I Pity the Fool: What Ecclesiastes Says About Wisdom, Folly, and Making the Most of a Fleeting Life

5 days ago

8 min read

Finish this line: "I pity the…"

If you said "fool," you've been paying attention to 1980s pop culture. Mr. T, the A-Team tough guy who famously put a beating on Rocky, is now a gospel preacher, and some of his sermons are worth looking up. But his catchphrase is exactly what came to mind as I read the end of Ecclesiastes 9 and all of chapter 10.

Throughout the book, the Teacher has told us that wisdom is better than foolishness, but both end in the grave, so what's the point? Is it worth gaining wisdom if everybody dies in the end?

In these chapters, he gives a definitive answer: yes. Even if wisdom itself is fleeting, it is key to making sense of this life and making the most of it. As the saying goes, life is hard, but it's harder if you're stupid. (Many people attribute that one to John Wayne, but it actually comes from a 1973 heist movie, The Friends of Eddie Coyle.)

The Wise Man Nobody Remembered (9:13-18)

The Teacher tells the story of a small city under siege by a mighty king. A poor, wise man saves the city with his wisdom, and then no one remembers him. "Wisdom is better than strength," the Teacher says, "but the wisdom of the poor man is despised."

I can't say which story he had in mind, but history offers two good candidates.

In the 700s BC, the Assyrians marched on Jerusalem after destroying the northern kingdom of Israel. King Hezekiah's people had enough food to outlast a siege, but not enough water. So crews started digging from both ends, one from the spring outside the walls and one from inside the city, and met in the middle. By hand. You can still visit Hezekiah's Tunnel today. But who came up with the idea? Not Hezekiah. Someone gave him wise advice, and that person's name is lost to history.

Then there's the siege of Sardis. Cyrus the Great's Persian army surrounded a city perched on a cliff-ringed hilltop that seemed impregnable. It was a standoff the people inside could have waited out forever. Then one guard on patrol dropped his helmet over the wall, climbed down a hidden path on the cliffside to retrieve it, and climbed back up. The Persians were watching. They used that very path to take the city.

One momentary lapse of judgment, and a city fell.

That's the Teacher's point: wisdom can save a city, but one sinner can destroy much good. A few dead flies spoil a whole vat of perfume. We see it in people who have lived wisely for decades, then make one terrible decision and watch everything come crumbling down. They make headlines. Meanwhile the wise person who quietly lives well, causes no trouble, and does good is forgotten.

But the believer is never forgotten in God's eternal kingdom.

The Fool Always Shows Himself (10:1-3)

"A wise person's heart goes to the right, but a fool's heart goes to the left." Before anyone panics, this isn't about politics. All through Scripture, right is the moral good and left the moral evil. The Teacher is talking about direction of the heart, not party affiliation.

He adds that even as the fool walks down the road, he shows everyone he's a fool. Everyone, that is, except himself.

You've probably seen someone and thought, I should probably steer clear of that guy. Mark Twain supposedly said it's better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Think of those police videos where a suspect talks himself right into handcuffs. You have the right to remain silent, but not always the ability.

Jesus said we know a tree by its fruit. You won't get apples from a persimmon tree. And a fool will always make himself known.

Here's the sobering part: self-awareness is often the first step from foolishness to wisdom. "I don't have all the answers. I've made a mess of things." That's where the road to wisdom starts.

Slow Down (10:4-11)

The Teacher then turns to leaders and gives some practical advice. If your boss is angry with you, don't storm off. Stay at your post, because calm puts great offenses to rest. (Most of us have wanted to say "I quit" over someone else's bad day.)

He also observes that sometimes fools get promoted. Slaves ride horses while princes walk. It's tempting to cheer for any rags-to-riches reversal, but the Teacher knows sometimes people end up in power because of their bad decisions, not in spite of them. The folks at Despair.com have a poster for it: "None of us is as dumb as all of us."

Does that mean we should shrug at the status quo? No. But it does mean we should be measured. G.K. Chesterton described a fence standing in the middle of a field. A hasty reformer says, "I see no use for this, let's tear it down." The wiser person says, "If you don't see the use, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go and find out why it's there." Sometimes things are the way they are for a reason, and we don't move fast and break things without counting the cost.

Then comes a string of proverbs about people who didn't think ahead:

The one who digs a pit may fall into it.
The one who breaks through a wall may get bitten by a snake. (He's likely describing burglary, since walls were often mud plaster. The snake has been waiting in the crevices.)
The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them.
If the ax is dull and you don't sharpen it, you'll have to work harder.

Work smarter, not harder. Richard Rohr put it well: sometimes we're not so much punished for our sins as by them. Or, as the internet says, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I learned this in a work-study program in high school, when my supervisor was teaching us to use power tools. A friend was drilling into a hard surface, and the supervisor warned him, "Don't touch the bit, it's hot." You can guess what happened next. We just don't think ahead.

The more I study this passage, the more convinced I am that the life of wisdom is a life of slowing down and paying attention.

A Fool's Mouth (10:12-15)

"The words from a wise person's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him." We all know people whose words encourage you every time you're around them. And we know the other kind, whose talk starts as folly and ends as madness.

The Teacher says the fool is so aimless that he "doesn't even know how to go to the city." In other words, he can't find his way to town. If you live around here, picture asking directions to Walmart in Bedford and hearing, "Just go north." And the guy says, "Which way is north?" The fool doesn't pay attention to his surroundings, and that wears him out. Life is hard, and it's harder if you're foolish.

One of my least favorite proverbs is Proverbs 26:18-19: like a madman who throws flaming arrows, so is the person who deceives his neighbor and says, "I was only joking." I love to joke around with people, so that one stings. But maybe we need to remember that our mouths are the quickest way to get in trouble.

When the Clowns Run the Show (10:16-20)

The chapter ends with advice on living under bad leadership. "Woe to the land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning." Think of young Simba in The Lion King, singing that he just can't wait to be king because nobody can tell him what to do. It's one big party. Later, he learns what kingship really means: eating at the proper time, for strength and not for drunkenness.

Some people want money and power just so they can party. So don't take good leaders for granted, whether it's a boss, a manager, or a public official. A good leader is good for everyone, not only for himself. And the lazy roof that caves in and the leaky house are pictures of a society that skips preventative maintenance. An ounce of prevention, as they say.

Then comes the surprising warning: don't curse the king, even in your thoughts, or the rich person, even in your bedroom, because "a bird of the sky may carry the message." That sounds like something written for today. Be careful what you post, what you text, and what you say near your smart speaker. The Teacher didn't know about Alexa, but the wisdom holds.

But Scripture Isn't Just Good Advice

Everything above is good advice. But Scripture isn't mainly about good advice. It's about good news.

The Teacher did his best with the resources he had to train the next generation, and we should do the same. But he didn't have Christ. Jesus is wisdom embodied. If you don't know what to do, do what Jesus did. (I sometimes wish we could bring back those WWJD bracelets.)

Look at what Jesus shows us about wise discipleship:

He didn't buddy up to political power. When he was warned about Herod, he said, "Go tell that fox..." He knew his kingdom would be built from the ground up, not the top down. That's why he was born in a manger, not a palace. Play political games and you lose every time.
He taught us to be shrewd and innocent. "Be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves." Be smart about the world you're entering, but stay pure.

His brother James then passes the baton:

Ask for wisdom. If you lack it, ask God, who gives generously without finding fault.
Listen more than you talk. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Let people wonder if you know what you're talking about rather than opening your mouth and confirming that you don't.
Be a doer of the word, not just a hearer who leaves on Sunday and changes nothing.
Keep a tight rein on your tongue.
Care for the least of these. True religion is looking after widows and orphans in their distress. We turn society on its head not by making a slave the ruler, but by making a slave our neighbor and sharing a meal with them as equals.

Life Is Hard

Life is hard, and it's harder if you're foolish. So pray for wisdom today. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, and in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

At the end of the day, we're all fools. We've all said and done foolish things. But through Christ, God gives us a second chance to make things right and get on the right path.

I can pity the fool, because I am one. And I'm grateful for a God who gives wisdom anyway.

Think About It

The Teacher says wisdom is worth pursuing even though everyone dies in the end (9:13-10:1). Why do you think wisdom is still worth it if it doesn't last? Where have you been tempted to think "what's the point?" about making wise choices?
A single dead fly can spoil a whole vat of perfume, and one dropped helmet toppled a city. Can you think of a time when a small lapse in judgment, yours or someone else's, had outsized consequences? What habits help guard against those moments?
The fool shows everyone he's a fool, except himself (10:3). Why is self-awareness so hard? Who in your life helps you see your blind spots, and how can you invite more honest feedback?
The sermon described the life of wisdom as slowing down and paying attention, and James says to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Which of these is hardest for you right now: slowing down, listening, or controlling your tongue? What would one practical step look like this week?
The Teacher gives good advice, but Jesus is wisdom embodied. What difference does it make to see wisdom as a person to follow rather than only a set of principles to apply? How does knowing that "through Christ, we get a second chance" change the way you respond when you've acted foolishly?