“If one who rules gets mad at you, don’t quit and walk away; through staying calm, and gentleness, great sins will you allay.”
(Ecclesiastes 10:4)

This is the tenth post on Ecclesiastes, which I am translating into common meter.  The following contains my rendering of Ecclesiastes 10, preceded by a brief reflection.

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2024 is going to be a wild year in politics.  The worries, fears, and anger of so many people, inflamed by misinformation, is certain to stress us as no election has in the past.  The extreme partisanship in our country grows daily, disfunction is the order of the day, belligerence is seen as strength, and compromise as weakness.  At a time when we need healing, our minds are poisoned daily with new lies and conspiracy theories.  And if that was not enough, a new menace has arisen, which is artificial intelligence (AI) and the ability of bad actors to use AI to create deepfake videos.  This technology can literally put words in people’s mouths, having them appear to say things that they never did.  The words of Pilate, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) spoken two millennia ago will no doubt echo afresh in our minds, as we scramble to understand.

The question I have been pondering is how does a follower of Christ respond?  Christ, who said to Pilate, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)  How do we respond to the ubiquitous media bombardment; to friends and family who are trapped in their own echo chamber of ideas; and to our own actions, reactions, and emotional responses?  How do we respond to the chaos of our times without being drawn in and responding in kind?  How do we stand on the side of truth?

Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)  Jesus insists that truth and life come through him – not a candidate, political party, or ideology – just him, and him alone.  It is by looking to Jesus and his way that we are able to stand firm and transcend the chaos of our times.  We hear this in the words of the hymn by Helen Lemmel, written 100 years ago:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.

Rather than follow the way of the culture and be tossed and turned by all the madness, Jesus tells us that through our obedience to him we will learn to discern what is true and what is not.  “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Jesus’ teaching is that that our problem is not the condition of the world, but that of our heart.  The sources of our distress are the worries (Matthew 6:33), fears (Matthew 10:28), and anger (Matthew 5:22) in our heart.  Unless and until worry is replaced by faith, fear by hope, and anger by love, we will continue to be threatened by the evil of our times and tempted to respond in kind.  What is called for is a virtuous heart – a calm and gentle heart; an honest, forgiving, and steadfast heart.

The wisdom of this has long been known, as the Teacher in Ecclesiastes illustrates, “If one who rules gets mad at you, don’t quit and walk away; through staying calm, and gentleness, great sins will you allay.” (Ecclesiastes 10:4)  He tells us to respond to anger and hostility with gentleness.  We neither retreat nor fight, but in gentleness promote peace.  But isn’t our normal reaction typically fight or flight?  The Teacher gives us a moral precept, but no guidance for how we do this in the emotion of the moment.

So how do we do this in practice?  How do we become men and women who respond to the chaos of our times with equanimity? How do we learn the way of Jesus?  According to Jesus, we are simply to put his teachings into practice.  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24)  Saints and seekers over the ages have obeyed this simple direction by adopting various spiritual practices – moral disciplines repeated day in and day out, until they gradually change the heart.  Three spiritual practices that I have found impactful are fasting vices, embodying virtues, and spiritual journaling.

Fasting vices is what Paul would call “putting off the old self.” (Ephesians 4:22)  Catherine Marshall (A Closer Walk) wrote about the Lord telling her to “fast” from criticism – not to criticize anybody for anything.  After a rough start, she began to experience a change in her heart.  “Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years.  Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see.  My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with.  What it had done was to stifle my own creativity – in prayer, in relationships, perhaps even in writing – ideas that He wanted to give me.” (63)  It’s been more than a decade since I first tried fasting critical words and thoughts, and it has had a continuing impact on my heart.

Kathleen Singh (The Grace in Aging) similarly writes about the experience of a couple who fasted from judging others. “They found that they tended to judge others in the casual conversations they had between themselves.  They made a commitment to stop.  They found that the adoption of just this one practice of abstaining from judging others allowed them entry into examining their behavior, and transforming their behavior, in the light of all of the other aspects of practicing moral discipline.” (88)  Any habit that pulls us from the way of grace is something to consider fasting.  For example, complaining, defensiveness, political media, etc.

Embodying virtues is what Paul would call “putting on the new self” (Ephesians 4:24), or “clothing yourselves” with virtue (Colossians 3:12-14).  Curt Thompson (Anatomy of the Soul) writes, “One simple attention exercise that doubles as a helpful meditation practice is to choose one of the nouns listed as the outgrowth of a Spirt-filled life in Galatians 5:22 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).  Focus your attention on that word daily, throughout the day.  … Dedicate seven consecutive days to focus on each word, continuing to cycle through all nine on an ongoing basis.  Whenever you encounter another person or sense an emotional shift that tempts to take you down the low road, allow yourself to be immersed in your awareness of your word for the day.  Be mindful of how that word is calling you to reflect and manifest it in that moment – especially when your mind is screaming for you to do just the opposite.  Ask yourself how you can be a conduit of joy peace, patience, or gentleness in this moment.” (174)  I have been repeating this nine-week cycle for over a year as of this writing.  It has been the single most impactful spiritual practice of my life, and one I intend to write more about in the future.

Spiritual journaling is an age-old practice of daily writing that helps focus the mind and heart on the things of God.  It is both a way of talking to God, as well as a way of hearing from him.  Many times I have started to write, only to be surprised by the thoughts and emotions that emerge.  I mostly journal about the highs and lows of whatever virtue I am working on, but really any emotion, situation, or relationship is worthy of reflection and journaling.  Ann Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts) writes about how she came to write down several things every day that she was thankful for.  As her list grew to 1000 and beyond, she gradually began, “to overcome my one ugly and self-destructive habit of ingratitude (that habit that causes both my cosmic and daily fall) with the saving habit of gratitude – that would lead me back to deep God-communion.” (36)

How do we transcend the chaos of our times?  By pressing into the way of Jesus.  The more we do this, the more “the things of the earth will grow strangely dim.”

S

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1  Just as a few dead flies corrupt,
a perfume of delight;
A bit of folly far outweighs,
what’s decent, wise, and right.

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2  A heart that’s wise, leans to the right,
and to the proper way;
A foolish heart, leans to the left,
and tends to make one stray.

3  The way a fool walks down a road,
reveals he has no sense;
It’s obvious to everyone,
that in his mind he’s dense.

4  If one who rules gets mad at you,
don’t quit and walk away;
Through staying calm, and gentleness,
great sins will you allay.

5  There is another evil that,
I’ve seen beneath the sun;
An error that a ruler’s made –
a blunder that he’s done.

6  While fools are elevated to,
a place of dignity;
The rich are given lowly seats,
with no authority.

7  I’ve witnessed slaves on horses’ backs,
far up above the ground;
And princes walking on their feet,
like slaves to earth are bound.

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8  Whoever digs a pit may trip,
and tumble into it;
Whoever breaks a wall may find,
a snake and then be bit.

9  Whoever quarries stones may find,
they injure and can maim;
Whoever splits up logs may find,
they also do the same.

10  If iron of an axeblade’s dull,
its use will take more might;
But wisdom makes things easier,
and helps them come out right.

11  A snake that bites before it’s charmed,
creates an irksome mess;
The charmer won’t receive his fee,
because there’s no success.

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12  The wise speak words suffused with grace,
and win the speaker praise;
But fools speak words that hurt themselves,
in self-destructive ways.

13  Whenever fools begin to talk,
it starts with foolishness;
But soon it takes an evil turn,
and ends in wickedness.

14  A fool just chatters on and on,
but no one knows for sure;
How things will happen or will be,
when they are here no more.

15  The laboring of fools is hard –
it always wears them down;
So much that they cannot recall,
the way back into town.

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16  A country is in trouble when,
its king is very young;
And all of its officials feast,
when morning time has come.

17  A country though is happy when,
its king’s from nobleness;
And its officials dine for strength,
and not for drunkenness.

18  Through laziness the rafters sag,
as slowly they get weak;
Through indolence of idle hands,
the house will start to leak.

19  A feast that’s made will make one glad,
and wine will make one sing;
But yet it’s money that will make,
and answer everything.

20  Don’t hate the king or curse the rich,
no matter where you are;
Because a bird may hear your words,
and spread them near and far.