| “This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 7:29 |
In his quest to try to discover what it would be like for humans to live without the presence of God in their lives, King Solomon closes Chapter 7 of the Book of Ecclesiastes on a downward note. I suspect that many of the devoted female followers of Jesus will blanch a bit, as they read what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:27-29:
“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered: Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—while I was still searching but not finding—I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.”
Solomon reports the statistics of his search for humans who live in an upright—or holy—manner. He says that he found only one upright man in one thousand and no upright women. This should not be interpreted that there were no upright women. Simply that, in the sample that Solomon took among his immediate surroundings, he found no upright women. This might well be due to the fact that he had brought so many foreign women into his household. These foreign women, Scripture tells us, brought with them their foreign gods, which they worshipped and encouraged Solomon to worship. Always distracted by a pretty face, Solomon did set up some idols to these foreign gods and, as a result of this unfaithful act on Solomon’s part, Jehovah God was not pleased.
If we were to search for individuals marked by evident holiness in our own immediate surroundings, what would we find? Would we find one man in a thousand and no women? Or, would we find many holy women, but few holy men? I fear the number of woman devoted to God would likely far outweigh the number of faithful men. And, what would a search of our own personal lives reveal? If someone we know was searching for a holy man or a holy woman, would that person look in our direction to find such a one?
As we begin a new day, it is worthwhile for us to examine our own lives. In our very own Christian spiritual formation, does a walk toward holiness mark who we are? Day by day, are we striving to obediently follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are we becoming more and more like Jesus? These are serious questions we should ask ourselves at the end of each day.
