Differentiating Wisdom from Folly (Ecc 2:12-14)

DIFFERENTIATING WISDOM FROM FOLLY (Ecc 2:12-14):

After reflecting and examining the position, possession, pleasure, and passions, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes moves forward to examine Wisdom. Though the author had his first thought about wisdom in the 1^st Chapter, he again considered it, as he felt that wisdom was residing with him all the time to help him realize the vanity of things. The author examines wisdom which helps in discerning things such as insanity which arises out of mental disorder naturally or by the pressures of life, and foolishness which is due to the ignorance and unwillingness to take in factual things. Though a person is wise, there is no certainty about how his successors would be. The author feels that even an insane person or a fool who succeeds a king would enjoy what had been already accomplished without doing anything, but it is sure that they don’t enjoy the success of the toils and thereby achieving things by themselves.

The author concludes that Wisdom is more useful than foolishness because the foolishness will not help a person to grow by learning new things and it doesn’t help to find favor among other men, use the human and other resources efficiently; whereas wisdom helps in using the things around in a worthier and effective way, finding favor in the sight of others. The author compares the wisdom and foolishness to light and darkness. Just like the light provides an environment to observe, notice and learn or discern many things, wisdom helps a man. Whereas just like the darkness hinders a man to take a step forward as there isn’t clear vision and direction, the foolishness forbids a man.

The author is bidirectional in his view most of the time. He considers the view of the environment which influences, as well as the view of an individual who handles the influence of the environment. In the previous verse, he gives a view of wisdom and foolishness to its surrounding and then he gives the view of wisdom and foolishness to an individual in comparison to their surroundings. The author says that wise use their eyes. It’s not just the environment that needs to be well lighted for better discerning but also the individual needs to use their eyes in order to look at and grasp things accordingly, at times. The fool walks in the darkness just to move on, without having a purpose and direction. The author perceives that the same events happen for all the people, according to their situations. The author tries to explain that the outcome will be changed in accordance with how we look at things, though there is an influence because of how things are actually. 

Stimulations for Self-Reflection:

1.    What are the things that the author examines? Why?

2.    What does the person who succeeds the king do?

3.    Which is more useful, wisdom or foolishness? Why?

4.    What the author compares wisdom and foolishness with? Why?

5.    What the wise and the fool have and do?

6.    How wise uses their eyes?

7.    How the fool walks in darkness?

8.    What the author perceive and try to explain with that?

9.    When the wisdom could be more productive and constructive to us?