Ecclesiastes: Is Wisdom Good or Bad?

Well, you may be seated.

So we are two weeks away from ending our series that we've been working through for a few months, going through the book of Ecclesiastes.

So we started this series, this book before Lent, and then we went through Lent, that season leading up to Easter, and then we've been finishing it up here the last few weeks, and we have this week, and then we have next week, and we'll be finished up with it.

So last week we had our church picnic and a kickball game.

And so we just walked down the block here and we picnicked, and a bunch of old guys relived our dreams on the kickball field, and I'm 38 at this point, and I'm kicking the ball like it's the most important thing in my life.

You know, uh whether there's hip issues later in my life, I can't walk with my grandchildren, none of that matters.

All that matters at this point last week at Sunday, on Sunday, was how far can I kick this kickball and impress all these other guys who we were all trying to kick the kickball as hard as we possibly could, and our right legs were sore for the entire week.

And so my second time up, I catch that ball square.

I mean, I admit it was like I was back at Bethesda Elementary in fourth grade.

I catch that thing square.

It takes off.

It was a beautiful kick.

It was so beautiful.

I didn't want to start running fast right away because I wanted to watch it for a while.

And so I just kind of just start a light jog and I hit first base, it lands between two outfielders.

I mean, it was close to the back fits.

It was beautiful.

And so then coming around first, I decide, you know, I might have a chance at this.

And so I start to speed up.

Like I'm really as fast as I can run at this point.

And mind you, I haven't sprinted maybe in years.

I don't know.

It's been a very, very, very long time since I sprinted.

Then somewhere coming around second base, my left hamstring lets me know it would be wise, it would be wise to slow up a little bit.

And so I just start to slow up, and I think everybody thinks I'm playing it cool and I'm a high stepman and I'm being a little bit of a hot dog here.

And I'm not.

It's just my left hamstring is throbbing.

And so I come around third, and at this point, the glory hero in me, I'm not stopping.

I'm not.

I'm not gonna stop.

That ball is coming in, it's around second, but I'm coming around third.

I'm thinking they're not gonna make a perfect throw.

What are the chances?

Matt Hooper's right there on home base.

Now, it would be wisdom for me to stop at third.

It would have been wisdom for me to have warmed up or stretched, right?

Like that would have been why.

None of us did that.

None of us.

I didn't see anybody stretch.

Not until we were hurting, and then we're like stretching, and I don't think it works that way.

So I round third and I'm headed in to get the glory story inside the park church kickball game home run.

Really important, really important to a 38-year-old man is a inside the park kickball home run on a Sunday afternoon.

Big deal to my identity and ego.

So I I round, I'm coming down.

I can't run, I'm not running very fast, to be honest.

Because I can't, because my left hamstring is not allowing me.

And it and I see that ball coming in, and it was a perfect throw.

I don't know who threw it.

I don't remember who threw it from second base into Matt Hooper, but Matt Hooper, that horrible church member, he catches, he catches that ball perfectly.

And I mean, it is just as my foot is about to get all the glory.

He just pegs me.

He meet the pastor, he pegs the pastor.

Right?

I mean, a horrible church member.

And I am out.

I'm out.

And I'm out because I'm a glory hog, and I'm out because I'm a moron.

I'm out because wisdom could have prevented all of this.

Right?

Wisdom could have stayed on third, would have been fine on third.

Or could have warmed up and stretched, and I probably would have gotten the home run had I done that because I wouldn't have been running at half speed the entire way around.

See, wisdom makes us, helps us make good decisions.

Doesn't make us make good decisions.

We know it doesn't do that, but it helps us.

It helps us not wreck our lives.

Right?

It's those guardrails.

Wisdom helps us to know what's important and know what's not important.

And Solomon, this guy, we've been reading about his story and his life.

This is the book of Ecclesiastes, his journal.

I mean, it's just him rambling and saying some good stuff and working his way to conclusions at times.

And he wrote a book on wisdom called Proverbs.

I mean, this guy knows wisdom.

And what's interesting with him is at times he says, Wisdom is the best thing in life.

I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it.

And then at other times he says, Wisdom is vanity and vapor, and it just disappears on us.

So first, first, first.

First, he loves wisdom.

So that's what Britney read, Ecclesiastes 9, 13 through 18.

I'll reread 16 through 18 just for us to hear it again.

But I say that wisdom is better than might.

Though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

The words of the wise heard and quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

So, point number one, wisdom is four points, I think four points.

I can't really remember the truth.

19 points.

No, just kidding.

Four points, I think.

Uh number one, wisdom is better than might.

How often have you thought my life would be so much better if I just had power over that part of my life?

If I just had power over my job a little bit more, like more control?

If I just had power over that person a little bit, if I just had a little bit more power, a little more might, then my life would be better.

And he says, no, no, no, no, no.

Like wisdom, like wisdom is the thing that will help your life be great.

It'll be the thing that helps your life work.

Wisdom helps your life work.

Right?

That's point number two.

Wisdom helps us succeed.

Verses uh chapter 10, verses 12 through 15.

The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and at the end of his talk is evil madness.

A fool multiplies words, no, no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him, but he does not know the way to the city.

So foolishness, the opposite of wisdom, is just no guardrails.

Right?

Like I'll just I'll do whatever.

It'll always work out.

No, it won't always work out.

It doesn't always work out.

You make certain decisions against the way that life works, and you can continue to ruin your life.

It can become more and more dysfunctional.

It happens.

We see it, maybe you've experienced it, maybe you're in it.

Yesterday I officiated my cousin's wedding in Memphis.

So we were in Memphis yesterday, and our girls, our little girls, were flower girls, and we did the wedding, and uh it was in this beautiful garden.

We finished, we pack in the car to drive home, we head down into Mississippi and then cut over to Birmingham, and then through Birmingham, just on the other side of Birmingham, we see a billboard that says uh Talladega.

You know what today is?

Like three of you do, not all of us.

It's Talladega.

Today is Talladega, by the way.

It says Talladega Raceway, NASCAR race, May 7th.

And we're like, oh my gosh, we have driven by these 2,000 acres of emptiness so many times in between Atlanta and Birmingham, we have never seen them full.

And we are about to see the glory of Talladega as we drive by at night.

Talladega nights, we're going to see this.

And we're getting more and more excited about this because if we drive, so we drive by it was awesome.

2,000 acres.

I mean, we're flying by, mind you, but you can see it all if you've driven.

It's just 2,000 acres and then a massive you know race stadium out in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere.

And there's just RVs, just everywhere.

RVs, look like Shantytown, just I mean, just thousands, thousands, thousands, thousands of RVs and bonfires and concerts.

There was a blue neon cross.

I mean, you're like, this is this is southern culture.

We got bonf, we got fires and RVs and Jesus, and it's all mixed up with a like a race car, you know, race.

I mean, this is incredible.

I don't know my I don't know anything about racing.

I I know nothing about racing.

I know they drive in a circle.

I don't know any laps.

I don't know any laps.

I don't know any of the rules.

I don't I don't even know if there's like strategy.

I I know nothing.

I don't I might be able to I don't even know if I can name any racers.

I don't know if you call them a racer or a driver.

I know nothing about this.

I do know I'd like to go to that at some point because that look like a lot of fun and a lot of good people watching, I'll tell you that much.

I do know this about the race.

There is a wall because I've watched Talladega Nights.

There is a wall at the top of that track, and it goes around the track.

Right?

And and the wall exists to keep the cars on the track.

Right?

This is this is wisdom.

Keep you on the track.

Just keep you on the track.

Help you succeed at some things.

This is what wisdom is.

You know, you go, how does my how does my marriage, how how can how can my marriage be a little bit better?

How can I deal with this person?

How can I deal with my boss?

How can I how can I invest some money?

Or how can I get out of debt?

How do I study?

How do I study?

I've never had to study, all of a sudden I have to study.

How do I study?

I mean, these are the points in my life.

I don't know how to do these things.

These are the points I call people.

I just call people.

We meet with two different couples.

One couple, they have teenagers, we meet with them about once a quarter.

We're like, tell us about having teenagers.

We don't know.

Give us your wisdom because we don't want to be in total dysfunction.

We'll be in some moderate dysfunction, but we want to limit it as much as possible.

We want some walls around this thing.

And then we have some other friends that are that are even older than that, and their kids are grown.

And they're in the empty nest stuff, and we're like, hey, tell us about that.

What would how would you raise your kids differently?

What's going on now?

Tell us about marriage long term.

Tell us about give us wisdom.

Give us some guardrails, tell us what you've learned.

That's what wisdom is.

Wisdom helps us succeed at things.

Foolishness, foolishness is the opposite of that.

And what Solomon says, it always catches up to you.

And it is weariness.

And yet, here's the thing if you've been around for a few months, if you remember chapter one, Solomon says, back then, wisdom, so great, so good, better than might, so wonderful.

He says, uh, yeah, wisdom is vanity.

All right, so he loves it and then he also hates it.

So let me reread this in chapter one.

We're gonna make some sense of it as we have to reconcile this.

Uh, chapter one, verses 13 through 18.

And I applied my heart to seek wisdom and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.

It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and is striving after wind.

Maybe he's maybe he's a little depressed, maybe he's exaggerating, but this is still some truth.

He's saying, he's saying, seeking wisdom endlessly.

There's no end to it, is what he's saying.

What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said in my heart, I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge, and I applied my heart to know wisdom and to no madness and folly.

I perceive that this is also a striving after wind.

For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases in knowledge increases sorrow.

So we look at all this.

Wisdom is great, wisdom is better than might, wisdom will help you succeed.

Wisdom is the guardrails along the highway of life.

And then also, wisdom's vapor.

Like it's there for a little bit, and then it goes away and is an unhappy business.

So, point number three, after those other points, which are true, we have to hold on to them, we can't lose them, but and yet, point number three is that wisdom's helpful, but it has its limits.

Because it's never ending.

You can't use it to try to make yourself perfect, or to be whole, or to be forgiven.

You can't work your way out of a sense of shame.

You'll never feel valued because of wisdom.

Life wisdom can't love you.

It doesn't have that ability.

So if you're using wisdom for that, it's an unhappy business.

It can't accept you when you're hurting.

It can't accept you when you're broken.

It can't accept you when you're sinful.

Now, 1 Corinthians 1 21 through 23 says this for since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what was preached to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

So point number four there's life wisdom.

It's good.

Use it.

We love it.

There's life wisdom.

And then there's gospel wisdom.

Life wisdom are directions, helpful tips.

It's the wall around Talladega.

Keep us on track.

That's life wisdom.

It's good advice.

Good advice.

Gospel wisdom is an announcement to you, given to you, about who you are.

It is good news.

So it's news about something that's already done that God Himself, because you can't use all the wisdom in the world to earn your value, to earn your justification, justification before God, you can't use all the wisdom in the world to be redeemed before God or to feel valued as a person.

And he said, I will step into that.

I will pursue you on the cross.

I will take all of your sin and your self-salvation projects upon myself.

I will give to you my righteousness.

And this is the great historical picture of his love for us, the redeeming work of Christ for us, that you are loved before you perform.

You are loved no matter how well you're doing before all of life's wisdom, you are loved.

You're loved while you're unimaginably weak.

In Luke chapter 5, there's some young guys out fishing.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

And this would have meant in the in the Jewish system, we've talked about this maybe three or four years ago, we talked about this.

So this would have meant in Luke chapter 5, these young guys are out fishing.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

This would have meant that they did not have what it took.

Meaning in the Jewish system of education, if you were back on a trade, if you were fishing, it meant you didn't keep progressing through the education to get to follow a rabbi.

And so they're maybe mid-teenager, maybe they're 15, 16, maybe somewhere through there, maybe a little bit later, but they're they're teenagers and they're fishing, which meant you don't have what it takes.

This is the system speaking to them, they're fishing.

And yet Jesus shows up to them in chapter 5 and he comes to them as they're fishing and he says, Follow me.

Drop your nets, drop your nuts, follow me.

See, Jesus is calling, giving them an announcement in that moment, and he's saying to them, You're enough.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know you didn't make it.

Yeah, I know you already heard another announcement about yourself, and I know now you're fishing.

I know that.

But I am declaring to you, you are enough.

And so these guys, they they leave this old system.

They leave the nets, they leave the fishing.

You know so often we we hear this text in Luke 5 preach, and we go, oh, we're so impressed with the disciples leaving their fishing.

Yeah, of course they left their nets.

This is a rabbi calling them.

Somebody has declared them worthy.

Yeah, they dropped the nets immediately.

They're like, I'm out of here.

I'm not fishing anymore.

This guy has made an announcement to me of my worth and value.

And Jesus did this.

He did it before they performed.

See, this is so different than the world system of merit and performance.

It's not life wisdom, this moment of Jesus showing up and saying, drop your nuts and follow me.

That's not life wisdom.

It's not helpful tips.

You didn't show up and say, Hey, let me give you a few tips on how you're gonna follow me, and then if let me do a little test run and see how you do.

They never did really well, anyways.

This is gospel wisdom to them in this moment.

It's an announcement about who they are at the core of who they are, and it's given to them even though they're not perfect.

It's a great rescue.

This is a great rescue to broken people.

And so they leave their nets, they make this just huge shift in their life to being governed by grace and defined by grace, justified by Jesus rather than governed and defined and justified by their own selves and production.

And you would think that'd be the end of the story.

But you know it's not the end of the story, it's not the end of your story, it's not the end of my story.

Because Jesus is crucified, they all bail, they're back fishing again.

Like it doesn't take long.

And this is about more than just this this is about a shift in the system.

This is a huge, beautiful metaphor for us of how quickly we return to an old system.

They just they bail on him.

Jesus dies, like, ah, you know, guess it didn't work out.

I guess this whole thing about this guy and what he was preaching and telling, I guess it wasn't true.

And how beautiful is it that again after the resurrection, Jesus goes and he finds them again.

And for me, I just love this.

Not because I need to become a child of God, like again and again and again.

I mean I'm already in the family.

If you're in the family, you're in the family.

But I really need Jesus to pursue me again and again and again.

I need to hear again and again and again, I declare you enough.

I need to hear that from God to me.

The message of grace and mercy.

I was thinking about all of this yesterday throughout the day while we were in Memphis, and I conducted uh this wedding with my cousin Elizabeth and her now husband Jonathan.

And at first, she wasn't, uh he wasn't her type, and she was she was working in an office, and he he knew her boss, and he'd come into the office, and he was he was interested in her, and he was like working through his friend the boss, and like you know, was she seen anybody?

She was seeing somebody, but she was also not interested in him.

But he kept coming around, coming around, and coming around.

Like, you know, a few of you did this.

I did this with Christy.

You just keep on working it.

You just work a little magic over time, and eventually you just wear them down, just wear them down, and then they're yours.

And in time he he won her over.

In time he won her over.

And I mean, and that's a that's a beautiful picture.

That's an unbelievable picture.

You know, here is this guy, this just good, honorable guy who wants to love her.

And at first he's like, no, thanks.

And he just stays at it, and stays at it, and stays at it, and stays at it.

I mean, you that's why the scriptures say marriage is the best picture for us to understand the gospel, right?

Jesus the groom just staying at it, staying at it, staying at it, staying at it.

You're enough, I love you, you're redeemed by my word, you're enough, I love you, you're redeemed by my word.

And so I'm officiating this wedding and we're standing there.

And you know, the vows of the groom always come before the vows of the bride.

And I think this matters.

Because in the scriptures, Jesus is the groom and we are the bride.

See, the groom vows first.

And he says to her, I will love you, I will love you without reservation, I will cherish you, I will honor you, I will grow with your mind and spirit, I will love you always.

I mean he's saying to saying to her, I declare you're enough for me.

And I know you're not perfect, and I declare, I declare you're enough.

This is why the groom vows first, and then the bride responds with her vows.

What a picture.

That's the picture.

And I don't know where you've been, I don't know what you've done, I don't know where you've been this week.

I don't know if you feel like you're that worthy bride or you're the really unworthy bride, but I do know the great grace of God speaking over you.

And he is vowing to you.

He has already vowed to you that he loves you, and it's by his work and his vow to you that you are redeemed.

Your vow to him is in response to that great love.

So he gives you life wisdom.

That rail around Talladega.

He gives you life wisdom to keep you on the track, not derail you.

But more importantly, he gives you gospel wisdom to endear you to himself.

So, my brothers and sisters, may you heed life wisdom.

But may you rest and live by the freedom of the gospel wisdom.

Let's pray together.

God, thank you for your great love for us.

That you are the great groom in this perfect image.

That we are your bride that has not always been perfect.

None of us feel like we are perfectly white and pure.

And yet you clothe us with your righteousness.

You declare us pure and righteous by your love for us, the great redeeming work of Christ on the cross, absolution, redemption, righteousness, justification, forgiveness, the relief of our shame, all by your work, not by ours.

May our vows only be a response to yours.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.