Jump Start # 826

Ecclesiastes 10:7 I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, writes this book from his perspective. It is what  he sees. The book is stuffed with several contrasts. Many of them are only understood from the standpoint of the spiritual. For instance, he said in the seventh chapter, that going to the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting. We get that spiritually. That is the only way we get that. Funeral home or birthday party? Give me the birthday party. I don’t know anyone who just pops into the funeral home because he loves funerals. Funerals are sad, serious, and a reminder of what’s ahead for us. Parties are fun. Food, laughter, jokes, friends, great times. We love parties. We only go to funerals when we have to. I know a guy who owns a funeral home. I dropped in to see him one day. He was eating his lunch in his office, which was just a few feet from a room where you don’t want to know what happens. It gave me the willies.

Our verse today, is another contrast from Ecclesiastes. The princes were walking and the slaves were riding. Now, it’s important to get what Solomon is saying. On the surface, this may not seem so bad, in fact, it may makes us compliment the princes. It’s nice to make the little guy feel important for a day. Instead of the slaves waiting on the princes, it was the opposite. The slaves were riding and the princes were walking. This is not intended to be understood as something nice. This is not intended for us to think nice of the princes. In the verses before, Solomon says, “there is an evil I have seen under the sun…” Our verse begins, “I have seen..” The slaves riding and the princes walking is the evil that Solomon saw. The preceding verse continues, “folly is set in many exalted places while the rich men sit in humble places.” Slaves riding and princes walking is folly. It is evil. The princes need to be ruling. This is not about who is better than another, or equality, but roles that people play. The prince is royalty. He needs to act that way and live up to that position. The slaves are slaves. They serve. Slaves do not know how to rule and princes do not know how to serve. Some of the least qualified serve. We understand that in politics. A recognizable name, some money and a person can be elected to Congress, even though he is like a slave. He knows nothing about leading.

This chapter exposes the trouble of folly.

• Folly ruins beauty (1)
• Folly makes a terrible guide (2-3)
• Folly attains undeserved honor (6-7)
• Folly can’t hold it’s tongue (12-14)

There is a great lesson for you and I here. We are sons and daughters of God. We follow the King of kings. We belong to that holy nation and that royal priesthood. Heaven is ours if we follow Jesus. He is royalty. We have the greatest gift—salvation. We have the best guide—Jesus. We have the greatest care—God. We have the most precious prize—Heaven. We ought to be riding like princes. Instead we often are walking.

We do this when we want what the servants have. We are princes. We often have this backwards. It is the servants who dream of living in the palace. It is the servants who long to be princes. Princes don’t dream of being servants. When we chase what the world is after, we are walking not riding. When we define life the way the world does, we are walking not riding.

We do this when we settle for second best. God has the best for us. When we settle for anything less and anything else, it is always second best. Second best attitudes, instead of the best attitudes. Second best hearts instead of the best hearts. Second best behavior instead of the best behavior. Second best marriage instead of the best marriage. Some are content with second best. We are princes. Are you walking or riding?

We do this when we measure life by what we have instead of who we are.  Stuff makes us feel important. Stuff is what seems to be important. Stuff confuses us with success. We think we are some body because of all the stuff we have. Yet on the inside of our hearts, may lie worry, bitterness, fear, and pride. God is impressed with the size of your heart, not the sixe of your house

We act like servants when we fail to realize that our place is in the palace. A palace is where princes live. They don’t live in the servants chambers. The BBC show, Dowtown Abbey, illustrates the difference between the upstairs people and the downstairs people. The servants are downstairs. The servants eat after the upstairs people do.

Our citizenship is in Heaven, Paul said. We sing, “This world is not my home,” yet, some of us act as if it is. We belong in Heaven. We belong to God. We are princes. We need to live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Are you walking or are you riding?

Roger