![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Ecclesiastes_10_18.jpg)
| “Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 10:18 |
As I mentioned in last Friday’s blog post, we already know, from reading the Book of Proverbs, that King Solomon enjoyed sharing pithy sayings. In today’s passage, Solomon continues to share certain proverbs that clearly relate to his examination of a life “under the sun” without a relationship with God. Here’s what Solomon wrote, as recorded in Ecclesiastes 10:12-20:
Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming—who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town. Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.
Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.
A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
The most effective motivation to do what’s right in life comes from a relationship with God. King Solomon had experienced this fact in his own life. When he had become deflected from doing what he knew God expected him to do, Solomon would experience a dissatisfaction with his own behavior. This dissatisfaction prompted Solomon to frame a form of confession in these very passages we have studied over the past blog posts.
As followers of Jesus, we experience the fullness of God’s blessing. It’s important for us to stay on the path that God has laid out before us. Doing so does not restrict us from enjoying life. Rather, it gives us the ultimate freedom to do so.
