Maybe Wisdom Is the Answer

“Wise people see where they are going,

 but fools walk around in the dark. 

Yet, I saw that both wise and foolish people end the same way.”

(Ecclesiastes 2: 14)

                 Death is assured! Both the wise and the foolish are going to meet that milestone. But the question is, on which road are you going to meet that milestone? On the narrow road to eternal peace and joy or on the highway to eternal sorrow and pain? You would pass the milestone called “death” on both these roads. And that’s where being wise or foolish matters.

                 In the book of Ecclesiastes we find the preacher pondering on these two thrilling phrases; ‘being Wise’ and ‘being Foolish’. The truth hits the preacher as he says that “I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish, just as light is better than darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2: 13). The next few verses the preacher goes on to show why such a claim was made by him. Just as he tries to prove his claim, another reality hits him. The end. “What happens at the end, to both, the wise and the foolish?” The question also makes us think a while. Makes us revise our syllabus of life. “The wise person and the fool will both die” (Ecclesiastes 2: 16A). What? Really?

                Yes. Both will die one day. Both are going to cross the milestone. And here comes the answer. When you witness the milestone of death, on which road are you going to be? Then what’s the difference? 

                What do we gain by living this life with wisdom if we are also going to die like the foolish? There comes that beautiful verse. “Wise people see where they are going, but fools walk around in the dark” (Ecclesiastes 2: 14A). 

                Thus, the question is more about the way you travel. If you have chosen to live a life of wisdom, then you are knowing your destination. You know where you are heading towards. You are assured of where your road is heading towards, come what may. But those who have chosen to fill their life with foolishness are walking around in the darkness. They do not know where their foolish life is leading them towards.

                Both have to die one day. But the wise, when they die, they know where they are going. But the foolish, they suddenly realise that their life in this flesh, bone and blood is coming to an end, and they panic not knowing where their next phase begins and ends.

What have you chosen today? To be wise or to be foolish? The answer is in the question itself.

Yes, both have to die one day. But when you die, there’s a significant difference between both!

May God bless you and guide you.