PPic: Oberon Golf Course - Links Pro Am 2006

PGA Chaplain Bible Studies

Study 3: 07/04/2009

Ecclesiastes Chapter 1:verses 12 to 18

The more you think you know, the less you really know.

“I the teacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on us all. I have seen all the things that have been done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. I thought to myself, look I have grown and increased in wisdom more that anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much wisdom and knowledge. Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this too is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge the more grief”.  Ecclesiastes Chapter 1: verses 12 to 18. (NIV).

One has to be on guard against people who offer easy answers to life. Those who present a package without any room for questions or reforms are dangerous. This is what worries me about some religions and their basis for authority. Islam for example provides no room for questions about Mohamed and the writing of the Koran. The Mormon Church has the book of Mormon, yet we have no access to the gold plates of this book that Joseph Smith supposedly found. With the bible it has a historic credibility as well as being open for critique and criticism. With Jehovah witnesses you have a group of people who all believe and follow all the same doctrines down to their minute details. Science can also give the impression that with just more time and new discoveries we will solve all the problems of disease and life. People in the church are also guilty of providing easy answers to complex issues. It would be good if life were this simple, but it is not.

Our reading this week is a search for wisdom, a search to understand and apply knowledge to all areas of life. In this search, his results are disappointing. To have all knowledge and to work out how the world works was beyond him. All the wisdom that he was able to discover only left a sour disappointing conclusion. How honest can you get? We all need to be humble enough to know our limits about life and to be open to listening from others about their search.

I have found in my own experience that the closer I get to know God the more aware of my shortcomings and ignorance I am aware of. In this way it is easy to understand how wisdom and foolishness belong together.  The more you know, the more you realise the less you know. The other way round is that when you think you know everything, you are unaware that you know so little.

Yet without wisdom and applying it to life, we can make many mistakes and be blind to how foolish we really are. I find this to be true when I listen to some advice we give our mates when playing golf.  If only we knew how little we know. We believe that Jesus is the wisdom of God. Because we follow Jesus does not mean that we know everything, but we have confidence since he comes from God he will lead us in the right direction.

Prayer. Lord, help me to be humble in thinking about how wise I am and open to learning from you and others. Amen.

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