One of the things about life is that it seldom goes according to plan. I may be too conscious of that fact - I tend to count on disruption, which can drive Dawn crazy. She expects people to be nice, the weather to be good, travel to go smoothly, everything to be in on time, things to work out. And, for her, most of the time they do.
My plans allow time for road construction, anticipate people not cooperating, figure on a rain delay here or there. Things go wrong. It seems like something always throws a little gravel in the gears. I always add in time for some badness, which means often we spend an extra hour at the airport.
Ecc 10:10 seems to speak to that. It says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.”
The Teacher was speaking about life, so my first thought was this is a good admonishment to persevere. When things aren’t as easy as I thought they would be, I shouldn’t use that as an excuse not to keep at it. Biking in the wind is harder, but doable. Writing with interruptions is harder, but doable. Conditions may not be favorable, but that just demands a little more skill and focus to get the thing done.
Scripture, though, is all about my relationship with God. It tells me how to be a good son. So my next thought was that being obedient is almost always met with challenges from the world. There’s a lot working against my desire to live faithfully. Is the Teacher trying to tell me that when it comes to my faith life, I need to develop the strength to push through resistance?
Skill will bring success, it says. What kind of faith skills will bring successful obedience? Mostly I think of faith habits - prayer, reading, meditation. Skills? Discernment, maybe? Maybe some well-honed drills, actions I can take when tempted, like a battle drill?
I might be stretching the point too far - this verse might simply be an aphorism about work. It still seems constructive to mull over, though. There are enough times when I let life beat me that I should always be trying to figure out a better way.
Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books of scripture. It's a bit interesting and comes across initially as a downer, but there's much wisdom and truth there for us to glean when we take the time. Your verse today is a good example. And I think your interpretation fits with the context of scripture as a whole. We do have to work harder to be the people God calls us to be. We can be successful with skill and hard work. It's not easy; people often question us and even make fun of us; persistence results in growth; we need to learn to trust and obey. What I sometimes find most challenging about Ecclesiastes is that its author seemed to have a different system of morals and values than what God seems to have in mind for us. So do I "want" to listen? Should I listen? It reminds me a bit of some who gets a lot of press this year...And I struggle a great deal with listening to him and her, too. Wait; that's a dangerous comparison to make based on the context of scripture. I think I need to retract that thought.
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