Worse than death

Eccles. 7:23-26

23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? 25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.

• Why is it harder to be wise than you want it to be?
  - Why is wisdom so hard to obtain?
  - What did Solomon do in his attempt to gain wisdom?
  
• Why is considering folly, foolishness, and unreasonable behavior necessary to gain wisdom?
  - Why is knowledge, i.e. facts and explanations, useful in gaining wisdom?
  - What is the difference between wisdom and great knowledge?
  
• How does the past serve as a storehouse for learning from past mistakes?
  - How well do you remember the motivations and internal drives that resulted in some foolishness of yours five years ago?
  
• What is more bitter than death?
  - What sort of woman is Solomon describing?
  - Why is this sort of woman so dangerous?
  
• In our more gender neutral society, could Solomon find a similar sort of man?
  - What sort of man might Solomon describe?
  - Why would this sort of man be so dangerous?

Harold's Musings:
I really do want to be wise. I want to know a lot of things, as well as how to use that knowledge effectively. I really want to know how things work. I truly understand how Solomon felt about it being far off and very deep. As soon as I learn one thing and move to another, things change with the first thing. Yet another wind to chase. On a different thread, I realize Solomon picked out a woman as the thing more bitter than death. With as many women as he had in his life, I suspect he had some experience here. I cannot help but believe in our time evil hearted, entrapping men are to be avoided as well. Ladies, what do you think? Have you seen such men in your lives?

Satisfaction and Appetite

Eccles. 6:7-9

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. [1] 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Footnotes[1] 6:7 Hebrew filled

• What do most people work for?
  - In your opinion, are most people generally satisfied with what they have?
  
• What new thing have you seen lately that you think you want to have?
  - In general, how long would you be satisfied by acquiring it?
  
• What do you have that you would like to replace with a new and improved version?
  - Does this need to be replaced or do you just want to replace it? How can you tell?
  
• Is your appetite for things ever really satisfied?
  - How do your eyes cause your heart problems?
  - Even if you wisely decide to not acquire something, do you still "see and desire" it?
  
• Is the problem of dissatisfaction limited to the fool and the rich?
  - How does a person learn to be fully satisfied in Christ instead of striving after wind?

Harold's Musings:
Yet another timeless observation from Solomon. If you want to feel dissatisfied, subscribe to a magazine about something you are interested in. If you are interested in cars, a car enthusiast magazine will produce feelings of desire for a different car. You new camera is perfectly adequate, but a photography magazine will quickly point out its flaws and why you need an even newer camera. We often bring our dissatisfaction on ourselves by looking for ways to stimulate our appetites. It is just foolish, vain, chasing of the wind.

The Core Problem

1 John 2:16

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Genesis 3:1-7

3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

• How did Satan use deception against Adam and Eve?
• What did Satan directly do to Eve to make her sin?
• What did Satan directly do to the fruit to make it a temptation?
• How does Gen. 3:6 relate to 1 John 2:16?
• How effective was building extra rules around eating the fruit?
• How does Satan use deception to get you to sin?

Harold's Musings:
The core problem is stated in 1 John 2:16. We live in a world full of temporary things that we want. Satan did not change Eve. Satan did not change the fruit. He merely pointed out the fruit to the woman with enough dishonesty that her eyes, flesh, and pride took over. If you look at Gen 2, you will find that God did not say anything about touching the tree; yet Eve was under the impression that it was the rule. Perhaps Adam in an attempt to protect Eve made another rule. Regardless the rule did not work. Oh, Adam was standing right there with Eve and did not stop her. When I sin it is because I choose to believe Satan's lies instead of God's truth, but Satan is just using my eyes, flesh, and pride to his advantage. Dying to self has to involve wanting what God has to offer more than what our self wants to get. Watch for the lies today.

Trials and Temptations

James 1:12-16

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

• What does the phrase "remain steadfast under trial" bring to mind?
• Why are temptations "necessary"?
• Where do temptations come from?
• What is the difference between wanting and being "lured and enticed" for something?
• Where does the trial come in the temptation-to-sin process?
• Where does deception come in the temptation-to-sin process?

Harold's Musings:
It seems today that if something happens to us, we look for something or someone to blame. The same applies to temptations. In the 70's a popular saying was "The devil made me do it." In Genesis 3:1-7 we see how Satan works in rather clear detail. In 1 John 2:16-17 we see that it is our eyes, our flesh, and our pride that is at the core of sin. Throughout our society we see people making foolish choices because they want something and ignore the consequences. I know I have done this. James is warning us to watch for the temptation before it becomes desire. And the temptations will keep on coming until we die. That's were the remaining steadfast comes into play. Stand firm today, folks.

God's Boot Camp

James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

• The book of James has been called God's Boot Camp. Why do military units have boot camps?
• How does this passage remind you of a boot camp?
• Do you struggle with finding joy in trials? If so, why?
• What is there about trials that makes you want to avoid them?
• Why would God allow you to endure trials? What does He want?
• How are what you want and what God wants different in regard to trials?
• What sort of perfection and completeness is this talking about?
• How badly do you want to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing?

Harold's Musings:
I'm not big into exercise and that sort of thing. I have not been very motivated by the statement: No pain, no gain. As you would expect, I'm not very fond of this passage. Joy in suffering or trial is difficult for me. When I'm honest, it is because I am more focused on self-protection than self-improvement. God knows what is best for me. Do I trust Him to take care of me? Do I believe that His training is going to help later? Tough stuff for me on a Monday.

Forgive like God

Matthew 6:12-15

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

• How does this passage challenge God to imitate us?
• Why might the "temptation" portion of the prayer be between the "forgiveness" portion and the "forgiveness" commentary?
• Why is forgiveness so difficult for most people?
• How do you feel when you read v. 14 closely and with full attention?

Harold's Musings:
One of the common actions that result from anger is resentment, i.e. keeping a record of wrongs (1 Co. 13:5). Over the years I have found that resentments or at least keeping records of mistakes and hurts are common in the church. Those of us who are "perfect" keep an unwritten tally of who messed up and how often. Those of us who are insecure remember every word, action, or even look that hurt us. We like things our way and when we don't get our way we remember. Divisions in the church have resulted from resentment that moved from simmering to boiling over. All of this comes back to this passage. Do you want God to imitate you? Ooooouuuucccchhhh!