Wisdom Squandered, Day 18 Get caught quickly. Read Ecclesiastes 8:9-13. One of the prayers I have prayed for my children as they grow up is that if they are doing something they shouldn’t be doing, then I pray they get caught quickly. I don’t want them to get used to getting away with doing things they shouldn’t be doing. We know that God is going to judge all our actions in the end, but some people seem to get away with things now. It just doesn’t feel right when people who do the wrong thing aren’t punished for what they do. Yet, that is exactly what Solomon is talking about…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 17 Who really knows the future? Read Ecclesiastes 8:1-8. People have always had such an incredible fascination with knowing the future. They want some level of certainty to know what’s coming and how to prepare for it. The ways in which people try to attain this can range from the ridiculous, like the magic 8 ball, to the expensive, like the psychic hotlines and visits to mediums and spiritualists. And yet, even in their unreliability, people still continue to be so fascinated that they’re willing to try all kinds of things for an opportunity to know what their future holds. I’m sure Solomon had tried several things…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 16 It’s over our heads. Read Ecclesiastes 7:23-29. Solomon had learned so much, and he had done so much. Yet, even the wisest person on earth was forced to admit that he was not really very wise. If Solomon, who had been gifted practical wisdom by God, I had come to the place where he was able to say that he did not understand and was not wise, what hope do any of the rest of us have? Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking we’re so smart, we think that we have done so much or that we are part of so much. And yet, really…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 15 We are to rejoice in all of God’s activities. Read Ecclesiastes 7:13-22. Praising God and rejoicing in him when everything is going well is super easy. Praising God and rejoicing in him when everything is falling apart around you, that’s much more challenging. It can be hard to see God’s hand in those difficult times. Yet, Solomon brings forward this incredible truth in this verse. The good times and the bad times… God created them both. They are both a reflection of the character of who he is, and they are both meant to bring him glory. We are to praise God and rejoice through the…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 13 Who knows? Read Ecclesiastes 6:7-12. As we read through the final verses of this chapter, we start to see Solomon’s whole point. He is looking at his life and his situation, and realizes he has absolutely no idea what is going to happen. As smart as he is, as wise as he is, he cannot predict the future. He cannot determine what is going to be. As we read this, we can definitely see that Solomon struggled with several aspects of depression. He struggled with that hopeless feeling and wondering, why even bother? As we continue through the book, we will see that he really does…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 12 Take time to smell the roses. Read Ecclesiastes 6:1-6. As we start to read through chapter 6 of Ecclesiastes, these first several verses talk about the importance of actually being able to enjoy the things that God allows us to have. Solomon has previously explained that the search for possessions in and of itself is a waste of time and utterly meaningless. But now, he says if you aren’t actually taking the opportunity to enjoy what he’s blessed you with, it is also a waste. We see this happen so often as people are pursuing more and more stuff. They don’t recognize that they aren’t enjoying…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 11 You can’t take it with you. Read Ecclesiastes 5:13-20. Solomon has been doing a lot of thinking in the last several chapters. We’ve read all the different things that he has tried in order to give his life purpose and meaning. In the last few chapters of this verse, we see him come to a conclusion that it really hasn’t mattered what he’s been doing or trying to accomplish. It’s not really mattered what he’s tried to hoard up for himself. There is nothing he is going to amass on this Earth that he can take with him after he dies. Solomon is forced to admit…

Wisdom Squandered, Day 10 When is enough enough? Read Ecclesiastes 5:8-12. It’s a common theme that I hear all the time, “I need more money.” Our world is a deeply materialistic place. We have made the illusion of financial security to be a foundational goal that many people spend their lifetime trying to attain, yet no one can even really define exactly what it means to be financially secure. Solomon was tremendously wealthy as king. In addition, he was King during a time when the people had the greatest economic prosperity that they were going to have as a nation. And yet, as he is evaluating his life, we see…