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

A more intimate effect of wisdom than has been explored so far is shown through one’s face. Throughout life, it is easy to bear every hardship by gritting one’s teeth and furrowing one’s brow. The attitude that comes with this pattern is one of endurance, frustration, and impatience. Sternness can become the default view of the world, and new people and experiences are not met with hope, but with resentment. Wisdom opens one’s face and lets a smile spread light into the world. Wrinkles of frustration are contrasted with smile lines, and the world can be experienced with mirth. Wisdom and patience let one grin at setbacks and inconveniences that previously caused more anger than actual difficulty.

This thought continues in verse six, which expands the scope of the proper attitude. Large difficulties are heavy and hard to bear, and one is not expected to smile through them. Rather than responding with an immediate outburst, one is to remember that the current hardship is not eternal. Letting patience color all decisions, especially in prayer, will reduce the pain caused by one’s own response to any source of frustration.

There are some that seek to avoid hardship, discomfort, and death through various wicked acts. While this may seem to benefit them in the present, they gain nothing that is truly good and are unable to escape judgement. God’s justice is not enacted immediately because He grants time for the sinner to repent. Our entire lives are opportunities for repentance, so it is easy to conclude that the judgment may never come. Ecclesiastes constantly points the reader towards God in order to prevent this mistake. One must not be tempted by the temporary, superficial, vain gains of the wicked because they are ultimately worthless.

But immediately after this discussion, Solomon turns to what is valuable! Joy, food, and drink! Through one’s toil, genuine enjoyment of God’s gifts with a true community are worth more than any riches, and one should not be concerned with their day of death. We cannot extend our lives, and we should not waste them trying. Instead, be merry and joyful with those that you love. Release the tension in your face and smile as you walk in the sunshine, for the world’s wickedness is temporary, but its goodness is eternal.

As you are in your routine this week, what are some of the repeated inconveniences that always seem to rub you the wrong way? Do they warrant your reaction to them, or can you laugh at the extra five minutes waiting for the bus? How can trusting in God’s work and providence grant you patience through difficult times? Each morning, is it your habit to wake up resentful or with hope for the day?