Careful and wise living demands that we be careful with our words. What we say can build people up or break people down. So, we are told to speak wisely. Ecclesiastes 10:15-17 bring up another area we need to exercise wisdom. It is in the area of leadership. How should we connect verse 15 with the matter of leadership? It says, “The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.” Here we see a mindless and thoughtless fool going about his work. And it’s a sorry state of affair because he is oblivious of the purpose of life. As a result, he exhausted his strength and is still unaware that all he had been engaging in is an exercise in futility. It is sad to go about many needless activities of life and accomplishing nothing. A foolish leader will squander much of his time away on self-indulgence without accomplishing much, and yet he cannot see it. He does not know how to rule.
Verse 16 then says “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!” Here clearly leadership is in perspective, particularly, governmental leadership. But we will extend the application of this verse to cover wisdom in leadership in general. What we see is this: wise leadership is a blessing while poor or bad leadership is a curse. Hence Solomon begins this verse with the phrase “Woe to you.” It gives the connotation of misery. When a bad and incompetent leader takes the reign of any organization, misery will be felt. Whether it be in a country, a business organization, a home, and yes, even in a church, poor leadership is telling.
In talking about a boy becoming a king, Solomon was referring to an immature person talking leadership. It’s not so much the age that he was talking about, but the competency of the person. The king is the main leader. He, together with the princes seen in the second part of verse 16 must be referring to the whole leadership. The fact that they are seen feasting in the morning show their lack of understanding of their purpose. The point is that early in the morning, they were already having a banquet, not just a breakfast. Instead of thinking about leading and governing wisely, they were having a gala feast and probably getting drunk so early in the day. Personal indulgence was given priority over the affairs of the organization or nation. There is nothing wrong when a celebration at a proper time. But here the leadership are described as indulging the first thing in the morning. In contrast, verse 17 shows us that people who know their purpose celebrate at the proper time. What these verses decry is excessive indiscrete feasting and celebration at the wrong time. The life of seeking self-pleasure is disapproved and censured.
We must remember that personal leadership precedes public relationship. If we cannot lead ourselves well, it is unlikely that we can lead others effectively. So, on a more personal note, we ask ourselves how can the principle of these verses apply to our leadership in our own lives? How should we, as Christians, conduct our lives? There is no denying that there is a time for everything. And discipline has to be exercised if we are to bring wisdom into our daily living. If as a witness of the Lord, we get out of control and indulge needlessly and squandering away time on pleasure seeking and living, then how can we be effective in our witness. Something is drastically wrong. How can such a lifestyle fulfill a clear objective and purpose of establishing God’s rulership in our life? Every believer should make it his or her business to get up in the morning and think about establishing God’s kingdom here on earth. Remember Jesus calls us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then all things will be given to us at the proper time.
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