The Burden Of Wisdom

As I read through the book of Ecclesiastes I am struck by the idea that Solomon struggled with the wisdom that God gave him. He talks much about the futility of life. He talks about the dangers of women. He talks on and on about vanity and grasping at the wind. It sounds like even for a man trained to be a king God's wisdom was too much for him to understand.

The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. Read 1Corinthians 1:25. 

Solomon talks a lot about man being done in by women, and yet how many wives and concubines did Solomon have? Practice what you preach king.

One lesson for today is that wealth and power give you a sense that you are wiser than you are. This is the danger of politics. People get in office and they think that they know what is best for everyone. People get lucky in life and gain great wealth and they think that they are smarter than everyone else. The only people who seem to be immune from this are lottery winners. They just feel lucky. They know that they are not smart.

If a church is a work of God then why are we tempted to think that we know something that a small church does not know? One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.

I know things only because I have paid attention for many years. I am not an expert on anything.

God's wisdom made Solomon famous. It did not make Solomon happy. Is this a lesson that we can learn from the wisest man who ever lived?

Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and look what she did. Wisdom alone is not enough. We need Jesus Christ.