Earning Points

“Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before him. Ecc 8:12

The thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel lays out the criteria for forgiveness and right relationship with God. If a man is faithful to God until the end of his life and then turns away, all of his previous righteousness bears no weight. On the other hand if a man is unfaithful and rebellious to God until the end of his life and then turns toward God, all of his unrighteousness bears no weight against him.

We are not storing up points to earn salvation or squandering points to loose salvation. If we repent, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9). He will bring everything into the counsel of his will on our behalf as we rely on him regardless of the stage of our lives (Ephesians 2:11).

Hot Cars and Frustrating Questions

I can remember as a child waiting with my mother for dad to come out of a hardware store. Summer in Redding California is sticky and hot so our windows were rolled down and sweat made our legs stick to the plastic seats of the car. Dad had promised ice cream at the end of our shopping trip and I wanted to know if it was time yet.

Mother, being the wise woman she was, reminded me that it is not wise to ask those kinds of questions when someone is hot, tired and frustrated. There is a time to ask questions and a time to wait silently.

That advice is good for adults also. Not only do we need to be careful when and where we ask questions, but when and where we do things. The writer of Ecclesiastes put it this way, “A wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6).

Passing It On

When I was a child my mother taught me, if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all. It was good advice that kept me from hurting other people.

A similar principle is to never tell your friend negative things that were said about them. When you do, you unwittingly become the attacker. It is best to leave unkindness in the garbage where it belongs than smear it over someone you know.

There may be times when an unwise person repeats to you negative remarks by another individual. If that should happen, remember the proverb from Ecclesiastes, “Do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others” (7:21-22).

Overly Righteous

There is a rather strange proverb in Ecclesiastes. “Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked nor be foolish; Why should you die before your time?” (Ecc 7:16-17).

How can a person be overly righteous or over wise? Is the scripture admonishing us to add a little spice to our lives by some ungodliness? We know from the rest of scripture that cannot be accurate.

However, most of us have met someone who attempts to give spiritual meaning to every thing in life. Conversations with them tend to be surreal. If they receive a complement on their appearance, the response is, “It’s all God.” If someone tells them they enjoyed their singing, again the response is, “it’s all God.” Going to lunch with them may be a religious experience, praying about what restaurant to pick, where to park or may go as far as attempting to discern if they should go to lunch at all.

Over spiritualizing every normal interaction demeans the importance of true godly behavior and diminishes the glory of God.