Live with wisdom and practice the art
of good sense.
In the closing chapters of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet directs us
to “steady ourselves with reminders to be sensible (chapter 10), so that we may
launch out more surely upon the call to be bold (11:1-6), joyful (11:7-11) and
godly (chapter 12).”[1]
Whereas Kohelet earlier presented a strong case against wisdom as the solution
to life’s difficulties, he now advocates using one’s head to avoid unnecessary
pitfalls. David Allan Hubbard explains Kohelet’s reasoning:
He warned us not to bank on wisdom as
life’s highest good . . . He was speaking to extremists, to those who touted
wisdom as the key to life’s problems, as the pearl of great price for which
everything else must be sold. He warned those who praised wisdom to the heavens
that it would produce at least as much pain as blessing. He made his misgivings
clear about those who overvalue wisdom. Yet nowhere did he celebrate folly.
With all its problems, wisdom was to be heartily preferred to folly. Do not let
wisdom be your god, but let it be your guide, was his advice.[2]
One
of the major domains in which Kohelet recommends letting wisdom be a guide is
the use of our mouths. Kohelet warns against speaking ill of those in
authority, because words have a way of travelling farther than we intend: “In
your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a
rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged
creature will make the matter known” (10:20). Having the good sense to speak
less may preserve one’s reputation and protect us from untold harm.
Furthermore, “words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips
of a fool consume him” (10:12). In this verse Kohelet “says the words of a wise
man are literally ‘grace.’”[3]
Part of using our mouths wisely means that by our speech “we are either giving
grace to others or receiving it.”[4]
Once a word is spoken it cannot be reclaimed, so think before letting careless
words fly; let the words of your mouth extend grace to others. This is not only
a blessing to the listener but good common sense for the speaker.
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