Wisdom Wednesday

[Ecc 7:7-14 KJV] 7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

Oppression is unfair and to know life without oppression and then be forced into it doesn't come easy with those who treasure justice and it does drive them crazy.  A gift can also be translated as a bribe.  Bribes corrupt hearts and changes the motives of men.

8 Better [is] the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: [and] the patient in spirit [is] better than the proud in spirit.

Oh to have things resolved.  I am such a person who doesn't like uncertainty, so when troubling situations are in their beginning phase, I obsess!  Patience isn't one of my gifts but I do my best to be open to God's will and not operate against him.

9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Oh another one of my weak points...I am quick to take offense so I guess that makes me a fool.  I shall pray to overcome this character flaw.

10 Say not thou, What is [the cause] that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

We can not live in the past, we must live in the moments and days that God has placed us.

11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance: and [by it there is] profit to them that see the sun.

My dad used to have a saying, "A fool and his money will soon part."  I have done many foolish things with money but I hope that I have learned some lessons along the way and that I take seriously the responsibility in seeking the Lord's will with the finances He has blessed me with.

12 For wisdom [is] a defence, [and] money [is] a defence: but the excellency of knowledge [is, that] wisdom giveth life to them that have it.

Wisdom and money are both great if you have been blessed with them.  Knowledge is a responsibility...to obtain and then apply it in your life.

13 Consider the work of God: for who can make [that] straight, which he hath made crooked?

And don't struggle against God's will for your life...it is a useless effort.

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

In all the joyous moments and the moments of adversity, God is our ultimate gift and end!