What is an underrated weapon? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
Ecclesiastes 9 wraps up with this:
17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
Rulers were normally seen as wise people in the past, but here, the Teacher says it’s better to share wisdom in quiet than to broadcast it to fools. If you are a fool, you will not understand wisdom. In the age of the internet, there are plenty of people out there who think they know what they’re talking about, and they really don’t. As Twain said, it is better to have people think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war as well. This does not mean all warfare is wrong, but it does mean if the only way you have to establish your case is that you’re bigger than the other guy, you probably aren’t someone with a good case. Nowadays, the same could be said about a social media platform. If you think you have to cancel and boycott everything, it could be your case is weak. Not always, but it could be.
There are plenty of examples today also of one sinner destroying much good. As I write this, we are in the midst of seeing a bunch of memes about a cheating CEO caught at a Coldplay concert with another woman. The memes are funny, to be sure, but there are also good people who I am sure work at his company and now they are likely suffering something because of his actions.
Another key example for us today are failures in ministry, particularly those who fall into sexual sins. One of the most well-known examples sadly today is Ravi Zacharias. He was a hero of mine in the past and when I read about all the things that he had actually done, I thought I would be sick. I do know he wasn’t alone in this as there were others who had to know what was going on, but how much ministry was shot down because of what he did? While I do think his books still contain much that can be useful, I would never dare give them any more to a skeptical friend of mine. When the main guy at a prominent apologetics ministry does this kind of stuff, those in the field suffer.
There are two lessons that we can learn from things like this. The first is to watch out for people like this. It is easy to put forward a fron that everyone around you is convinced by. However, a far greater lesson for us to learn would be to make sure you are not the person like this. Some people think I’m extreme because I refuse to be in an elevator alone with a woman, or have one alone with me in my apartment, or ride in a car with one alone, unless we’re dating or they’re family. Why? One mistake can ruin you. Just one. I also know that when I think I am above temptation, I am much more likely to fall to it.
Guard yourselves. Live with wisdom.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)
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