Ecclesiastes 7-8 Be Careful What You Hear

Of all the “under the sun” philosophies Solomon mentions here, the one that seemed to stand out this morning was this:

“Don’t listen to everything people say, or you might hear your servant insulting you.  You know that many times you have insulted others.”

My commentary said, “A healthy sense of our own imperfection will help us to take criticisms in stride.  If we hear a servant cursing us, though he is much lower on the social ladder, we can always be glad he doesn’t know us BETTER, because then he would have more to curse! … And we should always remember that we have been guilty of the same thing.  Many times we have cursed others in our heart.  We can scarcely expect others to be perfect when we are so far from perfect ourselves.  That is one of the frustrations of a perfectionist.  He wants everything and everyone else to be perfect, but he lives in a world of imperfection, and he himself cannot reach the goal he sets for others.”

I think these verses go a long way in helping us shrug off comments made by others, especially in the church, where I find myself hurt more by the words of others than I do out in the world.

Father, I want God-sent constructive criticism.  Help me to be willing to listen to it.  But also guard my ears from small talk and unfounded criticisms that the devil might try to use to take me off the field.  Keep me in the game and on Your side.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford