Don't be overly titled
Ecclesiastes (20) Do not go too far (Ecclesiastes 7:11-18)
<Follow the providence of God>
In the Bible, the word “wisdom” appears a lot in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom is beautiful and beneficial (verse 11). It is more important to have the knowledge that “wisdom preserves life!” (verse 12). Wisdom is following the providence of God. Nothing can go against the will and providence of God (verse 13). God sometimes made people prosper and sometimes made them miserable, so that humans could live according to the will of God without being proud (verse 14). So, when things go well, don't be proud, and when things don't go well, don't get discouraged.
Life is a series of wounds. As you go through life, difficult, depressed, and self-deprecating situations unfold. But even then, God still holds us by His grace. Without that grace, we cannot live even a single moment, so life itself is actually a sign of God's grace. People think how God can love someone who lacks like himself, but that is a big misunderstanding. God loves us more than anyone. Have confidence in God. Do not accept difficult situations as ‘a sign of God’s lack of love’, but as ‘a sign of God’s good providence’.
When faced with hardship, the ‘negative self’ says: “What hope is there when I am broken and broken like this?” On the other hand, the ‘positive self’ then says: “Don’t just think about breaking and breaking. There is no life without trials in this world. Don't lose faith and think big. If you are in God, the time of reversal will surely come.” Which one should I follow? Follow the ‘positive self’. Don't be a person who rejoices when you win something. Have faith that you will become a victor if you rejoice rather than become a person who rejoices when you win.
<Don't be overdone>
“Do not be overly righteous!” in the text means “Do not seek your own righteousness!” Also, “Don’t be overly wicked!” doesn’t mean “moderate evil is okay!” but “don’t fall into evil to the point of unrepentance!” All of these words are warnings against ‘excessiveness’. Excessiveness is a shortcut to destruction and death, and an attitude that is neither left nor right is a shortcut to the blessing of Canaan.
“Don’t be overly wicked!” makes sense, but what does “don’t be overly righteous” mean? An ‘overly righteous person’ thinks that he is living a clean and upright life, but he has many faults that he is not aware of, and there is no space for others. Just as fish cannot live in clear water, if you only know the truth and justice and do not know love and mercy, that is also a problem.
There are times in life when you step outside the boundaries. In The Sound of Music, the nuns lie to the Nazi soldiers in good faith to free the Jews, but the lies do not break their piety. If the will not to lie harms lives and harms the community, it is a mistake of 'excessive'. Wisdom is knowing that being too evil is a problem, but being too righteous is a problem. What is the boundary between excessive and non-excessive? It is the fear of God (v. 18).
People like to divide with black and white logic, but humans often misunderstand black and white because they cannot make accurate judgments. So, don't just look at black and white as an antagonistic concept. All things are usually in pairs. Hope and despair, light and darkness, progress and conservativeness, man and woman, good and evil, beauty and ugliness, life and death, etc. cannot exist except for one. So, if you fear God, you avoid extremes. Don't go to extremes. You can live a clean and righteous life, but also acknowledge the life of someone who lacks and look for his strengths. Nothing else is wrong.
When ordinary people see a rotten apple, they throw it away, but those who are good at housekeeping cut out the rotten part and eat the healthy part. Don't define the person you don't like as bad and incompetent. If you fill in the missing parts and correct the wrong parts, he will live and I will live. Among those whom the Jewish leaders had defined as sinners, the Lord saw their prospects and made them into characters. That is true living. When you avoid excess and open your heart to embrace someone even when your life is difficult, the mysterious power of life will appear.