A new year is upon us! Are you excited? On one hand, the switch from December 31, 2020 to January 1, 2021 this coming Thursday night is the same as any old Thursday night. It is one day, then the next day. Sure, we get a long holiday weekend, which is nice, but New Year’sContinue reading “Not so fast 2021…why we needed 2020 – Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:8, Part 1”
Tag Archives: wisdom
How to avoid your boss getting angry at you – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 5
One of the worst feelings is when your boss is angry at you. Here’s how to avoid it. In our final section of Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, the Teacher (the author of Ecclesiastes) writes a proverb in verses 18-19 that is connected to the illustration he previously used of to help us determine if a leader isContinue reading “How to avoid your boss getting angry at you – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 5”
How to discover the character of a leader (and why it matters) – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20
Does a leader’s character matter? Just about everyone would say, “Yes,” but what if their character is sketchy, and maybe their personality and tone really rubs you the wrong way, but you agree with their policies, or at least some of their policies? Is it okay, then, to overlook their character? These are difficult questionsContinue reading “How to discover the character of a leader (and why it matters) – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20”
How to identify a fool – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 3
How do you identify a fool? It sure would be nice if fools and foolishness had their own costume, like the court jester in the picture above. Unfortunately fools and foolishness most often look normal. Worse yet, people can have sharply divided views on what is foolish. Thankfully, the Teacher (the writer of Ecclesiastes) writesContinue reading “How to identify a fool – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 3”
Pursuing wisdom and avoiding foolishness in leadership – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 2
What is wisdom? In the previous post, we started a five-part series on Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, in which the Teacher (the writer of Ecclesiastes) gives us a series of proverbs about how to live wisely. In that post, the Teacher described a bit of what wisdom does not do, or what it does not look like. Continue reading “Pursuing wisdom and avoiding foolishness in leadership – Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20, Part 2”
God has you in his hands? (Is that just Christian mumbo-jumbo?) – Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:10, Part 2
What do you think about the title of this post? God has you in his hands. Christians have been saying that kind of thing for centuries. Is it true? Or is just Christian mumbo-jumbo, feel-good nonsense? As we continue our study in Ecclesiastes, the Teacher (the writer of Ecclesiastes) has some ancient wisdom for us,Continue reading “God has you in his hands? (Is that just Christian mumbo-jumbo?) – Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:10, Part 2”
Sick and tired of 2020? – Ecclesiastes 8:9-15, Part 1
This fall I’m teaching an online class: The Gospels, the Life of Jesus. In a recent assignment the students were to find a current events article that somehow connects to what we had been studying in the Gospel of Mark. One student found an article which reported that more than likely, even if there isContinue reading “Sick and tired of 2020? – Ecclesiastes 8:9-15, Part 1”
If we don’t have to be perfect, then what should we strive for? – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 5
What is the right way to live? It’s a big question with many possible answers. We have arrived at the final proverb in Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, proverbs in which the Teacher has been helping us make sense of our perplexing world. I said in the previous post that the Teacher would answer the question, “If weContinue reading “If we don’t have to be perfect, then what should we strive for? – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 5”
How to escape the traps of gossip and seduction – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 3
It’s probably very familiar: you overhear a co-worker in the break room talking about you, or you peek over a family member’s shoulder and read their text messages, or the church grapevine gets back to you. Through one of these, you learn something negative someone said about us. You are embarrassed, hurt, and angry. TheContinue reading “How to escape the traps of gossip and seduction – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 3”
The way to have a better life…now – Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Part 5
I love the encouragement of this picture. With two and a half months to go in 2020, many of us are holding out for a better life in 2021. Here in the USA, the bitter presidential election will be over. It seems that we will get beyond Covid in 2021. So does that mean, asContinue reading “The way to have a better life…now – Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Part 5”
Engaging Scripture 