Hindsight Really is 20/20

Greetings in the Lord~

I think of all the scriptures in the Bible, those that have to do with wisdom are my favorite.  Of course, that goes without saying that the book of Proverbs tops my list.  But another book that doesn't always get the same fanfare that I really like is the book of Ecclesiastes.  And over the years, today's word is one that the Lord has spoken to me several times, which I always am amazed by its profoundness.  It is Ecclesiastes 7:8:  "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."

It is a very encouraging word really, as it assures us that no matter how things look at the start--as most ventures are full of promise and positive expectation, or no matter how difficult the process may be going--as nothing worthwhile is achieved without some effort and conflict, that by the end of it we will have gained wisdom and peace by its closure.  It doesn't say that the ending will be in our favor or beneficial to us, but rather, the end is better because we can make a right judgment about the matter, to know its purpose or whether is has been advantageous or not. 

Now some scholars take a more negative view of this passage, interpreting the "end" as death, but I don't think so.  Instead, I combine the next assertion, that "patience is better than pride" to help shape my understanding: we must be patient to see how things progress, to see how people respond to circumstances, to see how true intentions get laid bare or how hidden agendas or true heart motives factor into the equation.  Then, at the "end," we can rightly judge or assess the "matter."  

In fact, this verse really is a good summary of the first seven verses of the chapter, for each of those talk about how mourning, being chastised, and death even, is better than laughter, being praised, or the day of your birth, for there is wisdom to be gained from all those negative situations.  Simply put, happy times generally teach us less than hard times.  

So, today's word is to help us change our perspective on all of the negative events going on around us, and rather, to focus on being patient on the lessons being learned: war is started from hate and ungodly quest for power; greed and bribery corrupt many a leader and judge; hurting people hurt people, and so on.  It is hard to have the benefit of hindsight always looking forward, so if nothing else, we can look back at the past difficulties and failures to make good choices for the future. 

~Be blessed and be a blessing. 


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