Ecclesiastes 10 (HCSB)
The Burden of Folly
1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil ferment and stink; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
2 A wise man’s heart goes to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.
3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense, and he shows everyone he is a fool.
4 If the ruler’s anger rises against you, don’t leave your place, for calmness puts great offenses to rest.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:
6 The fool is appointed to great heights, but the rich remain in lowly positions.
7 I have seen slaves on horses, but princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8 The one who digs a pit may fall into it, and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them; the one who splits trees may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength; however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, then there is no advantage for the charmer.
12 The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness.
14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what will happen, and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?
15 The struggles of fools weary them, for they don’t know how to go to the city.
16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a youth and your princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
19 A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom, for a bird of the sky may carry the message, and a winged creature may report the matter.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 18): Father, please forgive me for my laziness over the years; laziness on so many levels, Lord. Forgive me for my laziness towards You and Your will for me. Forgive me for my laziness towards my wife and our marriage in loving her in the way she needs to be loved and in not doing the things I've known for so long are right for our marriage. Forgive me for being lazy towards my children in not being the father, guide, mentor, and counselor that they need and that You command me to be. Please forgive me, Father.
PROMISE (verse 10): You promise us that wisdom brings success, for a dull axe requires more strength to chop, whereas a sharp axe requires less. Help me to become more wise in Your ways and Your knowledge, Lord, so that I may be a sharp axe in glorifying You.
ATTITUDE (verses 12-13): God, please help me to change the foolish attitude I often have when I speak. Help me to know when the words I'm speaking are gracious through You or evil madness through my foolish self.
COMMAND (verse 4): You command us to stay steady and remain with You when someone's anger rises against us, because calmness puts great offenses to rest. Help me to embrace and glorify this calmness, Lord, when my flesh does not want me to stay calm and gracious.
EXAMPLE (verses 12-15): Father, please help me to follow the example You give of a wise man; a man that is wise through You, Lord. Help me to listen more than I speak and to always keep my center and my focus on You, Father, so that when I do speak or struggle, my words, thoughts, and actions glorify You and the example You've given me of a wise man through God.
*DAILY NOTE: This was a tough one for me. I struggle so much with both laziness and speaking FAR too much. I need to get better at taking action on the things I'm convicted of from the Father, but also get better at listening; choosing my words more wisely along the way so that when I do speak it's something that glorifies You, Father.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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