Godly Wisdom Brings Success

Ecclesiastes 10:1-10

1 Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment,
And cause it to give off a foul odor;
So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.

2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand,
But a fool's heart at his left.

3 Even when a fool walks along the way,
He lacks wisdom,
And he shows everyone that he is a fool.

4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
Do not leave your post;
For conciliation pacifies great offenses.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.

7 I have seen servants on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.

8 He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.

9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them,
And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.

10 If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,
Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom brings success.

Folly is often made important by putting things out of order and defining itself in the process with no good end or lasting reward.  Wisdom brings success, however.  Folly gives a bad scent as a fly in ointment to a person normally known for honor and wisdom because it is out of place and character.  Folly is a most unpleasant odor for those who should be living the gospel of Christ as we find in 2 Corinthians 2:14, for the scent of God’s love and righteousness in Christ should be the aroma of our character and living (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) instead.  Wisdom is in living a holy and obedient life of sanctification by following our Lord according to His word, not putting His order out of kilter in doctrine and a sinful manner of life.  A wise man keeps his heart right and not in the wrong place or direction.  Fools, however, instead walk without wisdom because they do not gain knowledge and understanding for themselves to learn wisdom in how to live before the face of God.  These wise sayings in Ecclesiastes echo those of Solomon’s Proverbs by giving sound godly advice on wise living, and we are wise if we imitate them.  It is as the example of a soldier or government official who knows that the leader turns his favor against you and you still have the wisdom and foresight to keep on doing your job because it pacifies the bad feelings to live faithfully and righteously.  This is truth to hold to for personal accountability to God in spite of our employer or president who magnifies and glorifies foolishness as we have seen recently; rulers who put authority on the ones ruled and do not accept their own responsibility end up walking into a pit or battling unrighteously and suffering the consequences as if bitten by a poisonous serpent.  What an illustration!  Yes we might be injured in doing the hard work like a stonemason or one splitting wood with an ax swung wrong, but especially if it is dull.  It takes so much more energy to wield a dull tool when wisdom mandates that we first sharpen the cutting edge to not exhaust ourselves.  Such practical wisdom is the key to our success and that of those in authority.  It takes the skill of applied knowledge and understanding crafted as wisdom to rule well and live according to His word in its commands, examples, and principles.  This applies to us all in our sanctification and not just to foolish or wise leaders.   Do we try to do things in our own strength of effort, using a dull ax and simply swinging it harder and harder as we try to succeed?  Or do we look toward God and with Him into His word to have His Spirit guide us to wisdom?  Do we sharpen our souls by His Spirit according to the Bible?  Stop swinging the dull ax of works and let the grace of His word give us the edge.  May we take these things to heart in application of wisdom.  Godly wisdom brings success!