The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: Wisdom and foolishness are not tied to academic accomplishment or achievement. School provides knowledge, but it won't necessarily teach you to use it the way God intended. That takes wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to make spiritually informed decisions.

Guest (Male): This is the Alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Many people are smart, but not so many are wise. Dr. Evans says the difference between the two is dramatic and can make more of an impact on your life than property and possessions combined. Today he talks about the path to godly wisdom as he looks at the book of Ecclesiastes. Let's join him.

Dr. Tony Evans: Solomon has observed life under the sun where men live, work, play, raise families. And he is giving his observations. He’s letting you see what he saw as men live life under the sun here on earth, not above the sun with the Lord, under the sun where men live.

He’s letting you know the good, the bad, and the ugly. He’s, as we would say, keeping it real. He’s keeping it real because he wants you to understand life under the sun. And in explaining this life under the sun, the things he observes and seen in his own struggles, in his own failures, in his own successes.

He punctuates it all throughout the book with if you really want to have life as God meant it to be lived, even with all the realities, good, bad, and ugly, that are under the sun where men live, then God’s presence, God’s intervention, God’s purposes must be integrated into your life under the sun.

He is saying you are not to have a pie-in-the-sky religion. Your faith in God must be brought to bear even on the nasty here and now. He says because if all you have is what you see and feel and touch and taste, then the best word he can give you is vanity.

Vanity has the idea of emptiness, without purpose or without meaning. Now you can have meaningful moments, you can be involved in meaningful activities, but he’s talking about ultimate meaning, not merely periodic or circumstantial meaning.

The way to have meaning in life in a meaningful way that transcends the circumstances that you will find under the sun is to have a life that is punctuated or where the divine intervenes in it.

He continues in chapter seven, verse five, "It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to the song of a fool." Wisdom and foolishness are not tied to academic accomplishment or achievement.

Wisdom or foolishness has to do with decision-making and whether those decisions are informed from a divine perspective or from a human perspective. James chapter three talks about there being two forms of wisdom.

He talks about the wisdom that is from above, that is divinely inspired decision-making. And he talks about the wisdom that is from below. He calls that demon wisdom. In other words, it would be akin to foolishness. He calls it earthly under the sun. He calls it demonic because it does not take into account God’s perspective on a matter.

When you talk about wisdom and usually when we talk about somebody being a fool or foolish, we’re talking about decisions that they made. Some of us, we talk about that to ourselves. Have you ever looked in the mirror and said, "You fool"? Because how could I have decided that? What was I thinking?

Or we said it to others, "What were you thinking?" Well, the whole point is you weren’t thinking, at least not from a divine perspective. So, he is promoting the pursuit of wisdom. And if somebody has a divine perspective and rebukes you, that’s better than somebody singing your praises who’s a fool.

We’ve probably all experienced folks singing our praises who were actually fools. We trusted them and they went left on us because so you want to know is the person wise first, not how much education only do they have. Nothing wrong with education. Education does us well in terms of our careers, our income, and all that.

But it does not necessarily give you wisdom and you can look at people all over the place and see that reality. He says, "For as the crackling of the thorn bushes under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool and this too is futility." That’s an interesting phrase: the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot.

It’s something cooking and you get the crackling noise when it’s cooking and it’s making a lot of noise. You get this crackling sound, but it’s accomplishing nothing. It’s noise. So, the laughter of a fool he says is like the crackling noise. It’s not doing anything, but it’s making some noise.

And so he’s talking about not giving attention or following the fool. "For oppression makes a wise man mad and a bribe corrupts the heart. The end of a matter is better than its beginning. Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit." So, he comes to these equations and says this is the wise way to look at something.

He says you want to make sure you end strong. He says the end of a matter is better than the beginning. Many of us have started things not too good, but you end it strong. It’s better if you started bad to end good than to start good and end bad. And so he’s saying this is the wise way of thinking. This is the wise way of looking and evaluating things.

Here’s a bit of wisdom, verse nine, "Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools." Interesting. Don’t be hasty to get angry. Many of us have done foolish things because we were mad.

And so if you say you got a quick temper, Solomon says you’re a fool. Anger resides in the bosom of a fool. That is, if it resides there, you just mad all the time and it just pops out. "Well, I got an anger issue." Well, that’s because you’re a fool. Don’t get mad at me, it’s Solomon talking here.

He says it resides in the bosom, it’s just there ready to be provoked. "Do not say 'What is the former days were better than these?' for it is not from wisdom that you ask about this." Don’t live in yesterday.

The former days, that’s yesterday. Now you know yesterday happened and yesterday had its strengths, but you can’t live in yesterday and ruin today and mess up tomorrow. When I go back to Baltimore, I still got some of my homies back there in Baltimore. Now I left Baltimore when I was 18 years old. Away from Baltimore a long time.

But some of the homeboys are still there. Well, they ain’t boys anymore. They’re old gray-headed guys. And when I see the ones who are still there, inevitably we talk about yesterday. How it was growing up, playing football, and being out in the alleys and going down to the diamond. We will talk about yesterday when I’m up there.

There’s one major difference between me and the guys I’m talking about now, and that is I’m leaving. I’m leaving Baltimore and I’m coming back to Dallas. Go up see my father, I’m coming back to Dallas. They still talking about it while I’m leaving. And they’re going to be talking about it when I go back.

And it won’t be much difference in the conversation between those two times because if you live in yesterday, you don’t make any progress today. So, the wise thing to do is not live there. "Wisdom along with an inheritance is good and an advantage to those who see the sun."

Whatever you leave behind to your loved ones, you better give them some wisdom. Because if you leave it to a fool, they’re going to mess up what you built up. So, he says you need an inheritance with wisdom, or wisdom with an inheritance.

"For wisdom is protection just as money is protection." So, God’s divine perspective on a matter is a protection. We look at money to protect us in our retirement, to protect us from different circumstances. We use insurance for protection.

He says so you got to look at wisdom like that in the same way you look at money to provide security for you. Wisdom is security, God’s divine perspective. "For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessor." In other words, you’re much more likely to live longer and live better if you live wisely.

There’s a balancing act to life and we’ll learn more about that when we continue this message from our series on "How to Avoid a Wasted Life".

Guest (Male): This in-depth nine-part sermon collection explores what the book of Ecclesiastes teaches us about the fleeting nature of worldly pursuits and the importance of finding meaning that goes beyond our physical possessions. True fulfillment only comes from God. Real purpose and contentment are found when our lives are aligned with Christ.

Right now, we are offering all nine full-length messages in this series on CD, USB flash drive, or digital download. It’s our gift to you when you make a contribution to support the ministry of The Alternative. And along with the complete audio package, we’ll also send you a special bonus: Dr. Evans' book Experiencing God Together.

It’s a practical, encouraging resource that shows how loving others well becomes a powerful way to experience God’s presence more fully in your life. To take advantage of this special offer, visit tonyevans.org where you’ll find this deal featured right on the homepage, or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222 and let a friendly member of our resource team help you out. I’ll repeat that contact information for you after part two of today’s lesson and this.

I urge you to take this course. Dr. Craig Evans, renowned expert on the New Testament, serves as the special guest lecturer for the Tony Evans Training Center course on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. It covers very important ground—what they are and what they’re not. One of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide unparalleled insights into the accuracy of the Bible. These ancient manuscripts offer a treasure trove of historical and spiritual significance.

They preserve for us the Hebrew Bible and shed light on the teachings of Jesus and the major contributors to the New Testament. The scrolls open a vivid window into the life and beliefs of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus. You will understand the Bible and Jesus and Christian origins better than you ever have before. Take your first step as an honorary amateur archaeologist. Dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls with special guest lecturer Dr. Craig Evans. Discover this and other fascinating biblical studies at tonyevanstraining.org. Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere.

Dr. Tony Evans: "Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent?" He’s going to deal with this a number of times. How do I say this? Don’t try to figure out what God doesn’t explain because all you wind up with is a headache.

To ask why is fine, to try to find out why is fine, but until you’re given an answer, don’t destroy yourself for something God does not give. And sometimes, unfortunately, there is no answer. In other words, in life, in time, under the sun, when you and I get to heaven and God answers, we’re going to say, "Oh, okay, that makes sense."

But right now He doesn’t answer every question. Deuteronomy 29:29 talks about the secret things that belong to Him. That is, some things that He doesn’t answer. And that’s true in our own homes. There’s some things we have not informed our children about.

There’s some things they say why and we say because I said so. "Why are we doing this?" Because I said so. "Yeah, but why?" Because I said so. We don’t explain everything. And we have reasons for not: they won’t understand it, they’re too young, it wouldn’t be appropriate. There’s a lot of reasons, and that’s true also with God’s creation. Now there are things He does reveal. And so you can’t force something on God that He has bent and there’s no explanation for.

"In the day of prosperity, be happy, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man will not discover anything that will be after him." Wow. The second most important doctrine that you need to learn and discover and grow in—and it’s difficult—is the sovereignty of God.

Now the first one is the Gospel, getting saved. But the second one is the sovereignty of God, which says God is in control of all things, good and bad. Now God does not sin, but God does allow it. Adam and Eve would have never eaten the fruit. So, God allows what He doesn’t agree with.

Now that’s difficult to grasp, especially if you’re the one who’s feeling the adversity. But you must, I must, we must learn to appeal to the sovereignty of God and believe when we don’t see He is in control even of that which is out of control. It’s just out of our control. It’s not out of total control.

And to be able to say, "God, I want to thank You that even though this is crazy right now, it’s out of control, I want to thank You that it’s in Your control and just out of my control." Because what that does is shift your perspective on something that you can’t figure out. So, He wants you to know that.

"I’ve seen everything during my lifetime of futility." Remember, he was the richest man that’s ever lived. He’s got everything going for him, great job, but he calls it the time of my futility. "There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness." And that ain’t right.

He says a righteous man died young and a wicked man lived long. And he says under the sun, some things aren’t fair from our perspective. And we’ve all seen that’s not fair for that good person to be hurt and that bad person to be okay. It appears to be unjust. And God sometimes appears to be unjust.

Now you have been born in America and somebody else born in a jungle who is eking out a living. Was that fair? We could go on and on and on and on. And you try to figure that stuff out, it’s beyond you. And He says, "I’ve looked under the sun and I observed this inequity."

"Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself?" Now I better explain this real quickly lest y’all get the wrong idea. To be excessively righteous means to be righteous beyond even what God requires. So, what that means is you are being self-righteous. That’s what the Pharisees were. They were self-righteous. God gave them a rule and they came up with 10 more in the name of being righteous, which was legalism.

But in the name of being righteous, they added to God’s standard their own standard and all they did was frustrate folk. And that’s what legalism does. It gives rules God didn’t give and it gives restrictions God doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Many of us grew up in churches like that where there was rules but there was no biblical basis for the rule, but it was the religious rule and you were made to feel guilty that God was going to get you if you broke it even though God never gave it. That’s what you call excessively righteous. So, it means going beyond even what God requires.

Many groups do that. Many groups do that and it becomes a form of cultism and control and not biblical Christianity. But the Bible does have boundaries, it does have standards, but it does have freedom too. "Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?"

Now obviously excessive wickedness means you’re continuing in wickedness. All of us fall short. But he’s just talking about that you just keep going. So, he’s dealing with excess.

Verse 18, "It is good for you that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other, for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them." It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of another, for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

So, here he is. He says the key to balancing all of these excesses out—excessively this, excessively that—how do you balance out? He simply says you fear God. By fearing God, he means you simply take God seriously. You take God seriously.

You don’t take stuff that’s not God. Just because somebody uses God’s name, that doesn’t mean it’s God. So, you want to fear God, then you’re balanced. You’re not overly righteous, self-righteous, overly wicked, continuing in a fault, in a sin. You are now able to live this balanced, you can balance your life. You put God in the center, you take God seriously, and then you are able to live manage life under the sun. Life will still have its question marks, it will. But even within the question marks, you will be able to live in a balance of well-being.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans, talking today about living a balanced life by moving beyond knowledge to wisdom. Now before Tony returns with a closing prayer, if you’d like to review today’s lesson on your own or pass it along to someone you care about, just get in touch with us for details on the message called "Wisdom and Folly", part of his sermon series on "How to Avoid a Wasted Life".

The complete series contains nine messages exploring the wisdom of seeking after those things that will stand for eternity, as opposed to the often shallow temporary pursuits of the world. As I mentioned earlier, this collection is yours when you make a contribution to The Alternative. And as a limited-time added bonus, we’ll also include Dr. Evans' book Experiencing God Together, a powerful companion resource that reveals how your relationships can become a pathway to deeper encounters with God.

Visit tonyevans.org today to get all the details before time runs out. Again, that’s tonyevans.org, or call us at 1-800-800-3222. Our resource center is open 24/7. That’s 1-800-800-3222. Life without God eventually proves empty and meaningless, regardless of our income, accomplishments, possessions, everything. Well, make plans to join Dr. Evans tomorrow as he explores how divine perspective can move us from momentary satisfaction to both a fulfilling present and an eternal future.

As we approach the National Day of Prayer, Dr. Evans reminds us that real change begins when God’s people humble themselves and pray. Would you join him now as he lifts up our nation to the Lord?

Dr. Tony Evans: Dear Lord, I come to You on behalf of a nation in need of heaven to intervene on earth. There are all kinds of challenges we face as a community. There are challenges with regard to unity, racially, culturally, class-wise. There are international challenges, Lord: wars, rumors of wars.

There’s family challenges, Lord, of identity and breakdown, and then personal challenges of people who need direction, guidance, clarity, deliverance. We say we are one nation under God, but Lord, we need that to be more than a statement, but a reality that we’re willing to place this nation underneath Your rule.

Would You raise up the leaders needed to guide our nation? Spiritual leaders, political leaders, community leaders, social leaders, parental leaders who will move the nation and the national discourse back to heaven so that Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord, would You create the scenarios necessary to bring our consciousness back to the God of the Bible and, of course, to the good news of Jesus Christ? May You show each of us our responsibility to be ambassadors on behalf of this nation before God because You said in Isaiah 40 the nations are in Your hand. So, we place America in the hands of God, and we ask that the God who is over the nations will bring America to God so that we experience God in a revival so that men are saved, women are saved, and a nation is healed. In Jesus' name, amen.