I invite you to open a Bible to Ecclesiastes and to read the seventh chapter on your own, taking a moment to reflect on the text in silence.

Chapter seven is particularly harsh, but it justifies its intensity in the first few verses. Looking first at verse five, we find a message that is probably familiar but always uncomfortable. Hearing criticism is better than false reassurance, and the most important personal improvement is painful to hear. This chapter contains a number of truths that can hurt to read and take to heart, but they will be valuable once they are internalized.

Returning to verse one, we find a proverb that aligns with some previous chapters; yet again, we are told that good relationships are more valuable than possessions. A good reputation, among both friends and strangers, is not only more eternally valuable, but more personally rewarding. The day of death’s favorable comparison to the day of birth offers a similar message, namely that remembering one’s mortality points one towards what ultimately matters but remembering one’s birth, while also good, is merely a cause for celebration that offers a less intense opportunity for reflection. There is more to be learned from pondering one’s death than one’s birth because we are reminded of our lives every moment through the mere fact of our existence, but it is easy to forget our deaths and waste our limited time. Intentional pleasure is not bad in itself, but meaningless hedonism leads to no profit.

Jumping over to verse nine, Solomon’s advice to be slow to anger is especially pertinent in our impatient age. When something does not go according to your plan or expectation, the first response is often one of indignation. “How could this happen to me?” Or even, “How could God let this happen to me?” are common gut reactions to disappointment or misfortune. These questions are not asked from a place of understanding, and there are no answers for questions asked without faith. God’s promises are almost never given immediately within one’s desired time horizon, and impatience with God is the cause of mush despair. Current misfortune is not a sign of God’s judgement or that He has forsaken you because He is faithful over the course of lifetimes. Verse fourteen gives the resolution to this tension by pointing the reader to their temporal blessings. If one is frustrated by adversity, they should also look to prosperity and know that both are from God.

Verse sixteen another verse that can seem perplexing, in that righteousness is in itself good; how can there be too much? But this sentence is meant to temper one’s own understanding of their current righteousness, not the ultimate goal. It is good to attempt to be righteous, but to think that one has already attained it is disastrous. Not only does one who falls into this error judge others too harshly, they also judge themselves too harshly. My favorite colloquial reading of this verse is, “don’t take yourself too seriously.” Nobody is perfect, and we can be grateful that our failures in our earnest attempts to live a holy life will be forgiven. The sins of our neighbors will be forgiven just as ours are, and we should treat ourselves and all people as gently as God does.

This chapter asks us to see our own mortality and sins and tells us that it is better to face the pain caused by the recognition of our own flaws because in doing so, we can better enjoy life, feel God’s grace, and give that grace to others. This week, how can you examine yourself while also taking yourself a little less seriously? How can you offer God’s gentle grace to yourself and others?