(Part Four of a four-part series.)

Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment…
If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for
conciliation pacifies great offenses.
Ecclesiastes 10:1a,4

Contempt for authority! Just another fly in the ointment. Stand by the water cooler this week  and I am sure you will hear plenty of grumbling and complaining about the person in charge. He is too harsh, too narrow-minded, too unrealistic in his expectations, too out of touch with reality…ad nauseum. Grumbling about authority – whether it is our national leaders, coaches, teachers, or bosses – is a favorite American pastime.

But there is the person who allows himself (herself) to become so bent by his (her) boss that he (she) just ups and quits. They throw up their hands and walk away.

Solomon urges you to take a deep breath. Maybe count to ten, if you must. Get alone and pray for the strength and grace to deal with your unreasonable superior. But don’t make a hasty decision in a heated moment. Don’t do in a fit of rage what you may regret when the smoke clears.

Again, I like the way the New Century Version puts it: “Don’t leave your job just because your boss is angry with you. Remaining calm solves great problems.”

That is sound advice. Sure, it may mean swallowing a little pride. But it may salvage a relationship, or save your job, and thereby secure your future.

There may arise a situation from which you must separate yourself. But make your decision prayerfully and deliberately, not hastily or in anger.

God bless your week…and beware of the water cooler gang!

A Prayer for Today: “Father, it is not easy to remain calm in a situation that makes me so tense and angry. But I pray for the strength to do and be right regardless of what those around me – or even those above me – are doing. May the way I handle adversity bring honor to You and peace and security to me. Amen.”

Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment…
Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone
that he is a fool.
Ecclesiastes 10:1a,3

Getting his strut on

Here’s another fly Solomon found in the ointment: the hypocrisy of a fool. The foolish person wants to seem self-sufficient, like he’s got it all figured out. He won’t ask for directions. He doesn’t need any one’s advice. He won’t seek input, even in the big decisions of life. In his mind, he convinces himself that he looks pretty smooth. He doesn’t know how transparent he is. He doesn’t know how foolish he appears.

I like the way the New Living Translation records verse 3: “You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!”

You can almost see the fool strutting in those words, can’t you? Putting on airs. Pretending to be what he isn’t. And maybe the only one he really fools is himself. How wretched the aroma of the hypocritical life! Just read how Jesus addressed such people in the gospels. He pulled no punches, calling the Pharisees “whited sepulchers,” pretty on the outside, but full of dead men’s bones.

God demands and deserves honesty. Let’s avoid the hypocrisy of fools.

A Prayer for Today: “Father,I am not everything I ought to be. I am probably not everything many people believe me to be. But I pray that the one thing I might be is honest. I commit to living honestly and openly before You. Amen.”

NOTE: This is part three of a four-part series:

Part One: Flies in the Ointment

Part Two: Shoo Fly, Shoo!

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. ~Ecclesiastes 10:1 [NKJV]

Imagine presenting your lover with the gift of the latest, most exquisite perfume on the market. Imagine the look of anticipation as she tears the wrapping paper away to reveal the ornate bottle of precious ointment. Imagine as she squirts a bit of the precious liquid onto her neck, expecting the sweet, scintillating aroma to waft on the air.

Imagine, instead, the horrid stench of death, the foul odor of decay. Imagine her trying not to puke. Imagine the sudden change of expression. Imagine you grabbing the bottle and holding it to the light…only to discover the ointment is filled with a hundred dead, decaying, dirty little flies.

I can’t help but wonder if the royal apothecary had not suffered just such an indignity. Perhaps he had toiled away for months— maybe years— perfecting a new scent, one fit for the wealthiest and most glorious king on the earth. He may have waited weeks to gain an audience with the king and present his new fragrance. But when the box was opened, rather than the sweet scent of his triumph filling the air, there was a foul, putrid odor.

Somehow, after taking such care to perfect his perfume, the silly apothecary left it unattended – with the lid off! It must have been some time before he placed the lid on the box. And he must have done so without checking to be sure all was well with the ointment. Such a careless act for such an otherwise careful man! And now his great achievement was ruined. What ought to have been the sweetest scent in the kingdom instead had become a putrid substance, destined to be tossed out with the rest of the garbage.

Solomon drew the comparison to the damage a little foolishness can do to the life and reputation of a person otherwise respected and honored. He didn’t have to look far to illustrate his point, either. All he had to do was remember the circumstances of his own birth.

Solomon’s father David was Israel’s greatest king. He was a man who loved and served Jehovah with all his might. He was a famous warrior, poet, musician, and leader. But one great act of foolishness brought destruction to his home and dishonor to his life. His tryst with Bathsheba caused such sorrow and suffering for himself, his family, and even the nation he loved and led.

It is remarkable – and sobering – how one moment of foolishness can taint a lifetime of honorable living. But it can. I speak from experience. I know how a little folly can foul the fragrance of a life. I know how the greatest accomplishment of one’s life can so easily become his bitterest failing.

So, I urge you: Be on guard against the foolish whims of the flesh. Guard with care the sweet-smelling ointment of your lives, the perfume you are perfecting to present to your great King.

A Prayer for Today: “Father, I know that I have been foolish many times already. I am so grateful that You are a loving, forgiving and gracious God. I pray that I will be cognizant of how important and weighty my actions and words really are. May the things I do and say, the places I go, the way I conduct myself today bring honor and glory to You. Amen.”

But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. Psa. 70:5 (NKJV)

I saw him again today, this frail old man, dirty, heavily bearded, hollow-eyed and gaunt. He sits on the median of a busy intersection near my home, holding a cardboard sign that declares his destitute state and begs for help from passersby.

I had seen him before, but only as I hurried past him, on my way to whatever was next in my busy life. But today our eyes met. I looked into his and he into mine and I wondered what his story might be. How had he come to this place? What misfortunes, poor decisions, or cruel twists of “fate” had conspired to reduce this man to the place of an undignified beggar?

I looked and I saw myself. Crudely clad in the rags of unrighteousness. Hopeless to change my circumstance. Unable to rid myself of the stench and stain of sin.

Pass Me Not...

When I got home, I quickly turned to the seventieth chapter of the Psalms. I read the startling, sobering words of a king in distress. I listened as David, a rich and powerful king, declared himself “poor and needy.”

And my heart cried out, “So am I!”

I am poor and needy. I have so many needs that I will never be able to meet myself. I was glad that I could say with the Psalmist, “O God, YOU are my help and my deliverer. O LORD, do not delay.” Then, I choked out the words of the old hymn: “Pass me not, O gentle Savior; hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.”

And I heard Him whisper, “I am here.”

A Prayer For Today: “Father, I am as poor and needy as any person who has ever lived. I cannot save myself. I cannot clean myself up and present myself holy and undefiled to You. I need Your salvation. I need Your cleansing blood. Thank You for meeting my needs. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.
Prov. 13:7 (NKJV)

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Tim. 6:6 (NKJV)

Yesterday, an old tune my Dad used to sing came to mind. It is a lovely tune, one I thoroughly enjoyed hearing him sing when I was a small boy. But then one day I really heard the words for the first time…and they were fraught with discouragement and disillusion. So, I wondered if Dad just liked the tune or if he somehow felt the impact of the lyrics.

The song goes like this…

I’m forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air
They fly so high, they reach the sky
Just like my dreams, they fade and die
Fortune’s always hiding,
I look everywhere
I’m forever blowing bubbles
Pretty bubbles in the air

Honestly, most of us have felt that way at one time or another, like all our efforts, schemes, and dreams were so many pretty bubbles, enjoyed for a few minutes, ascending higher and higher, only to burst into nothingness.

Solomon surely went through a period of such despondency. Having searched out all that the world had to offer and finding that it left him cold and empty inside, he penned observations that became the most downbeat book in the Bible…Ecclesiastes. The catch phrase and theme of the whole book is, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” Solomon compared chasing riches and pleasure and all that the world can offer to chasing the wind. You cannot catch it…and even if you do, what have you got?

But Solomon was living life, as he put it, “under the sun.”

God intends for you and me to live on a higher plain. He urges us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting Him that all these other things will be ours as well. Paul found that gain without godliness was fleeting and troublesome, but godliness coupled with contentment was real wealth.

I don’t want to burst any bubbles today, but acquisitions, accolades and accomplishments don’t last. Nor do they bring real satisfaction.

Jesus does.

A Prayer for Today: “Lord Jesus, I do not wish to spend my time here on earth chasing pretty bubbles. Help me, Lord, to live my life on a higher plain. Help me to order my priorities so that the things that thrill me are the things of eternal value. And may I be content with such as I have, trusting You to meet my needs and take me still to higher ground! Amen.”