Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 - Living life with the right balance

We have no doubt about God’s sovereignty and that He is in control of everything that happens in the world. However, it is one thing to be convinced of it and quite another to conduct life with that conviction. After all, we are frail earthly beings. This is not an excuse in case we fail. This is embracing life with truthfulness. Thankfully, Psalm 103:8-10 assure us that:

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
   nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.

However, we still struggle with the seeming unfairness of life. This was the struggle of Solomon in what he observed of life. So, he said, “In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.” His perplexity, like ours, has to do with the notion that a great, righteous and just God who is in sovereign control of the world, why then are there still so many adversities, sufferings, injustices and unfairness in the world? We should expect those who love God and serve Him to be free from all afflictions and troubles, but this is not the situation. Frequently, we do encounter righteous people who are committed to serve and honor God suffering great afflictions. All these happen while the ungodly seem to be getting richer and more prosperous and disease free.  It all seems so paradoxical.

Since we have no way of correcting the situation by ourselves, the sound advice is found in verses 16-17. We are told “Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?” These verses, if not seen in perspective, will seem to contradict God’s call for righteous living. Let me propose a way to look at two expressions here that will provide some relief. The two expressions are: “overly righteous” and “overly wicked.” The overly righteous is best taken as self-righteous where a person thinks that he is right all the time and thus become wise in his own eyes. Remember he who exalts himself will be brought low, so says the Bible. Then overly wicked will suggest that we must not be self-indulgence. We must have a balance of everything. Anything we do in excess becomes an indulgence. It becomes worse when the whole objective is self-aggrandizement. Remember there is a time for everything.  The wise thing to do is to conduct life with balance and to hold everything in tandem. Avoid being self-righteous or self-indulgence. Verse 18 tells us that when these two areas are held in right perspectives we will be enabled to have a right fear of the Lord. It will enable us to live with awe and wonder of our great and awesome God!