Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 – The difference between wisdom and folly

William Temple, an Archbishop of Canterbury, once said, “Man’s wisdom is his best friend and folly his worst enemy.” It’s true that wisdom is needed for a great spiritual journey and a useful life. Folly, on the other hand, disrupts one’s life and makes a person ineffective in his daily living. In reflecting on the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon honestly shows us what true wisdom is, and also blatantly points out what folly is as well. One clear example is found in Ecclesiastes 10:1 where he says, “Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.”

Solomon could well have experienced having a whiff of perfume that had several dead flies in it and never really forgotten the foul stench it gave out. That stench so deeply etched in his memory that he could now equate it to folly. While wisdom is like the sweet fragrant of perfume, folly is the stench of perfume made rancid by dead flies. Like perfume, wisdom is sweet but all it takes is a little folly to alter its sweet smell. From experience, everyone knows how this works. One misplaced word, a moment of foolish indulgence, an instant of an uncontrollable outburst, or one unthoughtful decision will change the whole course of one’s life.

Ecclesiastes has much to teach us about wisdom. So here in chapter 10, Solomon counsels us to stay away from folly. In loosely connected ways, through proverbs, admonitions, maxims, stories and etc, he shows us two totally contrasting different ways to live. He shows us the way of wisdom and the way of folly. As we live life, the pertinent question we need to ask constantly is how am I living? Am I guided by wisdom or am I blindly following folly?

It is relatively easier to distinguish between good and bad but not so clear-cut when it comes to wisdom and folly. To begin with, we need to have a clear understanding of what a fool looks like. He is not one person necessarily with a low IQ or a below average intelligence. According to Psalm 53:1, he is one who says in his heart that there is no God. He is seen as one who has no fear of God and his tendency is to move in the wrong direction in life. Being foolish and being wicked are entirely two different things. Wickedness describes people who are malicious, whereas folly describes people who are impulsive, self-centered, rash, arrogant and have a total disregard for God. Hence verse 2 shows that he has a problem in walking in the right direction. For a person who is wise, his inclination is to move in the right direction, but a fool’s inclination is to go left, meaning the direction that is opposite to what’s right. He tends to go astray. What is the direction of our lives today? Are we walking in the footsteps of a disciple or are we moving in the opposite direction? When we are faced with a temptation, do we move away from it or towards it? The direction we take will determine whether we are wise or foolish.

Notice that it all begins with the heart. When our heart is inclined towards a certain direction, that will be the direction we will gravitate to. Our heart is the soul of our spiritual life and our strongest action is where our deepest desire stirs. Our action always follows our heart. The wise man moves in the right direction because his heart is leaning Godward and in the right direction. Let us make sure that our heart is well placed in God.

Sadly verse 3 tells us that the fool is on the wrong road and he doesn’t even realize it. He is like what the Persian proverbs says, “He is one who knows not and knows not he knows not.” The advice is to shun him. We are told here that when he “…walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.” This guy is totally in the wrong direction and he didn’t even know it. The implication of the last part of verse 3 is this: although everyone can see from the fool’s action that he is one, yet he himself is oblivious to it. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:17 echoes that call to avoid folly. It says, “…do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Wisdom dictates that we need the grace of God and so we humbly seek His grace so that we can walk in step with His ways. Proverbs 3:6-7 remind us saying, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.” Amen!