©Michael Player
Chapter 2:12-17 (ESV) - So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Question to consider: What does Solomon mean by “folly” in today’s passage?
If you have been a student of scripture for any length of time, you have most likely been taught that the biblical definition of a fool is one who does not believe in God. This idea is based on Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.”
In today’s passage, Solomon was not saying that his next experiment was to set aside his faith in God and try being an atheist for a bit. Light and darkness in this passage is not referring to good and evil. They are comparing the pursuit of knowledge versus living in ignorance. As the saying goes, “Ignorance is bliss.”
On the surface, Solomon recognized that there is more gain in becoming wise in the ways of the world than remaining in ignorance. As a simple example, consider the weather. Someone who pays attention to the weather forecast and learns that a snowstorm is coming may prepare for it by getting groceries ahead of time or making sure he has a working shovel or snow blower to dig himself out. Someone who doesn’t concern himself with this information could be caught without food or the ability to clear his driveway. Obviously, the person who lived according to wisdom and knowledge had an advantage over the one who preferred ignorance.
However, Solomon considered in today’s passage that maybe ignorance is bliss because both the enlightened person and the ignorant person ultimately meet the same fate. As the band, Pink Floyd, once proclaimed, “Ashes and diamonds. Foe and Friend. We were all equal in the end.” (from Two Sons in the Sunset on the album The Final Cut).
Solomon, who cherished wisdom, hated life when he realized that even the pursuit of knowledge was an act of futility, for both the wise man and the fool will die and be forgotten over time. Thankfully, the book doesn’t end with this passage.
I don’t know about you, but with each example so far, I can think of real-world examples of people who are actively attempting to live by the very things that Solomon has called vanity. Hopefully this book will cause you to reevaluate your admiration of those who are caught up in vain pursuits. All worldly things are vanity, and all that truly matters is being in a right relationship with God. The only way to be in a right relationship with God is by being perfectly righteous, and the only way we can be perfectly righteous is if we receive the righteousness given to us by Christ.
Dear heavenly Father, please help us to see that all worldly pursuits, even knowledge, is empty and pointless without being in a right relationship with You. Thank You for providing the way for us to become righteous by sending Your Son to achieve righteousness on our behalf. Amen.