Day 69, Year 1

Seeking Wisdom but Not Self-Interest

“For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:7 NASB)

… “And neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11b NASB)

The wise among Israel in the Old Testament were not necessarily wealthy. In the New Testament, Jesus rarely lived in luxury during His earthly ministry. In reality, without sufficient money to live, bribery or oppression could corrupt all of a person’s wisdom. Bribery is doing unrighteous deeds for personal gain, which does not need to involve monetary transactions, as many bribes come in gifts, etc. Hence, in our pursuit of divine wisdom, believers should be careful not to let wisdom become foolishness due to bribes or oppression. I have witnessed some wise believers becoming foolish over my forty years in the Christian faith. Therefore, we often need to overcome many temptations when seeking wisdom, including the love of wealth and enjoyment through material things, even the normal desire to escape from poverty. Instead, we need to concentrate on harboring more wisdom from God. 

As the second verse states, those pursuing wisdom have to acknowledge that spiritual wisdom is not bread. However, the wise often know how to solve the problem of food shortages. For physically healthy people, short-term fasting and prayer might also be a good way to resolve a temporary lack of food. Those who pursue God’s wisdom should consider how to forsake foolishness while not pursuing wealth with foolishness.

Furthermore, wisdom and understanding benefit people, though often not directly or immediately. In the vast sea of wisdom, it always takes a relatively long time to accumulate wisdom before she influences us. Meanwhile, the greatest benefit of wisdom is enabling us to find God, who generously provides for those who trust in Him. Thus, we need perseverance to forsake foolishness and pursue wisdom so as to enjoy her fruit. During this process, referring to the first verse, it is best for us to prepare ourselves in advance of bribes or oppressions, on how to face the coercion or temptation of others. If our determination is not firm enough and succumb to the oppression or bribery of others, our wisdom would become distorted, and everything they received would fall into crookedness and become corrupted.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you think you could overcome temptations like oppression and bribery? Why?

2) Between wisdom and self-interest, which direction have you set for your life? Are you truly not afraid of poverty?