The Subpoena, the Nostalgia Trap, and the Wisdom of Few Words
To most people, the book of Ecclesiastes is overwhelmingly depressing. But the sheer weight of its wisdom brings a profound, grounding peace. It speaks directly to the soul because it doesn't sugarcoat the human experience. Solomon lays out the brutal realities of life under the sun, and diving into these chapters today felt like looking directly into a mirror.
Right now, the subpoena for the upcoming trial in March sits on the kitchen counter. Staring at it makes the words of Ecclesiastes 8:11 cut deep: "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people's hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong." When justice is delayed, it is agonizingly difficult to forgive. It is easy to understand why people want to take matters into their own hands. But even heavier is the brutal truth found just a few verses later in 8:14—the meaningless reality that sometimes, the righteous get what the wicked deserve.
There is no arguing this. Cash lived righteously, yet he suffered a violent death. It is a meaningless, grievous evil of this fallen world, but accepting that Solomon acknowledged this thousands of years ago somehow makes the burden slightly less isolating.
This tension forces a hard look at the extremes of life. Ecclesiastes 7:18 warns that whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. There has never been anything "slow and steady" about my life; it has always been a pendulum of full extremes. I think back to the "feral 40s"—working 60 to 80 hours a week at GE, staying up until 3:00 AM to crush the competition because I was playing on an entirely different field. It brought success, but it came at a massive cost. I provided everything, but I wasn't truly present until much later.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 describes the tragedy of a man whom God grants wealth and possessions, but not the ability to enjoy them. This is what happens when the hustle consumes the heart. It is the tragedy of owning a wakeboard shop but completely losing the joy of actually wakeboarding on glassy water at 7:00 AM because the hobby morphed into a heavy obligation.
Solomon also drops a massive warning about living in the past. Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions." It is incredibly easy to get addicted to the feeling of 80s nostalgia videos on Instagram. They transport you to a feeling, even if none of it is real anymore. But people who live their entire lives looking backward—obsessing over the spouse who cheated 30 years ago or the glory days of the past—are living in a pit. Every minute spent living in the past is another foot dug deeper into that hole, making it that much harder to climb out.
Finally, chapter 5 brings the ultimate conviction for an I/Me generation obsessed with fixing everyone else: "Do not be quick with your mouth... let your words be few." In Christian circles, we often want to fix each other with unsolicited advice. We cut people off, not out of malice, but because we are so eager to share our own thoughts. But true wisdom is often found in silence. Looking someone in the eyes and simply listening is a profound discipline.
Today's SOAP
S - Scripture
Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 (NIV): "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few... many words mark the speech of a fool."
Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NIV): "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions."
Ecclesiastes 8:14 (NIV): "There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless."
O - Observation
Solomon dismantles the illusions we use to comfort ourselves. He exposes the folly of talking too much and listening too little. He warns against the paralyzing trap of nostalgia, recognizing that looking backward prevents us from walking forward. Most sobering of all, he validates the deepest pains of the human experience—that in a broken world, justice is often delayed, and the righteous frequently suffer the fates meant for the wicked.
A - Application
I cannot control the agonizing delays of the legal system, nor can I make sense of the meaningless reality of my son's violent death. But I can control my posture today. I must actively resist the extremes that defined my past. I will not live in the pit of nostalgia or the trap of the "feral 40s." When interacting with others today, I will practice the discipline of Ecclesiastes 5: keeping my mouth shut, letting my words be few, and using my ears twice as much as my mouth.
P - Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the raw, unapologetic wisdom of Ecclesiastes. It speaks directly to the turmoil and the extremes of my soul. Lord, as I look at the subpoena on the counter, I ask for Your supernatural peace. Keep my heart from brewing schemes of vengeance, and help me to fully entrust the timeline of justice to You. Guard me against the extremes of my own ambition. Teach me the discipline of silence so that I might truly hear others and, more importantly, hear You. Keep my eyes focused on today, rather than the ghosts of the past. In Jesus' name, Amen.
When you catch yourself feeling the familiar pull of those extremes—whether it's the urge to overwork, over-advise, or slip into the pit of the past—what is one physical action you can take to hit the brakes and bring yourself back to center?
