Consider God's Work

Eccles. 7:13-14

13 Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

• How often do you think that things should be good for you because you are a Christian?
  - Why is it sometimes easy to believe the "good-time gospel", i.e. doing right gets happiness?
  
• How often do you complain about things in life?
  - When you complain, who are you complaining about?
  
• Who is able to straighten what God has bent?
  - How does this passage challenge you to depend on God and His wisdom?
  - How do you feel knowing that God makes adversity as well as prosperity?
  
• Why do the big changes in life seem to be very unexpected?
  - Why is it important for man to not know the future?
  - How would your life be different if you could know the future?
  - Which would you choose as your future: prosperity without God or adversity with God?

Advantages of Wisdom

Eccles. 7:11-12

11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

• Which is more important: wisdom or inheritance? Why?
  - Which appears to be more important to those under the sun?
  
• How is wisdom protection?
  - How is money protection?
  - How does wisdom preserve its owner's life?
  - How effective is money at preserving its owner's life?
  
• Which do you find your self striving for more often: Wisdom or money?

Harold's Musings:
Being sick is not fun. How's that for an obvious piece of wisdom? For the past week, I've had a very bad cold. So bad that I stayed home from work Friday and Monday. People at work thought I had to be in the hospital to miss two days of work. When I'm sick, I am not very wise. I cannot think straight or my thinking is as least fuzzy. I hope this is clear enough. Maybe I'll be more clear tomorrow.

Beginning, Middle, or End

Eccles. 7:8-10

8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

• Why is the end better than the beginning?
  - Which do you prefer: starting new projects or finishing a project?
  
• Which are you more inclined to have: a patient spirit or a haughty spirit?
  - How prone are you to become angry and irritated?
  - Would others consider you eager to get angry?
  - How is the nature of your spirit related to your eagerness to become angry?
  - Why is becoming easily angry or irritated a problem? How does it adorn Christ?
  
• How much selective memory do you have when remembering "how it used to be"?
  - Why might you become attached to a time or place as the "good old days"?
  - Why is it unwise to ask "Why were the good old days better than today?"
  - What does your appraisal of how things are reflect your appraisal of God's control?

Harold's Musings:
I am a creative being. I am energized by considering, planning, and creating a new project. While I like finishing a project and looking at the accomplishment, I don't particularly like the middle when my best laid plans start to unravel. The worst is afterwards as I start to dry up inside when I have to go into maintenance mode. I have a fairly large number of partially finished projects in my life. I have almost countless projects planned. I struggle with liking the beginning more than its end. I struggle with the patience to "get 'r dun" and, while I have a better handle on my anger than earlier in my life, it is setting under the surface. Once again, God through Solomon points his finger at me.

The Sound of Fools

Eccles. 7:5-7

5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.

• When recently have you thought about wanting a carefree life?
  - When recently have the pressures of daily life pushed you into making unwise decisions?
  
• When have you been rebuked for some unwise or even ungodly behavior or attitude?
  - How well did you receive the rebuke?
  - When have you received rebukes and responded wisely?
  - When have you received rebukes and responded foolishly?
  - What made the difference between the two?
  
• How long do twigs or small limbs burn?
  - Why would you not want to use twigs or small limbs as your primary source of fuel?
  - Why does Solomon compare this type of fuel with the pleasure/laughter of fools?
  - Why would you want to choose the laughter of fools?
• What is the risk of unending/unyielding pressure?
  - Who have you known that has "broken" under the oppression of life?
  - In what ways might a wise man "go mad"?
  - How might the pressure of money cause a form of madness?
  - Who or what do you turn to for comfort from life's oppression?

Harold's Musings:
In the computer world, there is a saying, "The nice thing about standards; there are so many to choose from." In life, the nice thing about experts is that there are so many to choose from. The shelves of the bookstores have a wide selection of experts to choose from. If you do not like what is there today, wait a few weeks and look again. Christian booksellers have found that people want an expert to tell them what to do. Authors have found ways to scratch that itch. Be careful that you are not trying to cook a meal over a pile of twigs.