Wisdom Won't Immunize You from This

I crave wisdom—the ability to discern right from wrong, to adopt a long view on life, to experience a peaceful existence, to prosper, and to raise delightful children.

But you know who else loved the idea of wisdom? Eve. When tempted by the serpent, she looked upon the contraband and "saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Gen. 3:6).

Dr. Wendy Longo (CC)

The irony, of course, is Eve’s desire to gain wisdom led her to act foolishly in disobeying God. The old saying, "The ends don’t justify the means" applies here. As Solomon said, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10a) Translation: if Eve really wanted wisdom, she should have respected God's command not to eat of the tree. So the first lesson is this:

Why Solomon Couldn’t Take His Own Advice (and Why You Should)

Did you ever wonder how a man so wise as Solomon could have such a sad ending to his story?

Here’s a man revered by the world: the son of David, rich, discerning. Christians and Jews alike still admire his proverbs, and just to tip my hand: Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of the Bible.

Sue Clark (cc)

Yet in his latter years we get this from 1 Kings:

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. (11:9-10)

This is the same man who, essentially, discovered the meaning of life:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecc. 12:13)

So this man King Solomon, son of David—the wisest man ever to grace the planet—sought out and actually discovered the meaning of life, yet he, himself, didn’t actually do it?

What gives?

This Is the Reason You Have Nothing to Show for All of Your Hard Work

You work hard, right?

Of course you do. You work forty, fifty, maybe sixty hours per week. Then you come home and do housework. You wrestle the kids. You do homework. You bathe and feed them. But when you actually have a moment to step back and just breathe it’s easy to get frustrated.

Vinoth Chandar (CC)

You feel like you're swimming against the current, and no matter how hard you try you can’t gain any ground.

Sound familiar?

There’s a good reason for this feeling. Something that, even if understood intellectually, is hard to follow in practice thanks to our fickle, demanding, needy flesh.