A Level Head

A Level Head
With every news report, political advertisement, newspaper headline, and more, it is easy for us to become overwhelmed by it all. As the world continues to go on day after day there can be the danger for us to become hard, angry, bitter, and even cynical. The opposite is true too. Rather than facing life and the non-stop movement of the world we can bury our heads in the dirt and shut everything out. We can surround ourselves with entertainment, laughter, and silliness in an attempt to shut it all out. Yet, neither of these is sufficient for the Christian.

As followers of Christ we are to live a life of faith. We know that we are to “Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc.12:13) as we live life under the sun. It is this fear of the Lord, this faith, that will, by God’s grace, give us a level head. In fact, this is one of the pieces that the Preacher in Ecclesiastes is trying to teach us. We are not to be like the fool. Instead, we are told to be wise. Yet, wisdom too has its limits. This is why the Wisdom that we are to seek is not the wisdom of the world, but Christ, the Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18). 

We are reminded that “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools…” (Ecc. 7:5-6). So, we are not to be the fool who spends his days living his life with no concern other than what is next to laugh about. Yet, we are not to be the cynic either. “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this” (Ecc. 7:10). The Lord will not have His people that simply look backwards as if the only good is in the “good ol’ days.” 

So then, what is the cure? The gospel is the cure. The gospel frees us from foolishness and from cynicism. We are, by God’s grace, able to see the world for what it is. We are able to observe that there is nothing new under the sun, and live lives in Christ in a broken and fallen world. We look to the sovereign hand of God in all of life, knowing that He has placed us where we are for His glory and His purposes. We can enjoy the good things that He gives to us in this life unto His praise, while also recognizing that things will not be perfected on this side of eternity. So, my beloved brothers and sister, let not your hearts be troubled. Be sobered by reality while also being encouraged in Christ. Let us remember that today is a day that the Lord has made, and let us make much of Him while we might.

Grace be with you,
C. R. Hamilton