Ecclesiastes 10:5-20
Book Overview
NOTE: There are times I find it particularly helpful to refer to Eugene Peterson’s translation of passages that seem a little “all over the place” or unclear. He was focused on getting the ideas across to his blue collar, local congregation. You can read his paraphrase of this passage here, just to help with its structure or big ideas.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Where are you trying to "out-muscle" a situation with a blunt ax rather than stopping to seek God’s wisdom?
Does rest seem unavailable, unattainable, or just not that important right now? Why?
What do you need wisdom about / in? Who can offer it? How can you get it?
Are you “swinging the ax” of prayer as hard as the work of your own hands?
What do you think God is wanting to “muscle” into or out of you? How can you let him?
How have your words this week served as a "truth serum" for the state of your heart?
If you listen to yourself, what are the complaints of your heart - right or wrong?
How would you know if you were blurring the line between gossip and “sharing?”
What does Jesus say about you? What has the Lord done with his complaints about you?
In what area of your life – relationships, work, maintenance – have you allowed the "slow rot" of neglect to set in?
When’s the last time you intentionally let someone do a check-up / tune-up on your life?
If you were going to “do maintenance” on any part of your life, what would it be?
How does knowing that the True Prince "walked" so you could "ride" change your perspective on your current "lowly place"?
Is there a place you think you should be? Does that merely involve authority or influence, or does it involve you being held to a particular standard of character, expectation, and responsibility?
When you see someone in a place they shouldn’t be (usually “higher” than you think they ought to be), does that change the way you treat them?
What does that say about you?
How did Jesus treat those who placed themselves in higher stations than they should be - even over him?