Trivia:
It's Thursday already and it was so great to have Charley and her parents of our Good News Club attendees join us at church Sunday. Welcome all. Here is a trivia that totally fooled me. Here it is: What were Kleenex tissues originally produced for? We're they produced for Clothing, Medical Gauze, Gas Masks, or Toilet Paper? Make your guess and we'll catch you on Friday for our findings.
Challenge:
Ecclesiastes 9:16 "So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long."
What Solomon is attempting to pass on to those who are deciding what is important to develop and contribute to those in their life. He is warning of the concerns to be aware of when sharing the matters of wisdom to others.
First, he is stating that wisdom is a greater more desirable trait to strive to accomplish in life.
Secondly, is the concern for gaining power and influence before others recognize the extent of your wisdom.
Thirdly, that if you do in fact share your wisdom with others in a quiet unassuming way, you may face being despised, or being unappreciated, or even both.
With that warning behind us, lets move forward in our thought processes. However, none the less, wisdom is the most valuable gift that you can share with others in your world. His warning is though when passing this on we must recognize that the single most important thing to recognize is. That those who follow after or are foolish themselves will easily guide others who are impressionable away from your wisdom.
History itself has proven this warning to be true. The world of today or days in the past, hasn't recognized wisdom when they have seen it, nor have they listened to eloquent truth when it has been offered, nor have they appreciated it when is was offered with great evidence. The inference is here that though this wisdom may be shunned in the present, its time is yet to come. Time, experience, failure, will ring out the real beauty of wisdom in time. Stand by for its truth being appreciated.
Another consideration that the author shares is that once his wise thoughts and directives are enacted and loss is diverted, the poor wise man's success is forgotten, and is even despised. With the crisis past no one remembers or is interested to know his further musings.
In the same way, like the city being small and defenseless, in the same way the souls of mankind are. While the great King is comparable to Satan who is determined to invade and destroy our very soul. At the same time 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.". SO GO WITH GOD for His desires for you are to bring glory into your life, and true meaning to your days. As Colossians 2:3 says, "In Him lie hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Though He has provided deliverance, yet how little is He honored and appreciated. Daily more and more people live in loss and tragedy and yet sadly they fail to look to Christ for healing and salvation. Our role is to none-the-less point them to His wisdom and salvation offered freely to all.
Medical gauze