Wisdom is better...but...

Speaker: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee
Date: 16th Oct 2016
Title: Wisdom is better… but…

Today’s passage is quite special. It is a dramatic story about what happened to a particular wise man. I thought it would be good for this story to be acted out, to feel the impact of the story. So, at great expense, I got Andy Lau to present the scripture to you. Enjoy.[1]

Ecclesiastes 9: 13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me:14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.

When I read the sermon passage for today, I was immediately struck by the similarities between its storyline and the plot of the movie 墨攻 (A Battle of Wits)[2] . So I hope that the scenes from the movie made today’s scripture reading a lot more realistic and memorable for you. Andy Lau plays a disciple of Mozi[3] , who saved a city from a huge invading army. But by the end of the movie, nobody really appreciated his efforts, or his philosophy of Mohism. In the same vein, this is the topic for today’s passage: wisdom is better. Wisdom can even defeat overwhelming strength. But what if in the end, nobody cares? What if all that you accomplish can be dismissed in the blink of an eye? And so the Preacher concluded:
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
If I may also borrow from the first verse of next week’s text, Ecclesiastes 10: As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

In the pursuit of wisdom, the Preacher was forced into a conundrum. The reality is that at the end of the day, wisdom is often unappreciated. There is a key word in this story: poor. And so, no matter your contributions or achievements that come from your wisdom, even if you save an entire city, what really matters in the end is your social status. This is a difficulty that is often hard to swallow, especially to a wise man. We think that truth and knowledge should be all that matters. I have the facts. I have the perfect logic. If only everybody will just listen to my reasons, they will come to their senses, and things will fall into place according to plan. But, think about your life experiences. How often does that happen? In life, it’s not what you know, but who you know. The Preacher laid out his true life experience to us: Wisdom does not rule the day. Not even if you are Andy Lau.

Why is it like that? Humanity is weird, right? I tried my best to understand the situation. I think sometimes it boils down to this: 小的就是一介草民，我没想别的呀。谁是不是英雄跟我没任何关系。我只想着我的老婆，孩子，想着庄稼地。These are the words uttered by a commoner in one of the scenes in the movie: “I don’t really care about truth or wisdom. I’m a commoner; I only care about my immediate interest.” Imagine running a country full of people like this. But this is the reality. The Preacher was a pursuer of Wisdom, he knew and believed that wisdom could conquer all the evil powers of this world. Wisdom is better than strength. Wisdom is better than weapons of war.[4] If this wisdom can influence the world, it would transform the world. Yet there are 3 “buts” in the passage. But… Nobody remembers. But… Nobody cares. But… One little folly can just destroy everything. The preacher did not shy away from reality, but told us the truth. This is the reality we also observe today. Politicians everywhere know it. People vote according to their religious preferences, or how immigration will affect their jobs, or whether they will pay more taxes. So, what good is Wisdom if nobody cares? This is the question to which the Preacher demanded a response. What good is Wisdom if nobody cares? Maybe your response would be like this movie review I found online:

但最让我震颤的却不是革离，逸约，梁王，梁适，巷淹中等主要人物，而是那个小城民，他死前的那番抗议protest是那么真实，那么的富有人情味，那么的令人感动！历史总是赋予人民太多的使命，太多的所谓国家道德aspirations and values。其实，老百姓并不在意谁是君主，并不在意谁是英雄，他们只关心自己的妻子、儿女、庄稼地，但这就足够了，这才是他们的利益所在，人都有各自的位置，各自的利益观，并不要求每个人都成为英雄，每个人都成为国家民族命运负责的人。每个人把自己的事做好了，只要体制完善，国家就能正常运转。没有所谓的奉献sacrifice，没有所谓的牺牲，只是你在你应有的位置做出了非常的成绩。不要太过强求一个老百姓为一个不属于他的位置作出牺牲，因为他的位置只是“一介草民”，他应该做的就是“想我的老婆孩子,想我的庄稼地”。 [5]

Do you agree with this sentiment I found online? That is one way to deal with the reality. We have to forsake Wisdom because that’s just too much to ask of the commoners. Their main job is to care about their basic needs. So just accept that Wisdom is futile because that is reality. I admit that I’m often tempted that way. For every sermon, I prepare chunks of research, but the final script is often pared down to the bare minimum because I know there are some who do not care for them. [6] What good is Wisdom if nobody cares? Some might conclude: true, you shouldn’t care since it benefits no one.

But then I’m reminded of Jesus. Mark 6: 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. To a people like sheep without a shepherd, note the response of Jesus: So he began teaching them many things. I wonder what I would have done if I were there. Jesus, what good is your teaching if nobody cares? They just want miracles from you. They just want you to fight their oppressors for them. They are just 草民. Jesus, what good is your teaching if nobody cares? And it turned out to be true. The crowd turned against him when it went against their basic needs. At the crucifixion, if you interrogated one of those Jewish commoners, what might he say? If you ask him, why are you crucifying this innocent man? Didn’t he feed you and heal you and exorcise your demons? More importantly, didn’t he teach you really well? What might this person say? 小的就是一介草民，我没想别的呀。谁是不是英雄跟我没任何关系。我只想着我的老婆，孩子，想着庄稼地。

Brothers and sisters, what good is Wisdom if nobody cares? In the video, there is a line: 葛离败了。他的理论败在不懂人性。But is it true? Would a wise man who investigates and searches out the scheme of things (7:25) not know human nature? Of course he does. The Preacher blatantly expressed in today’s passage that he knew human nature very well. Does Jesus not know the hearts of men? In John 2: 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. Jesus knew human nature very well. What good is Wisdom if nobody cares? Well, even if nobody cares, you still teach because you care. Mark 6: 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Jesus taught because he had compassion on them. Jesus taught because he cared. And so he taught whether or not the people cared.

Brothers and sisters, today’s message is ever more important. The world today continues to speak in the language of strength and weapons of war. We are bound to have conflicts, but we can choose how we resolve them. The Bible declares: Wisdom is better than strength and might. Wisdom is better than weapons of war. But for that to happen, the wise must care to speak. You must teach even when nobody cares. This is the reality. But I say this not to discourage any of you. Rather, it is to inspire you to appreciate the wisdom we have: the wisdom to transform the world and bring peace. Keep on the good fight. The Lord is with you.

There was once a gossip going around about me. When I heard it, I was very angry. After some investigation, I slowly got to the person who started the gossip. I was all ready to confront the person. Then someone with wisdom taught me: If you do that, you may end up with a broken relationship. Does it really matter to feel righteous or justified or victorious in an argument? So I tried his method instead. I said to the person: I need your help with this gossip that is going on about me. What do you think is going on? And this person said, “This gossip is not justified, there must have been a misunderstanding. I’ll support you if this gossip continues.” The gossip died down quickly, and I continue to have a good relationship with this person. I’m very glad I listened to good wisdom, and prevented a conflict from escalating. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peace-makers.” You need wisdom to bring peace, and you need to care to teach true wisdom. Not all may listen to you. But for even one willing listening ear, you are blessed, because you co-create with God, to bring a little peace into this world. Let’s continue to seek wisdom, and continue to care about those around us. Wisdom is possible to all of us who fear God. Listen with an open heart during sermons. I hope you are encouraged in your daily lives, to bring wisdom and peace to those around you.

[1] https://youtu.be/5g_aZNic6-s
[2]http://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A2%A8%E6%94%BB/10995
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozi
[4] 这里可参考墨子胜过鲁班的故事:
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/42155895.html
[5] http://bbs.tianya.cn/post-free-847928-1.shtml
[6] 我原本是想分享墨家的“兼爱非攻”对比耶稣的“爱人如己”。还是有志者加油吧：http://baike.baidu.com/view/655358.htm