Wednesday, 16th February 2022
Ps Kathy Poon
Section One V1-3 The Traits of Foolish People
V1 ‘Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.’ So many things can lead us away from the godly path, such as the doubt in the Word of God, the jealousy of people’s blessings, or the over-relaxation of life. We must not underestimate the little things in life that trigger our emotions and lead us to sin in words or in actions. It’s so easy to fall into temptation and corruption in our hearts if we are not alert. And no matter how many good things we have done in the past, when we fall, we will easily enter into a sinful path.
V2-3 ‘A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left. Even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.’ Let our heart be ‘right-sided’ which is godly and righteous, bearing the fruits of the Spirit and the Tree of Life. Like what it says in Philippians 4:8, ‘Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.’ Whatever we have in our hearts will influence our lives, even if we don’t say it out loud. Therefore we must guard our hearts above everything else, don’t lose the battlefield within!
Section Two V4-7 A Foolish Management
V4 ‘If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses.’ We are all leaders and managers of our lives and our household. We must all be wise leaders and not managing foolishly. Do not blame on others when things don’t go as we expected because we cannot change how others treat us but we can change how we respond. We are all responsible of our own lives, and managing our lives wisely will be the ultimate goal for each one of us, in order for us to build a godly team!
V5-7 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, as an error proceeding from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, while the rich sit in a lowly place. I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants.’ When we sit in the right position and do the right things, others will do the same and the team will be able to perform to the maximum outcome.
Section Three V8-11 The Principals of Work of Wise People
V8-9 ‘He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it.’ Have a risk analysis, to pre-determine where are the risks and be prepared, it does not mean that everything will go well, there will always be accident, but we must be prepared for it. It’s just like how Jesus Christ knew He was going on the cross, He was prepared for it and it resulted in the glorious salvation. There will be loss but there will also be rewards, the most important thing for us is to guard our hearts.
V10 ‘If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.’ It’s like how we need to sharpen the ax or the knifes, the preparation is very important. Proverbs 21:5 also says ‘The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.’ We often says that it’s better to be over-prepared than not prepared. V11 ‘A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; the babbler is no different.’ There are three kinds of people, reactive people, active people and proactive people. We want to be proactive, to be well prepared beforehand instead of only act when things happened. We need to be alert about our spiritual status, do not let the world hold us back; when we notice that we are backsliding, then we must quickly submit to God and the devil will flee.
Section Four V12-15 The Word and Action of Foolish People
V12-13 ‘The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; the words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness.’ It’s important for us to win the battleground in our hearts, when we are able to restrain our tongue, then we will be able to restrain our action. Do not let the foolish words coming from our mouth that become the trigger for us to sin. We should also not speak the words of blemish or exaggeration, speak the truth, do not over-say things, because a lot of these words are unnecessary; they only bring destructions and foolishness in our lives.
V14-15 ‘A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; who can tell him what will be after him? The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city!’ Do not be over-confident, because we will put ourselves before God if we boast about ourselves. When we share testimonies, we must share our low point, the lower we are the bigger God will be revealed in our lives. When we are honest and face our weaknesses boldly, that’s when our words have impact in the lives of others. God’s Grace and Mercy then will be lift up, and the focus will be in God not in ourselves.
When we share the Good News, it’s not about sharing the good things we will receive from God, but to share God Himself. We should not be church-hoppers, only go to churches to fulfill our own current needs. Because we come to church not to ask for the earthly things but to ask for God Himself.
Section Five 16-20 The Woes and Blessings
V16-17 ‘Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time—For strength and not for drunkenness!’ A blessed team must have mature leaders, if the leaders are alert, the people will also stay alert; on the other hand, if the leaders only seek entertainment then their people will also follow their foolish deeds. A wise leader will think before they act, every decision they make will be for building up the team.
V18 ‘Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.’ The foundation of the house is very important, and timely maintenance is necessary. God will look after our building if we build our foundation upon Jesus Christ. As Christians, we must pray and work together; do not be lazy to read the Bible and to be close to God, to continue being alert in the Word of God. This is how we must build our building and to harvest our field.
V19 ‘A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything.’ We must see carefully this verse, this is a statement of the world and a statement of the foolish. This reflects to verse 16 when the leaders are childish then their principals of life will be ungodly. V20 ‘Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.’ We all have authorities above us, we must honour them, no matter if they are good or bad. Do not curse them but to bless them, because the words coming out from our mouth will be spread. Be wise to make decision and to speak; may God help us to work in the team with wisdom
传道书 10 – 合作的真智慧
2022年2月16日 星期三
Kathy 师母
一、愚昧人的特征 v.1-3
V1 死苍蝇使膏油变臭，正如我们讲的“一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅粥”。有些人平时面面俱到，但做了一件事忽然让人觉得性格缺失的事，或平时都很和善，突然有一天情绪爆发，人们看到的不是那人平常好的部分，而是只用这一件事来否定他，使他之前的努力付之东流。愚昧是人在“罪”里是无知的。我们无法免除罪的试探和网罗，比如夏娃当初听到撒旦的话就怀疑神的话语，大卫因为一点点的放松就有眼目的情欲，最后犯下杀人夺妻的罪，所以，我们不要小看这一点点的“罪”，人会因此进入愚昧、败坏。
V2 圣经教导说，“你要保守己心，胜过保守一切”（箴言4:23）。愚昧也是从心开始。在圣经里的“右边”- 指的是尊贵、高举、蒙神喜悦，而“左边”则代表卑贱、不蒙神喜悦。腓立比书 4:8 教导我们：“凡是真实的、可敬的、公义的、清洁的、可爱的、有美名的，若有什么德行，若有什么称赞，这些事你们都要思念”。愚昧人的心思想的都是不好的，我们要保守我们的心，常常思想那美好的事情。
V3 愚昧人的心缺乏知识，他们的愚昧是无法遮掩的，所以做事就会显出自己的无知 – 因为“一生的果效由心发出”。我们要对愚昧有真实地了解，才渴望真智慧。我们若对愚昧无知，就会陷入蒙蔽，觉得自己的愚昧是正常的，把自己的罪合理化。我们不要活在恩典神学里，在做不对或性格缺失的时候只会跟耶稣求恩典，却在被领袖教导的时候生出苦毒、论断。我们看自己要合乎中道，不要过分膨胀以至于无法接受别人的谏言。真正的战场在我们的心思意念里面，若我们没有思想那些公义、清洁的事，我们在心思的战场上就已经失败了。
二、愚昧的管理者 v.4-7
V4 我们每个人都会在某个领域有一个“掌权者”的位份，比如父母、公司主管。掌权者的心会发怒，一个愚昧的掌权者会随着自己的喜好来发怒。如果我们要成为有智慧的掌权者，就要能控制情绪。当我们在一个团队中是一个跟随者的时候，无法控制掌权者对我们的怒气，但我们可以控制和管理自己的情绪。若对方行在血气中，我们“不要离开你的本位，因为柔和能免大过”- 箴言教导我们“常常忍耐，就能劝动君王”，“忍耐、温柔、节制”也是圣灵所结出的果子。这个美好的品质就可以帮助我们避免血气的冲突。所以不要冲动离开发生冲突的场合，而要求神给我们力量能快快的听、慢慢的说，光照我们，使我们有智慧知道掌权者怒气背后的本意，从而知道如何在不同场合以合宜的身份进行良好的沟通。
V5-6 我们作为领袖，有时会把不对的人放在不对的位置上，把资源给不适合的人，造成有才能的人无法发挥效用，整个团队也陷入瓶颈状态，无法正常运作。
V7 仆人本该在地上步行，而王子是骑马的。我们要成为有智慧的领袖，适才适用，整个团队的质量才会发挥出好的果效。
三、智慧人做事的原则 v.8-11
V10 我们要做好准备，工欲善其事，必先利其器，正如斧头若没有磨锋利，砍伐的工作就不顺利。箴言21:5 也说：“殷勤筹划的足致丰裕，行事急躁的都必缺乏”，我们若想把事情做好，就要预备多过所要求的，为主多走一里路。
V11 “法术”指的是训蛇术。不要等到蛇咬人之后才发训蛇术，这样就抓不住蛇了。我们做事也要抓住时机、不可拖延。人对事情的态度分为三种：“反应型（reactive）”、“行动型”、“预动型（proactive）”- 我们不要做“反应型”的人 – 等事情发生了才来扑火，而是要做有属灵的洞悉力的“预动型”，可以预见未来就谨守警醒，不容世界和罪来使我们的心冷淡。要降服于神、拒绝罪。若等到蛇 – 就是撒旦 – 咬我们的时候才行法术就太迟了。
V8-9 好的开始并不能保证事情的成功，过程也很重要。我们做事总有可能遇到意外，所以要谨慎行事，在计划里面有风险分析，提前应对最糟糕的状况发生。如果知道最后意外或损伤还是会发生，我们会继续行事吗？没有任何事是没有损失或不需要付出代价的，我们要思考的是我们是否能承受这个代价。主耶稣上十字架前知道自己所要遭受的损失，但他知道最后会带来荣耀，所以愿意牺牲自己。
四、愚昧人的言与行 v.12-15
V12 很多时候有些人讲出一些愚昧的话结果“吞灭自己”，为自己惹祸。智慧人的“恩言”是造就人的。我们若能勒住舌头，就是勒住全身；首先在我们的心思意念得胜，就不会在言语上愚昧、惹祸上身。
V13 有些人说谎习惯了，最后就变成奸恶。我们讲话是否会虚浮、夸大？我们在人际互动中，要有一说一，若是称赞他人，就不要讲太多包装的、虚华的话，而要讲具体、实在的话语。
V14 主耶稣也教导我们祷告不要讲太多重复的话。言多却言之无物是愚昧的人特征，显出自己里面的焦虑和缺乏自制。我们也不要过于自信、自夸，结果将自己放在了神的上面。我们讲见证，不是炫耀自己好的地方，而要看到自己的低点，从低点中让人看到神在我们生命中的恩典。不要让人只想要我们的祝福而不要神。我们愿意跟神建立关系，就是有福的。我们不要来到一个教会，只希望神借着这个教会满足我们当下的需要，一旦有新的需要就会跑到另一个教会。求神给我们智慧，让我们单单渴慕寻求神他自己。
V15 愚昧人劳碌，做事不得法，结果自己身体疲惫，却什么也得不到。正如圣经说的，人若赚得全世界，却失去生命，这是没有益处的。
五、国之祸福 v.16-20
V16-17 一个国家有三个很重要的组成部分：领袖，臣子，百姓。王若是如“孩童”一样愚昧，上梁不正下梁歪，国家就有祸了。一个好的领导者必须是成熟的。如果君王是警醒的，使“群臣按时吃喝，为要补力，不为酒醉”，这国就有福了。 我们要思考我们做的事是否能造就人，若不能，就不去做。
V18 房屋的根基很关键，建造好之后的维持也很重要。“若不是耶和华建造房屋， 建造的人就枉然劳力； 若不是耶和华看守城池， 看守的人就枉然警醒”（诗篇127:1）。想要建造神给我们的房子，就要把根基建立在耶稣基督之上；若不想“房顶塌下”，我们的“心”就不要懒惰，要每天以祷告亲近神；若不想“房屋滴漏”，我们的“手”就要殷勤，要有行动去“爱人如己”。
V19 联系上下文，这句经文对应第16节，讲的是一个孩童幼稚的心态。
V20 在上有权柄的，人人都当尊重。咒诅是嘴巴讲出来的。我们不要咒诅神给我们的权柄，因为我们的言语会像回力标一样回到我们身上。我们说的话不会完全不透风，所以我们要谨守我们的口，不说虚浮的话，不传谣言，只要祝福。
求神给我们在团队合作中的智慧，让我们的言语是谨慎的、让我们的手是殷勤的。