Reading the Word

Ecclesiastes 7:19–22 (ESV)
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.
22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

Understanding and Applying the Word

Wisdom is necessary for life in this world. True wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord and “gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.” The point is that wisdom from God is more valuable than the instruction we may receive from ten human leaders. We need the correct source of wisdom and that is God.

An aspect of wisdom that we must keep in mind is that all people are sinful. Even the most righteous among us struggles with times of sin. Remembering this, we must not take to heart all of the harmful things that others may say that could hurt us. Again, we all are sinful and we know in our own hearts that we too have sinned and said unkind and hurtful things about others. We must learn to show grace and overlook flaws in others rather than hold grudges and expect in others what we cannot do in our own lives. Let us learn to thank God for his grace towards us and then let us show that same grace towards others.

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