heard anyone say The really deep lessons

of life have come through times of ease and comfort.

But I've heard strong saints say this. Every

significant advance I have ever made in grasping

the depths of God's love and growing deep in

him has come through suffering. This is why it's

better. to go to a house of mourning than one

of feasting or celebration. Now Solomon isn't

saying that there is zero occasion to celebrate,

but that it's good to recognize that death is

coming and to live wisely during a fleeting life.

And so help a person not only consider eternal

things, but to also appreciate the small graces,

the little blessings that we all too often miss

and ignore. Trials help us to be grateful for

the many common graces, but trials for the believer

help us to be grateful for God's particular grace

in Christ. Life's hardships are intended to build

godly character. So going back to the first part

of verse one, think about this. The best names

endure the hardest that life has to offer. Names

like Job, Joseph. Ruth, Naomi, Nehemiah, Esther,

Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus. So you know these names.

Many of you have heard these names through preaching

and Bible study, and you know that these names

have meaning. These names have stories about

persevering through suffering. Solomon tells

us if you want a good name, recognize that your

endurance through trials brings about the kind

of name that matters. Because in that, your name

will be more associated with the God who is over

your life than with your attempts to be the God

of your own life. That's what a good name is.

Now, while verses 1 and 2 bring the idea that

trials are the great teachers of life, the remainder

of this section, all the way through verse 10,

underscores that same point, but also warns us

of things that rob us from the right perspective

of life and its meaning. Take a look at verses

3 and 6. In verses 3 and 6, we see various pleasures

as We're going to come back to this topic of

painkillers. Painkillers that help people to

blunt the sharp pains of life. And these two

verses look to that painkiller of laughter. Laughter.

Now in verse 3, there's an implication about

a sad face while yet having a glad heart. And

if you're a believer, you've learned or you're

learning that principle. Things can be rough.

Situations can be hard. Tears can be shed. but

your eternal reality in Christ is more than just

this moment. So on the outside, you can be grimacing

to embrace the trials of life, but inwardly,

you're in agreement with God that he is ultimately

good and will not abandon you, but will see you

through this trial. So if that's true, the opposite

can also be true. If you've ever been to a comedy

club, if you've been to a bar -type environment

in the evening, you will see many smiling, laughing

faces. But that doesn't mean their heart is happy.

People run to laughter to dull the pains of life,

to escape its pressures and difficulties, and

every comedian will tell you that they know that.

The cackling thorns in verse 6, Refer to plants

that explode when they're placed on a fire. Now,

sometimes they'd be used to help start the fire,

like we use kindling, but they're not meant to

last. They're just meant to help start the fire,

get it hot, get it started. Other times, those

popping thorns, they would be a mild form of

entertainment. You know how we use fireworks?

The 4th of July, not in L .A. County, but anywhere

else, like where I grew up, near the beach. Those

sparklers that you run around with, some of you

remember. They're so much fun. They're beautiful

for a moment, but they die pretty quickly. And

the newer ones are worse than the older ones,

too, because they have all the safe chemicals

in them. Those cackling thorn bushes that Solomon

speaks of in verse 6, those were ancient fireworks,

ancient fire starters, amusing for a moment,

useful for a moment, but no more long -lasting

than soap bubbles. Friends, no amount of laughter.

can dull the pains of life. So if not laughter,

maybe we dull the pains of life through entertainment.

That's what verse four points out. Now again,

Solomon references the house of mourning from

verse two, and he's contrasting this idea of

comedy shows and party venues with funerals and

death. Now honestly, honestly, Don't answer it

out loud, but which would you rather go to? You

may know that it is better to go to a house of

mourning because you read it and you say, that's

God's word. But doesn't our heart prefer to avoid

the sad realities of the brevity of life? Wouldn't

we prefer the simple escapism that entertainment

provides? Now, let me be clear. It's not just

party goers and people who love events who can

be guilty of pursuing the painkiller of entertainment

or the house of gladness. Think of the person

who never let sorrow break the threshold of their

home. The person who only watches uplifting programming

with happy endings and resolution at the end

of every movie and episode. I'm sorry, Hallmark

Channel, that's just who you are. The person

who prefers books to people because... Fictional

characters, they're just more entertaining, right,

than real people. The person who orders their

life according to what they want and not what

the Lord wants. The person who hears the weighted

words of the Lord on Sunday mornings and lives

Monday through Saturday as if those words were

never spoken to them. As much as it would be

great to hear you all saying amen to these timeless

truths, there is a joke that we have. about responding

to hard truths, and it goes like this. You don't

have to say amen, but at least say ouch. Feel

it. Let God's words pierce you. And I think that's

going to happen this morning, friends. I'm sorry,

but I'm not sorry. Several of these warnings

from Solomon are going to touch our comforts

and our pleasures, our preferences, and in showing

us what is good, we are going to be confronted.

So that's my disclaimer. Let me continue. The

foolish person follows things that distract them

from eternal realities. And depending on the

person, those distractions can be quite varied.

Solomon pushes the reader to the funeral over

entertainment because one of those teaches about

the brevity of life while the other, like soap

bubbles, distracts you from this truth. So now

you look at verse 5. Maybe you don't appreciate

the comedy club. Maybe you're not much for TV

shows and entertainment in general. But maybe

you appreciate music. Grant, take it easy. He's

giving me eyes. Just kidding. I'm not attacking

music in general. Solomon is. Let me make that

very clear. It's not me. No, I'm just kidding.

Look, the reality is, whether it's Grant or any

of our elders, we would encourage you with the

same truth from God's word. So here, to the music

lover, Solomon points something out. First, he's

referencing a specific kind of music, the song

of fools. Music that is not created to honor

God. Now, it could be subjectively beautiful

or even enjoyable. I said subjectively. But its

intent is not to give glory to the creator. Secular

music. for secular purposes. And to this, Solomon

says, the rebuke of a wise man is better to listen

to. Now, let me acknowledge my friends who enjoy

all kinds of music. I'm not going to pick on

Grant. That's too on the nose. From Metallica,

sorry Jeff, to Journey, I know there's some people

in here who don't want to stop believing, to

Anne Berlin, That one's for you, Ben. To 21 pilots,

is Whismur in here? No, but everyone knows how

he feels about that. And even the Swifties. I

went there. I went there. Even the Swifties need

to hear this warning. But before that, if you

have a problem with anything I'm about to say,

jeff at oakhillbible .com. That's who you can

complain to. Now, think about this. Think about

the music that you may enjoy that's not inherently

gospel praise music. I appreciate many bands.

I have been to more concert venues than I'd like

to admit. Don't take this as a clarity from God's

word that there's a line in the sand about what

you can and can't listen to. That's not what

Solomon is even saying here. The point is this.

As much as any secular song can bring feelings

to you of various kinds, emotions, through a

song, it changes nothing about your life. Nothing.

You can feel it. You can enjoy it. It changes,

though, nothing. The song wasn't written to you.

I'm sorry. And any perceived application is just

that, perceived. It's indirect instruction at

best. disastrous heresy at worst. That is why

it is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise

person. At least then you would be particularly

and personally challenged to change. You would

have an opportunity to respond in faithfulness.

So now the next time Jeff plays Metallica, he's

going to have a witty comeback for me. I know.

I'll be patiently waiting. It's coming. Any of

you Swifties, it's fine. Talk to me later. But

the truth is this. You can appreciate all kinds

of various music, all kinds, but appreciate words

of wisdom more than emotive escapes. Appreciate

words of wisdom more than musically emotive escapes

because only one of those instructs you for your

life. Now, if I have somehow managed to not offend

everyone yet, Jeff at Oak Hill Bible. If you

have remained unscathed so far, just wait. Verses

7 through 10, Solomon's going to cover a range

of additional painkillers that we pursue. I put

them on the screen with some categories, alliteration,

to help us remember this. So the previous painkillers

with laughter, entertainment, and music, they

were pleasure painkillers. These ones now are

preoccupations. Things that we occupy and busy

ourselves with. Verse 7, taking advantage of

others. Verse 8, taking shortcuts. Verse 9, being

triggered easily. And verse 10, being tethered

to nostalgia. So consider verse 7. Trying to

cope with the difficulties of life without God's

help. A person could try to exercise their authority

in an unhelpful, oppressive manner. Think about

the discontent father or husband or wife or mother

or teacher or boss who uses their authority as

a miserable, grump, and insufferable person because

things aren't going their way in some aspect

of life. And in doing so, then they take advantage

of others. It says even a wise man can be driven

to madness. under repressive circumstances. Further,

a person might even anticipate a bribe to help

them cope with some kind of evil. How many documentaries,

how many movies and novels have included a circumstance

like that where a seemingly innocent person was

drawn into an evil plan through a bribe? Friends,

a bribe is not a gift. A bribe expects something

in return. It's actually the core of my concern

about the concept of love languages. If they're

used to expect something rather than as an observational

tool. Because love freely gives and does not

demand something in return. And every believer

should be mindful to not take advantage of others.

What about taking shortcuts in verse 8? Sometimes

people try to blunt the pains of life by jumping

ahead to the end. Think of the person who always

rushes through their difficulties, who ignores

the painful moments, who always says, it'll be

fine, it'll be fine, but you know it rarely is.

Patience is learned through hardship. The nature

of patience implies waiting, and sometimes that

in itself is a hardship. But we're called to

patiently endure through our trials. The Hebrew

word for patience literally means to become long

and stretched out. That's what patience means.

So it's better to be stretched than to be highly

exalted. That's what Solomon means. And we understand

it as believers when we look at a passage like

Romans 8, that 828, that stretching is conforming

us. to the image of Christ. That's what the stretching

is. And so his work brings his exaltation, not

ours. So if we're seeking to be exalted, we're

missing the point of being brought low. There's

no shortcut to Christlikeness. Sanctification,

big word, being made holy, is unlike salvation

in this way, being saved. Sanctification takes

place over time. Salvation is immediate. So we're

saved at the moment of conversion, but we're

sanctified over time and especially through our

trials. So we shouldn't be preoccupied or distracted

by taking shortcuts to avoid dealing with our

difficulties. Well, now what about verse nine?

It says, don't be vexed. And I labeled this being

triggered easily. And Jeff and I have talked

about this on multiple podcasts. Don't rush to

be irritated. Don't rush to be offended. Don't

rush to be angry. Our society needs to hear this

caution. It seems like anything and everything

can trigger an angry response, even if God's

word says it. I'm so thankful for some advice

that Jeff and Tanya gave me early on in my ministry

here at Oak Hill. They might not even remember

it, though they said it early. That encouragement

was to have thick skin. To have thick skin. That's

right here in the text. Don't let things bother

you more than they ought to. And I've had many

opportunities to exercise that principle over

these last 16 plus years. I've not mastered it.

I'm not the expert at it. But I can tell you

that things that made me indignant early in those

ministry days are far less bothersome now. It

takes a lot more. to rattle me. People that get

triggered easily will often use that anger as

an escape to avoid dealing with the real issue,

which is their heart. They'll say things like,

I can't believe so -and -so said that. I'm so

upset, and you might have had that reaction with

me about the music. Hopefully not. Hopefully

not. What were they thinking and doing or saying

that? I'm so hurt. I don't want to talk to them.

Or how about this? That person is so annoying.

I want nothing to do with them. See, being triggered

easily is a sign of foolishness, not wisdom.

But the distraction from dealing with our own

heart, that is probably the most destructive.

And so finally, we look at verse 10. What about

being tethered to nostalgia? Being tethered to

nostalgia. I know for those who have lived longer,

who have seen more, This principle may be hard

to hear, and I will be gentle, but remember that

wisdom is teaching us, and we must listen. Some

of you are familiar with a famous science fiction

writer, H .G. Wells. This is a colorized photo

of him when he was younger. He once wrote this.

When you go through contemporary life, fudging

and evading, indulging and slacking, never hungry

nor frightened, nor passionately stirred, your

first real contact with primary and elemental

necessities will be the sweat of your deathbed.

Friends, I think this is similar to the reality

that many Christians pursue. I think many Christians

pursue an easy life, free from difficulty, free

from strife. And I said Christians, I did not

say American Christians. I think it is a human

condition that we face. Solomon knew the same

struggle. He wrestled with the same tension and

he ultimately realized that such a pursuit to

avoid strife and hardship robbed him of life's

meaning. So why does looking back at the good

old days make someone foolish? Shouldn't it be

seen as good to look fondly on the past? Think

about that statement for a moment. Don't we often

just or only look fondly on the past? Do we often

look critically on the past? Solomon's helping

us to understand that human memory is invariably

self -serving. When you think about the past,

you forget all the problems, the difficulties,

the pain points, and you often only remember

the good times. We love to remember our lives

as if the best moments are the only ones that

matter, like the family that has beautiful portraits

all over the walls, yet meanwhile, their lives

are full of dysfunction and strife. This fondness

for the good old days, it doesn't add any significance

to our lives. And if you only remember the good

times and in a way that whitewashes the trials,

then you learn nothing and you have nothing to

share with others about navigating the difficulties

of this life. The point in verses 7 through 10

is that if we're not trying to blunt the pains

of life with laughter or entertainment or music,

then we're going to use our own preoccupations.

These painkillers of taking advantage of others,

taking shortcuts, being triggered easily, and

being tethered to nostalgia. So what is better?

What is the good life that we should pursue this

side? of glory. It's here in chapter 7 that he

makes it clear. At least he begins. He's actually

going to talk about it for quite some time. So

the next however many years it takes me to get

through this, we'll get through it. But he begins

to say some things. Going back to verse 1, pursue

a good name. Pursue the kind of name that is

associated with Christ likeness. Walking through

difficulties with the help that God gives. Remind

yourself that trials, vanity is the great teacher

of this life. And I dare say that these things

are actually good. How does God cause all things

to work for good? All things means all. Even

the trials, even the vanities, he causes them

to work for good for those whom he loves and

who love him in return. We need to face the reality

of death. Facing the reality of death prepares

us for life. Put it in your heart. The living

take this to heart is what he says. Take it to

heart. The reality of death prepares you for

life. To avoid death, to avoid the reality of

the end, robs you from living this life and appreciating

the little graces that God gives. And be aware

of the thieves. I listed them out. Here you go.

I'll put them on the screen if you want them

all really clear. Be aware of these thieves.

These thieves that will rob you of life and its

meaning, that will rob you of walking through

what God has for you. So you have the pleasure,

painkillers, of laughter and entertainment and

music. You have the preoccupation, painkillers,

taking advantage of others, taking shortcuts,

triggered easily, tethered to nostalgia. So if

you've been hanging in there throughout this

series, waiting for Solomon to give some relief

in all the vanity, here it is. Don't look at

the vanity of life as something to be avoided,

but embrace vanity as life's great teacher. Early

on in our series, I asked everyone to pause for

a moment, to breathe in and out, to consider

what a breath is. We even did a hand span exercise,

like what could you hold in your hands? And just

trying to think about, you're going back to the

breathing. How many times did you breathe while

you're in here? How many times are you going

to breathe during this day? How many times are

you going to breathe during the week? How many

times are you going to breathe in the month?

How many times are you going to breathe in the

year? What about this decade? What about this

century? If you live that long, we'll see. Our

lives are like a breath. A breath in the scope

of God's everlasting and wise plan. And it's

important to remember how small that is. Not

so that you think that life is insignificant,

but so that you see the significance of even

one breath. Embrace it. Number your days, like

Psalm 90 says. Number your days and ask God for

satisfaction in him, that he would satisfy us

in the morning. that we would sing for joy and

be glad even in our days of affliction, which

the next part of Ecclesiastes 7 is going to remind

us yet again. There is God -given value to the

trials and the hardships of our lives. May God

grant us the same kind of wisdom that he gave

Solomon, the same kind of wisdom that we would

apply the principles from his word that we've

seen in our daily lives. That should be our prayer.

In light of viewing vanity and trials as the

great teachers of life, I have some specific

questions for you today that are up on the screen.

As always, I encourage you to copy them or take

time to meditate on God's word this upcoming

week. But think about these questions. What needs

to change in my perspective so that I see trials

as a teacher? How can I grow to appreciate and

even seek out the blessed rebukes of wise believers?

What pleasure painkillers do I most often pursue?

laughter, entertainment, music? What preoccupation

painkillers am I most prone towards? Taking advantage

of others, taking shortcuts, being triggered

easily, tethered to nostalgia. Instead of running

to painkillers, how can I learn to embrace the

lessons God is teaching me through life's trials?

Take a moment, think about the questions, and

I'll close this in a word of prayer. Lord God,

we need your help, not just this morning, but

in our hearts and in our thinking. The world

constantly tells us to avoid every difficulty,

every strife, every pain point. We've built whole

systems around safety and comfort. But according

to your word, you remind us that trials, are

our teachers. That they are not things that we

can avoid. We need wisdom. Not to ask for more

trials for the sake of struggle. Not for being

unwise. But we need your wisdom to wisely embrace

the trials that you bring to us that we cannot

and should not avoid. God convicts us of wrong

thinking. When we try these various means to

blunt the pains of this life, help every single

one of us to see the foolishness of painkillers

in light of eternity. Help us to turn to you

for help and for hope. God, we ask that you help

us to consider death so that we would appreciate

life, that we would long for eternal glory. that

far outweighs anything we see on this side of

eternity. Help us to gladly receive rebukes that

we will learn. Help us to be more patient in

our hardships, to be less irritable when things

bother us. Help us to hold loosely to this world,

remembering these are or like cackling thorns

under a pot, like soap bubbles and like sparklers

in the summer. But we can only hold loosely when

we are looking to you. So God, give us eyes to

long for eternal days more than the good old

days. And help us to appreciate the good days

that you give. Use our hardships to build godly

character in us. Make our names good by conforming

us to your son that we would be remembered for

honoring you, living for you. Help us to recognize

the vanities of this age. They teach us about

life. Help us to see the prescription for living

with vanity is living with you, walking in your

ways, practicing your wisdom. So lift our hearts

to praise your name this morning. Help us to

recognize that you are glorified in spite of

all the vanities of this life. Help us to give

you glory because that is the ultimate good.

It's better to give you glory in our pains than

to avoid our pains and to lack your sustaining

and reviving grace. So draw us. Draw us to the

throne of grace this morning. to sing praises

to your name as we conclude our time together,

that your word would not return void, that you

would confront us and then conform us to the

image of your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name

we pray. Amen.