Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
⁹ Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

INTRODUCTION

All last week and all this week until Thursday afternoon, I thought this sermon would be the final installment of the Preacher’s proverbs. As I began working through the remaining proverbs, however, I realized that the first two needed more attention than usual. Even then, I still thought I might be able to get through all five until I looked a bit closer at v.11. That too, I’d like to spend a good deal of time on. And then again on Saturday afternoon, I realized I’d need to cut it again—down from five proverbs to three to two. For those reasons, welcome to the second-to-last sermon on the proverbs of Ecclesiastes (until chapter 10 where we get another batch).

As has been the case in each of the previous passages, there is some level of connection between the proverbs, but no logical flow. They’re not really meant to build on each other. They are, for the most part, a simple collection of stand-alone nuggets of wisdom.

As I mentioned last week, what we have here is something like the Preacher’s divinely-inspired answer to the question: What are your top pieces of advice for someone trying to understand and live in the world as it is? For anyone who desires those things, it’s easy to see what a gift this is from God.

Specifically, we’ll consider the wisdom of pursuing perseverance and patience (rather than instant gratification and pride), and being slow to anger and quick to let it go (by being humble and cultivating good anger)

The big ideas of this passage are, once again, that God made the world to function in a certain way and, therefore, as we learn that way and conform to it, things tend to go better for us. Even as when we are ignorant of God’s ways or out of conformity with them, things tend to go worse. And the main takeaway is to order our lives according to God’s design for His glory and our good.

THE PREACHER’S PROVERBS

Grace Church, I know you want to live in light of the wisdom of God. You probably wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. We have it here. Let us, therefore, consider it carefully and seek it diligently as we dive right in to our first proverb of the day. It is found in v.8.

Pursue Perseverance and Patience (8)

If there are two things that define our culture, it’s probably the expectation (idol?) of instant gratification and pride. We want what we want right now, to the point that we might not even order something if we have to wait for two-day shipping.

Likewise, the prideful belief that we know how and when things should be is virtually universal. How much collective frustration is there among us whenever things don’t turn out the way we want or take longer to do so than we’d set our hearts on?

The first of the proverbs that we’ll consider this morning tells us that wisdom calls for something different. Instead of instant gratification and pride, the Preacher observed that wisdom calls for the pursuit of perseverance and patience.

In the way of perseverance, look with me at the first half of v.8.

⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning…

Have you ever gotten really excited about something and invested a good deal of time and money getting ready for it, only to have it fizzle out quickly once the real work began?

Getting ready for a new diet or exercise routine (buying all the right foods, videos, clothes, or equipment or signing up for the membership, race, or session), only to revert to your old habits in a few days/weeks.

Signing up for a new class (paying the dues, buying the books/supplies, getting the t-shirt), only to have to drop out a couple of weeks in because it was too much for your schedule.

Getting everything set up for a new Bible reading or memorization plan (purchasing a new Bible, journal, highlighters, finding a new reading plan that fits better, etc.), only to fade out before Abraham.

Working really hard on building a fort (working out the design, gathering the materials, carving out the time to construct it, etc.), only to be bored in it once it was finished.

Settling on a new budget (buying a book or watching a video, creating the right categories and settling on the amounts in each, getting an app or setting up a spreadsheet), only to go on spending however you want after a long day or two of “self-control”?

You get the idea.

There are many among us who have begun dozens of things and finished few. There are many among us who have wanted instant gratification in areas that gratification almost always requires long-term perseverance to get.

In the beginning of a thing, there’s excitement at the newness of it and the preparation that goes into it. We often like the idea of gaining or growing in an area of our lives more than the discipline and self-control it takes to accomplish it.

We tend to like the beginning of a thing. But the Preacher observed that “the end of a thing is better than its beginning.” That is, actual weight loss/muscle building/improved health, learning new things/skills, increased energy, sanctification, fellowship with God, financial stability, etc., are better than plans, purchases, and preparation for them. We need to plan, purchase, and prepare. Those things are good, even necessary, as means to the end. As you know, we must have a beginning for there to be an end. But all-too-often the beginning is also the end. And that is not good.

The end is better in that it is the true purpose of the beginning, the Preacher admonished.

The second half of this first proverb presses even further into our folly. Not only is it a common (foolish) struggle to start things we don’t finish, but it is also common (foolish) to pridefully talk about the things we’ve begun that we never end up finishing and to pridefully get frustrated when they don’t happen as quickly as we think they should.

Again, the Preacher speaks to those tendencies at the end of v.8, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Have you ever done either of those things? Have you made sure to talk a good deal about whatever new thing you’ve just begun or gotten angry that it didn’t happen on your timeline? Our delight in starting a new thing is often only surpassed by telling people about the new thing we started. And our anger at not getting to the end is often only surpassed by getting there slower than we’d set our hearts upon.

Social media seems to have made both of these exponentially more tempting than even the Preacher could have imagined.

There is a way, of course, in which it’s good to tell others of our plans and goals. It’s good to do so when our aim is to share our excitement in humility. Likewise, it’s good to do so when we’re genuinely asking for wisdom, prayer, and help.

And there is a way in which creating a clear schedule and timeline is good. It’s good when it’s a part of declaring the importance of the thing and exercising discipline to accomplish it. And when things get in the way, it’s good to lament the good of others and the glory of God delayed.

It’s not good to tell others, however, when we’re only sharing and asking for those things as a type of boasting. It’s not good to do so when we’re primarily sharing in an attempt to impress others with our new venture. In other words, it is not good to talk about the beginning of a thing when our motivation for doing so is pride.

Likewise, it is not good to be upset at our busted timeline at the expense of loving our neighbor as ourselves. And it is not good when it is a functional expression of our rejection of the perfect timing or sovereign rule of God. In other words, it is not good to be frustrated about the delay of the end when the cause is pride.

The Preacher contrasts this kind of prideful spirit with one of patience.

Chirping at the beginning of a thing and frustration at the “delay” of a thing tends to come out of those who are proud in spirit. But it is those who are patient in spirit who tend to talk less and see things through to the end. The Preacher saw that getting to the end of a thing takes perseverance and patience. It takes hard work through challenges and the ability to endure over time.

Putting this wisdom into practice means at least three things.

First, it means making sure the thing we mean to begin is a good thing. The end of a thing is only better than the beginning of a thing, when the thing is something worth beginning in the first place.

In order to really live out the wisdom of v.8, therefore, we need to begin the things God has called us to begin, in the order that He’s called us to begin them. Beginning a sinful thing or a good but secondary thing is not wise. Wisdom is doing first things (as God defines them) first.

In this way, Ecclesiastes 7:8 is a charge for all of us to consider the things we’re doing and not doing right now, in light of the priorities God has given us in His Word.

Second, putting this wisdom into practice means counting the cost before beginning the best thing. Jesus spoke to this in Luke 14. As more and more people contemplated following Him, Jesus charged them to first count the cost of doing so. Jesus said,

Luke 14:28-32 …which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

This world is such that wise people make sure they are giving themselves to the best things, and they make sure they can finish what they start—with God’s help. To say it another way, wise people know the God-assigned value of things, they are good at calculating what it takes to acquire or accomplish those things, and they pursue the perseverance needed to see them through to the end, even when things get hard.

And third, putting this wisdom into practice means being patient in pursuing and claiming success. Things worth doing are worth doing because God said they are, not because they might lead to the approval/praise of others. And things worth doing often take time and are always, ultimately, on God’s time. Therefore, the Preacher’s wisdom means that we ought to talk less about what we might accomplish and focus more on patiently, perseveringly, and dependently in doing it.

Of this wisdom, we would do well to consider how long and through how much (usually self-inflicted) hardship the Israelites waited for the Christ to come and deliver them. Century after century passed after God’s initial (Genesis 3) promise. Century after century passed in slavery and oppression. And yet, their charge was clear and God’s timing was perfect.

So it is for the Church today as we perseveringly (in faithful obedience to God’s commission) and patiently (humbly entrusting our work to the grace and timing of God) await the return of Christ. He who began a good work in us will see it through to completion!

“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Be Slow to Anger and Quick to Let it Go (9)

In the next proverb, we find one of the more important pieces of wisdom out there.

⁹ Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

What makes you angry? How quickly do you tend to get angry? How often do you find yourself angry? How long do you typically stay angry? How do you treat others in your anger? Once angered, do you/how do you eventually let go of it? To varying degrees, this proverb provides wisdom for each of these questions.

Grace, for the glory of God and the good of mankind, don’t be quickly angered or perpetually angry. Hot tempers and lodged anger are the fool’s recipe for mass destruction. Oh, how many people, marriages, families, friendships, business partnerships, and churches have been laid to waste by misguided and unrelenting anger?! Few things are more corrosive than those things. If that’s you, turn to Jesus right now for forgiveness of your sins and to the Holy Spirit of God to help you turn from it.

Hopefully, those aren’t revolutionary claims for most of you. And hopefully, most of you have managed, with God’s help, to steer clear of that kind of anger (in yourself and in others). And yet, I know you well enough to know that everyone of us have experienced some measure of the destructive power of anger. And because of that, I know that we all need to take a closer look at the wisdom of v.9.

Doing so begins, I believe, with noticing something that I hope you all already noticed: The proverb doesn’t say that the wise are never angry. I’ll say more on this in a bit, but Grace, wise, godly people must be angry at times. Wisdom recognizes that in this world, as it really is, there is good anger.

If we are to repent of bad anger, and help others to do so as well, we must have a firm grasp of the key ingredients of good anger. They are: (1) Accurate and sufficient knowledge of a situation (there is no good anger that is rooted in lies or partial truth), (2) A truly biblical understanding of God’s assessment of the situation (there is no good anger that flows out of idolatry), and (3) A genuine desire to be a part of the God-prescribed solution (there is no good anger that is an end in itself or moves toward evil).

Absent those ingredients, our anger is never good.

Another key piece of wisdom regarding avoiding quick-working and long-lasting anger is in recognizing the simple fact that we rarely possess any of those ingredients in significant quantity, much less all of them together.

We are finite creatures. Therefore, whenever you find anger welling up inside of you, remember that you never have perfectly accurate or sufficient knowledge of a situation. You don’t even have that in regard to our own participation, much less someone else’s. We’re prone to think we have a grasp on things we don’t and that leads to the kind of anger the Preacher warns against.

In addition, we are fallen creatures. Our motives are rarely what we think they are. More often than not, we get angry simply because someone has inconvenienced us or because they’ve kept us from getting something we want. When you begin to feel angry, then, remember that rarely is our anger directed at the genuine good of others, and even less often does it have much, if anything, to do with God’s perspective or glory.

And we are fickle creatures. Consequently, regarding the third ingredient, rather than wanting to be a part of a godward, gospel-driven solution, we typically, simply want the perceived injustice to stop so our own situations will improve. All-too-often when we’re angry, the only solution we’re concerned with is getting whatever it was that we wanted in the first place.

The point, once again, is that grasping the wisdom of this proverb means humbly settling on the facts that not many of us are aware of the ingredients of good anger, and all of us tend to lack them in sufficient quantities.

And for these reasons, the Preacher’s wisdom calls us to be slow to anger and quick to clear it out. Those who are quick to anger or perpetually angry are playing with fire. It is foolish to tolerate a hot temper or lodged anger in ourselves. They are almost always thoroughly misguided and powerfully corrosive.

So what do we do with all of this? What does it look like to live out this wisdom?

Like the Preacher, the Apostle Paul warns his readers against sinful anger. Unlike the Preacher, though, Paul commands us to “be angry” (Ephesians 4:26). So, how do we cultivate good anger? Three things.

First, wisdom calls us to spend time meditating on our weakness and lack. Cultivating good anger begins with rooting out bad anger. And rooting out bad anger means meditating on our weakness and lack. As we just saw…

1. It calls us to continually remind ourselves that sinful anger is easy and common and good anger is hard and rare.
2. It means continually taking inventory of our good anger ingredients and being honest about our lack.
3. It prohibits us from allowing ourselves to be duped by ourselves into trusting anger as it first wells up in us.
4. And it requires that we carefully test every ounce of anger in us before allowing it to grow.

All of this requires us to prayerfully and humbly ask good questions of all our budding anger. To that end, helpfully, David Powlison gives us eight good questions whenever we find anger in ourselves (Good and Angry, 152-162):

1. What is my situation? What is going on that is making me angry? What is happening (or not happening)?
2. How am I reacting? What am I doing? What’s going on inside (emotions) and outside of me (actions)?
3. What are my motives? What specifically is it about this situation that is making me mad? Why is this angering to me? Is this more about my personal preferences/inconvenience or God’s glory?
4. What are the consequences of my reaction? Is it making the situation better or worse? Is my anger growing or subsiding? Is my attention and that of those around me drawn to Jesus or away from Him?
5. What is true? What does God’s Word say about my situation? How does the gospel come to bear on it?
6. How do I turn to God’s help? What provision and promises has God made for my situation?
7. How can I respond constructively in this situation? What can/should I do to honor God and bless others?
8. What are the consequences of faith and obedience? What will happen if I don’t do what I feel like doing, but what God has called me to do?

Wherever our answers to these questions are fundamentally selfish and/or man-centered, we must not allow the seed of anger in us to germinate and bear fruit. Only the fool gives full vent to his unchecked anger (Proverbs 29:11).

Grace, especially if you’re prone to anger, do these things before any shows up in you. And at the first sign of anger, take it captive and make it conform to Christ or kill it quickly by the power of the Spirit.

⁹ Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

Second, wise people will apply this wisdom by carefully considering the anger of God. God is an angry God. But God is also a good God. God always has perfect knowledge of every situation. He always perfectly assesses every situation in perfect righteousness. And God’s anger is always redemptive in some measure. In other words, God always has all three ingredients for good anger and always makes perfect use of them. And, therefore, God’s anger is always good.

Regarding the fact of God’s anger, consider Psalm 7:11 which says, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation [anger] every day.”

Similarly, the Bible speaks of God’s wrath being kindled (which is just another way of saying that something makes Him angry) well over 100 times. God’s anger is not an occasional thing.

The question, therefore, is not whether God gets angry. The questions are what makes God angry and what He does with it.

The shortest answer to the question of what makes God angry is: sin and rebellion.

In Exodus 32 it is the idolatrous forging of the golden calf that caused God’s anger to “burn hot”.

In 2 Chronicles 24 it is abandoning God for false gods that kindled God’s anger.

In Ezra 7 it was the lack of full obedience to God that stirred God’s anger. And in Ezra 8 it was the taking of foreign wives among His people.

In Neimiah, it was Israel’s profaning the Sabbath.

Psalm 78 describes all kinds of things that stirred God’s good anger—forgetting God’s marvelous works, faithlessness, cowardice in battle, failure to keep covenant with God, testing God, grumbling, mistrusting God, flattery and deceit, rebellion, provocation, treachery, and the construction of high places.

In Jeremiah 7, God’s good anger came from the failure of His people to execute justice, the oppression of the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, the shedding of innocent blood, the going after other gods, theft, murder, adultery, and swearing falsely.

In Ezekiel 16 and all of Hosea, God was angered at the spiritual whoring of His covenant people.

In John 3, God’s anger was tied to the wrath incurred by Adam and passed down to all his descendants.

In Romans 1, it was due to the suppression of truth and the failure to honor God as God.

Colossians 3 tells of God being angry because of all forms of worldliness: “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (3:5).

And in Revelation 14, God’s fierce anger was tied to sexual immorality and the worship of the beast.

Because God is a perfect, righteous judge, and holy judge, whenever He sees wickedness it rightly makes Him angry. And because God is perfect in every way, He always thinks, feels, and acts perfectly in His anger.

What does He do with His anger? He hates wickedness in just the right amount such that He crushes the unrepentant, He offers redemption to the humble, and He fights for the cause of the weak.

If you want to avoid wrong anger, consider God’s right anger. And at the heart of His right anger are the twin facts that God is only angered by true wickedness and He is never passive in His anger.

Finally, third, wisdom calls us to learn to act in righteousness in our good anger. Living in light of this wisdom means that when we’ve rightly filtered out sinful anger and are left with genuinely righteous anger, we must act on it. Once again, good anger always acts for good.

We must get angry about the abuse and neglect of the orphan/widow and then plead their cause and invite them into our homes.

We must get angry at the misuse of power, whether state sanctioned or the bully on the playground, and stand up to the oppressor.

We must get angry when people blaspheme the LORD God Almighty, and then evangelize them, warning them of the consequences of continuing in their blasphemy and calling them to repentance and the grace of God in Jesus.

We must get angry when our governmental leaders legally endorse sin and punish righteousness, and we must talk to our representatives and we must disobey every law that violates God’s law.

We must get angry when our kids dishonor their mothers, and then remind them of God’s commands and promises, pray with them, point them to Jesus, and discipline them appropriately.

We must get angry when our brothers and sisters in Christ forsake the Word of God as their authority and pursue man-made religion, and then pray for them, humbly confront them, and sacrificially walk alongside of them in repentance should the Lord grant it.

We must get angry when we get wrongly angry, and then apologize to all we’ve hurt by it and put it to death by the power of the Spirit.

Bad, sinful and stored-up anger have no place in the life of a Christian. But neither do angerlessness or inaction at right anger. Good anger is always meant to drive us to do something about the sin that caused it. Good anger is always rightly released. It is never to get lodged in us. God always moves toward doing good in the face of things that rightly stir anger and so must we.

⁹ Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

CONCLUSION

Begin the best things and see them through to the end in patient perseverance. Repent of bad anger—quick and lodged—by being humble and cultivating and acting on good anger. That’s the wisdom the Preacher hands down to us. It is truly wise wisdom that we all ought to long to increasingly employ.

At the same time, once again, none of us have or will as we ought. Even our best efforts will have some measure of folly and sin mixed in with them. And that is yet another reminder that our only hope is Jesus Christ. We will either look to Him, who alone can forgive and restore us, and know the full measure of God’s blessing or we will die in our sin to know the full measure of the anger of God. Wisdom alone cannot save. Christ alone can.