Solomon looked at several areas where we quit listening to God. In this daily devotion, we will look at one area, listening while we are leading others.
Nuggets
- We should never stop seeking God’s wisdom when we lead others.
Devotions in The Meaning of Life series
We have trouble is listening to someone else. When we are young, we have trouble listening to parents and teachers. When we are older, we have trouble listening to spouses and employers.
Unfortunately, dating back to Adam and Eve, mankind has always had trouble listening to God. There — more than anywhere else — we should always listen to what God has to say.
Throughout the Scriptures they tell us that righteousness/spiritual rules over the flesh/physical. We need to heed those warnings.
Solomon gave warnings in Ecclesiastes 4 and 5. Let’s dig into Ecclesiastes 4 in this devotion and save Ecclesiastes 5 for the next devotion.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Don’t Stop Listening When Leading
“Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings. For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom. I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him. There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind” (Ecc. 4: 13-16 CSB)
We should never stop seeking God’s wisdom when we lead others.
Solomon stated that it was better to be poor than to be a king who didn’t heed other’s warnings.
In the beginning of Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon has been talking about wealth, power, and rewards for our efforts. What I get from here is the king lost sight of what his advisers were telling him.
In other words, he quit listening.
Look how much better off the poor boy was for listening. He came up in the world.
How much better it is when we listen to God!
In fact, we can’t quit listening to God if we want what is best for us. He wants to share His wisdom with us.
- Wisdom is an enlightened acceptance of God’s principles that leads to knowledge, discernment, and good sense that is put into practice through salvation, increasing our goodness and virtue.
- Discernment means we can evaluate the situation and recognize right from wrong.
- Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- Goodness is imitating God’s holy, pure, and righteous behavior.
- Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
Yes, that was a lot of definitions. But I’ve grown up around all of this. Someone may have stumbled on my website and have no clue what God is all about. Or may have a totally different viewpoint than what I have.
Here’s the thing. God’s wisdom is available to all. As Chalmers wrote, “By the act of training in wisdom’s ways the most tattered and neglected boy who runs upon our pavements do we present the community with that which, in wisdom’s estimation, is of greater price than this gorgeous inhabitant of a palace.”
Resource
No one is excluded. Rich or poor. Old or young. Gender doesn’t exclude us. What we’ve done doesn’t exclude us.
We know that all we need to do is ask God for this wisdom, and He will provide it for us. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him” (Jas. 1: 5 CSB).
First, we have to become God’s children. We have to ABCD.
Glossary
Making the Connections
Chalmers’ wording describing what Solomon is saying here is interesting. He wrote, “Did a king come to take up his residence amongst us — did he shed a grandeur over our city by the presence of his court, and give the impulse of his expenditure to the trade of its population — it were not easy to rate the value and the magnitude which such an event would have on the estimation of a common understanding, or the degree of personal importance which would attach to him who stood a lofty object in the eye of admiring townsmen.”
Resource
I know. The quote kind of takes the scenic route getting to the period. Let’s do some Elaine-speak to break it down.
- The king left his palace, gave up all his kingly trappings, and went to live with his subjects.
- We can’t put a price tag on that because it is too mind boggling!
- Wouldn’t that make him even more important in the eyes of his subjects?
Oh, slam. Let’s compare that to King Jesus.
- “Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross” (Phil. 2: 7-8 CSB).
- “Let us thank God for his priceless gift!” (II Cor. 9: 15 GNT).
- “Haven’t you read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Mk. 12: 10 CSB).
- “The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my sayings has this as his judge: The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (Jn. 12: 48 CSB).
Yeah, the King of kings did that for us.
How Do We Apply This?
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Father God. We glorify Your name. Lord, we pray that, when You put us in positions of leadership, we listen to Your authority. Amen.
What do you think?
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