August 16th, 2021
by Austin Duncan
by Austin Duncan
Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
Ecclesiastes is considered a book of wisdom. Written from the viewpoint of a “preacher” who has discovered that everything he thought would bring him happiness is vanity. Not vanity in the way of pride, but vanity in the way of being worthless.
Apart from God it is all worthless.
And then I stumbled across this little gem of wisdom in chapter 7:21-22. It almost felt like God did a mic drop on me when I read it. In fact, it stopped me in my tracks. Go to the top of this blog and read it again…I’ll wait.
I think most people struggle with hearing negative comments about themselves. For every 99 positive comments I receive I will always pay more attention to the one negative. I can try to be a people pleaser and make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time, but the simple truth is not everyone is going to like me (or you) no matter what. This passage of Scripture in Ecclesiastes tells us not to “sweat it.”
In fact, the passage hit me between the eyes when it basically says, “Don’t sweat it, after all, you say negative things about people too.” I must confess, I do! I mean, I try not to but I am human. But God gives us a gentle reminder not to take things people say about us so seriously because we also have a tendency to let words fly out of our mouths in a rather flippant manner.
If you hear that someone has been saying some things about you behind your back, forgive them. Chances are you have spoken some unflattering words behind someone else’s back, and if they ever found out you’d want them to forgive you.
Thank you God for this piece of wisdom today from Your Word…AND for reminding us that you know all and see all that is going on in our hearts.
Blessings,
Pastor Josh
- Money
- Possessions
- Self-Indulgence
- Fame
- Pursuit of Happiness
Apart from God it is all worthless.
And then I stumbled across this little gem of wisdom in chapter 7:21-22. It almost felt like God did a mic drop on me when I read it. In fact, it stopped me in my tracks. Go to the top of this blog and read it again…I’ll wait.
I think most people struggle with hearing negative comments about themselves. For every 99 positive comments I receive I will always pay more attention to the one negative. I can try to be a people pleaser and make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time, but the simple truth is not everyone is going to like me (or you) no matter what. This passage of Scripture in Ecclesiastes tells us not to “sweat it.”
In fact, the passage hit me between the eyes when it basically says, “Don’t sweat it, after all, you say negative things about people too.” I must confess, I do! I mean, I try not to but I am human. But God gives us a gentle reminder not to take things people say about us so seriously because we also have a tendency to let words fly out of our mouths in a rather flippant manner.
If you hear that someone has been saying some things about you behind your back, forgive them. Chances are you have spoken some unflattering words behind someone else’s back, and if they ever found out you’d want them to forgive you.
Thank you God for this piece of wisdom today from Your Word…AND for reminding us that you know all and see all that is going on in our hearts.
Blessings,
Pastor Josh
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