Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good. —Ecclesiastes 9:16–18
I remember when car alarms were first introduced into the marketplace and the thoughts that came to mind when you heard one sounding its blaring alarm. Your mind began to race with pictures of car thieves hot-wiring cars and broken glass littering the ground. In the early days, a car alarm would even draw a small crowd of curious onlookers and well-meaning “protectors.” When we hear a car alarm today, however, it is merely an annoyance, and we wonder why the bozo who owns the car can’t figure out how to shut off the alarm.
This is not unlike the situation here in Ecclesiastes concerning the shout of a ruler of fools and a poor man’s wisdom. I have to say, I am amazed at what people will believe simply because of the power and position of the one who says it. Yet those not viewed by the world’s standards as successful have little platform to express their views or even have value associated with their opinions. This becomes a problem when the powerful actually lack true wisdom, because one foolish voice in a place of power can destroy much good.
In God’s economy, it is not the voice of the masses that we need to hear, but the quiet voice of wisdom that the world tries to drown out with its shouts of foolishness. The popular school of thought is seldom the wisdom of God. In these postmodern times, we need to guard our hearts and minds when we hear the world sounding the alarm of its definitions of right and wrong and its views of success.
So as you are bombarded today by the media’s shouts of “This is what success wears,” “This is where success lives,” or “This is how success eats and drinks,” treat it like you would a car alarm. Most of the time, it is nothing more than a cultural annoyance, not a statement of significance. Or as Solomon described it, it’s nothing more than the shout of a ruler of fools!
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