Dear Diary, I want to do what’s right, I listen to wisdom from others but when it comes to applying it in my life, I fail miserably. Every one of us has at one time or another found ourselves in a situation where we knew the right thing to do and just didn’t do it. It is these times that frustrate us to no end and cause us to consider throwing up our hands and quitting. In our text we meet two individuals, a wise man who lives life with their eye on the future and the fool who is caught up in only living for the moment. The wise man weighs the potential consequences of every decision while the fool only thinks about the here and now. Perhaps, what Solomon is telling us is that there is a difference between fully living and simply existing. The world is crying out live for the moment, don’t worry about tomorrow. Some may say it this way, “You’re only young once so enjoy life.” Your personal philosophy of life plays a major role in determining if you live life or simply just exist. If you truly live life you are conscious of the consequences of the decisions you make now and you seek to glean every bit of wisdom possible from the experiences life throws your way. If you simply exist, you are like the person that is simply living for the weekend. You put your time in during the week so you can party hard and have a good time on the weekend. Solomon was a man who experienced living life as both the wise man and the fool. Today, I would like us to discover the wisdom Solomon’s experience imparts to us on this subject.
I. Solomon often lived as a fool rather than applying wisdom.
A. Solomon frequently ignored the prohibitions God had given for the king of Israel through Moses.
1. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (Deuteronomy 17:16-17—NIV 2011)
2. 1 Kings 10 tells us that Solomon had 12,000 horses that were imported from Egypt.
3. 1 Kings 11 tells us that Solomon loved many foreign women. 700 wives should definitely be classified as many.
4. With silver being as common as stones and a net worth of over a trillion dollars, Solomon definitely accumulated large amounts of silver and gold.
5. God obviously had a very good reason for setting down such clear prohibitions for the King as He knew centuries before it happened that the people of Israel would ask for a king.
B. Things that Solomon must have considered insignificant will ultimately lead to his failure.
1. It seems as though Solomon invented the concept of wanting more, despite God’s blessing he sought new ways to acquire more and more wealth.
2. Human logic says that it is a good political move to form alliances with foreign countries especially through marriage. What was done to preserve the nation of Israel would ultimately lead to its destruction.
3. Jay Leno has vast amount of cars and motorcycles numbering well beyond 300. Collecting horses and chariots was the ancient equivalent of collecting cars. Solomon’s collection boasted 12,000 horses and 1,400 chariots.
4. Perhaps since God blessed Solomon with this great wealth he felt that it gave him the green light to acquire more and more.
5. These seemingly insignificant things got Solomon in a heap of trouble.
6. The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. (2 Kings 11:9—NIV 2011)
II. Lessons Solomon learned about life from his experiences.
A. God desires each of us to be mindful of how fragile life is.
1. It is quite a puzzling statement that Solomon makes, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.”
2. What life lessons can be learned by hanging out in a funeral home?
3. God teaches some of the greatest lessons about life when we find ourselves face to face with things that are eternal.
4. This helps one to discover that life upon this earth does not go on forever and one day everyone will exit this life and face their Creator.
5. When the deeper realities of life begin to come to focus, one will find the direction that God desires each human life to travel.
6. The foolish avoid dealing with the realities of life because they contradict the type of lifestyle that they have chosen.
B. Living life focused on self-satisfaction is not really living.
1. In the midst of all the noise of foolish living the things of God are often drowned out by food, drink and worldly pleasures.
2. As Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes 2, the pursuit of pleasure is never ending because pleasures only last for a brief moment and then one is left feeling empty again.
3. This is the exact reason so many people in the world live for the weekend. They simply muddle through the week in hope that a weekend focused on pleasure will bring them satisfaction.
4. Living life like one big party will never cause one to think seriously about life and eternity. Perhaps this is the reason Solomon recommends hanging out in a funeral home to find wisdom.
C. God has provided directions to allow life to be lived to the fullest.
1. Solomon draws this conclusion; the only way to truly enjoy life and live it to its fullest is to remain mindful of eternity.
2. God has left man plenty of road signs to keep their lives on the right course but the things of the world often cause us to try and find short cuts which more often than not get us lost.
3. One of the greatest signposts is constructive criticism, this is much better than empty flattery. Wise and constructive criticism allows for one to make course corrections which will ultimately keep one from getting lost.
4. Flattery is compared to dry thorns which were often used to start fires. They don’t give off much heat but they sure make a lot of noise. If you think about it, isn’t that what foolish flattery is?
5. Solomon learned these lessons late in life and he records these in his diary to keep us from making the same mistakes.
III. Applying Solomon’s timely wisdom to our own lives.
A. Be mindful of the fact that all of life is a learning experience.
1. Our lives are marked by mistakes; none of us are perfect.
2. God uses the mistakes that we make in life to teach us the lessons that He desires to teach us about life.
3. One very wise person put it this way, “If you can learn from your mistakes, there is no end to what you can learn.
4. The one who looks for opportunities to learn from experience will more often than not avoid the tragedy of repeating past mistakes.
B. True living happens when you live life the way God designed it to be lived.
1. God never intended to take our lives and suck all the fun out of them.
2. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10—NIV 2011)
3. God’s plan for our life does not provide peace and joy that is temporary but peace and joy that will last for eternity.
4. When we fill that spot in our lives with Jesus Christ we will discover that the emptiness that we sought to fill is no longer there.
C. Always live your life mindful of the fact that every decision can have eternal consequences.
1. When we reflect on the reality of eternity we quickly realize that we are accountable to God for all the decisions that we make during our lives on the earth.
2. As Solomon points out, the fool lives their life as if there is no God or accountability. They believe that they are here to enjoy life and will never have to answer for their actions.
3. God wants each of us to realize that we are here for a purpose and what we do now will ultimately shape our eternity.
4. Realize like Solomon that a life lived without God is hebel, meaningless and empty.
Closing:
Erma Bombeck wrote this poem entitled “If I Had My Life to Live Over” after she found out she was dying from cancer.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the ’good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you’s." More "I’m sorry’s."
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute, look at it and really see it, live it and never give it back.
