Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

I am not sure where I am going to go with today’s blog.  I want to write about a couple of things which the writer says in today’s passage, perhaps as I do some sort of theme will emerge.  The writer tells us that we should be happy in the good times, but remember that the bad times are part of God’s plan as well.  Or, as Job said, God both gives and takes away.

Further on the writer tells us not to be over-righteous or over-wise.  On the other hand we should not be over-wicked or a fool.  That last bit gives us an insight into what he means by “over-righteous” and “over-wise”, because he does not write that we should not be over-foolish, just that we should not be a fool.  We can try to hard to do what is righteous and what is wise.  There comes a point where in an attempt to be righteous we do what is wrong and in an attempt to do what is wise we do what is foolish.  We need to recognize that we will not always get it right, and act anyway.

The final thing I want to touch on is a saying which I do not actually know what it means, but which I like to claim explains why I lean towards the political right:

The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
    but the heart of the fool to the left.

Make of that what your will.

1I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.