The Worlds Okayest Pastor

Better a Live Dog Than a Dead Lion

• Jason Cline

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Solomon's unflinching examination of mortality in Ecclesiastes continues to challenge and comfort us today. "The same destiny overtakes all," he writes, observing that death comes equally to the righteous and wicked. Yet instead of despair, this ancient king offers surprising wisdom: "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love all the days of this meaningless life."

What makes this wisdom so profound is how it confronts our modern struggles with comparison and discontentment. We constantly measure ourselves against others, chasing more possessions, status, and experiences, yet never finding the joy Solomon describes. True contentment comes not from accumulating more but from embracing what God has already provided.

For Christians, this wisdom takes on even deeper significance. Unlike Solomon, who had no concept of resurrection, we understand that death isn't the final word. The stark difference between a believer's funeral and a non-believer's illustrates this hope perfectly. While both experience grief, those who trust in Jesus celebrate the certainty of reunion. As Jason noted, "I don't want my kids to repeat my mistakes" – wisdom means learning from others rather than insisting on experiencing folly firsthand.

Throughout these chapters, Solomon contrasts wisdom with foolishness, noting how "fools multiply words" while the wise speak with grace and purpose. Even a little foolishness can undermine a lifetime of wisdom, which is why seeking God's guidance matters so profoundly. Whether you're young or experiencing the midpoint of life, Solomon's message remains urgent: follow Jesus while you can.

The reality that "everyone comes to the same end" should motivate us to make choices today that align with eternal values. You don't need more experiences or possessions – you need Jesus. When facing your mortality, will you have built your own kingdom of meaningless pursuits, or will you have sought God's kingdom first? The living still have this choice, and Solomon's ancient wisdom points us toward the one decision that transforms both our present joy and eternal destiny.

SPEAKER_00:

So I had the um I had the privilege on Thursday, uh the the Christian or the Weird Event Center had a praise and worship night. And uh if you were there, it was wonderful. It was a full house. Cody did an amazing job. I know he doesn't usually like accolades, but he did an amazing job. Um and you know, bringing the worship. And I was privileged to speak there. And uh, you know, I I've been in ministry now for uh probably about 19, 20 years, and and I continued to be humbled by the the platforms that God allows me to speak in and and in the lives that He lets me speak into because um if you knew me growing up, you would have never guessed that this is where I would have been. Um and that's okay, and I think that that's just part of my my story. But you know, as we get into the the word this morning, so we're gonna find ourselves in Ecclesiastes 9 and 10. Uh my goal was to kind of cover both of them. Um, I realized last week I never got to Ecclesiastes 9. I feel like Ecclesiastes 8 was a lot. And you know, Solomon and all of his wisdom talks about the importance of respecting authority and learning how to operate within the context of the authority that exists. And and so again, he says all that because he's he's a king. So let's be honest, there's some benefit to him saying obey the king. But he he says it really because he understands that all governing powers are controlled by God. God is sovereign, he's not surprised, you know. Like I I always tell people around election season, but like, oh, they won. I'm like, well, God wasn't like, oh no, I can't believe it. Like that that's not how he works, right? And so Solomon in his wisdom says, listen, we have to learn to respect those who are in place, even if we don't agree with them. We're called to pray for them. And and and Paul talks about this in his letter to the uh to uh to the Romans, uh to the church in Rome. He says, Listen, pray for your authority. Those who are in authority, pray for them that that God would use them. And and listen, that that's really easy to do when you like the people who are in power, but when you don't, it's harder, right? But but again, Solomon says in all of his wisdom, respect those who are in power, trust what God's doing, trust his timing, right? Trust that he has something in mind. And so again, as we continue his journey into Ecclesiastes, he gets into chapter nine and he starts talking about essentially he's talking about death. He's kind of already reflected on this a little bit in chapter seven, but but but he's he's really hitting home. And you know, if you if you I don't know what your Bible says, but my Bible says at the top of the chapter, a common destiny for all. And and Solomon is is reflecting on what every human experiences. This is the the beauty of Ecclesiastes, is everyone who lives on this earth can read this book and find themselves in it. So he starts in verse one. But no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. All share a common destiny the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices, and those who do not. As it is with the good, so with the sinful, and as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun. The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil, and there is a madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope. Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate, and their jealousy have long since vanished. Never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. And and I will stop there for right now, because I remember I talked about this when we got into the context of this. You have to understand that the Solomon has no, he has no understanding of Jesus. He doesn't understand the resurrection, he doesn't understand the eternity of hope. Uh, so when he says that the dead have nothing, he's speaking merely from a human perspective that in his life, all he knows is that when people die, they die and there's nothing left. That's what he believes. Now, you and I, we have a little bit of hindsight because we see Jesus and we understand that Jesus promised resurrection for those who believed in him. So when we talk about death, um one of the things that, and I've had this conversation a lot in the last couple weeks. I really I don't like funerals. I don't think I've You good, dude? Good? All right. Okay, I get that. I've been there, done that. All right, sorry, I didn't mean to bring attention to that. So now one of the things that that I really don't like to do funerals, and I don't think I've ever like met someone who really enjoys the funeral. But but the one thing that I've experienced in my life is the funeral of the funeral for someone who is a believer in Jesus is a whole lot different than the funeral of someone who's not. I I've been asked to do funerals for people that don't know who God is, who haven't accepted Jesus. And I can tell you that my perspective is always to try to offer as much hope as possible to them because families are grieving and they're broken. Now, when I have the privilege of doing a funeral of someone who has given their life to Jesus, there's not a whole lot of sadness in those moments. And it's not that we don't grieve, it's just we realize that the hope we have in Jesus is that in this very short life that we live, there's something after this, right? And and so Solomon doesn't quite understand that in this moment. His reflection is is is is almost I don't know, it's kind of depressing. So so he again he he continues, and he says, uh in verse 7, he says, Go eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a joinful heart with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life. By the way, that this is like one of my favorite verses, only only because of how he ends it. He says, Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love all the days of this meaningless life. It says that God has given you under the sun all your meaningless days, for this is not your lot in life, and your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. For in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. If you have seen something else, I have seen something else under the sun. The race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise, or wealth to the brilliant, or favor to the learned, but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no one knows when their how uh when their hour will come, as fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, uh, so people are trapped in by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them. Stop there. Solomon says, Listen, go and enjoy your life. Enjoy what what God has given you. Enjoy the life with your wife. Eat, be merry, work hard, do the things that you're supposed to do, because the reality is you and I have no idea when the end of this will come. And so Solomon is reflecting on his own life. And so the the second half of last week was that we're supposed to be people of joy, right? So not only people of justice, but but people of joy. And and joy is such an interesting conversation because I because listen, I there's a difference between being happy and being joyful. They're not the same thing. I I I can learn to be happy with things, but but there's this joy that comes from knowing God, there's this joy that comes from following God, that you and I are supposed to reflect that in the way that we live. Now, it doesn't mean that that we have to act like everything is okay all the time. I think that's unrealistic. I one of my one of my favorite things, and it's kind of an older idea, but I still see it every now and then, is like when you ask someone, how's life, and they're like, I'm just blessed, and their house is on fire. And you're like, okay, good approach, but you're you're allowed to be upset that your house is on fire. Like no one's mad at you about that, right? And and and and again, the way we approach our life, we have to understand that that you and I are called to be joyful. So it doesn't mean that everything's always going to be okay. That that's unrealistic. But it means that in really difficult situations, you and I have a different outlook on it. We understand that God is sovereign. We understand that that everything we have belongs to Him, anyways. Our job, our marriages, our kids, our bank accounts, our cars, our homes. Like, like everything you and I have has been given to us by God. And and Solomon, when he's reflecting, says, listen, this is everyone's lot. God is sovereign over even those who are wicked. He knows what they have, he he allows them to have it. And and so you and I, we when we look at our life, when when we are struggling, and and and one of the hardest things in the world anymore is the comparison. We we live in constant comparison to each other. It it drives me insane. Like, churches online are a wonderful thing, it's not a bad thing. But we're constantly comparing preachers to preachers. We're constantly comparing churches to churches. We we we find ourselves, and I'm telling you, I fall into the same category. Like, I find myself oftentimes distracted by the fact that I why can't I be like like, I don't know, I like Stephen Furtick. I know there's not a lot of agreement on that sometimes, but like, why can't I be someone who's like him? Why can't I be like that? And and the problem is I get lost in that because I I I get confused by everyone else. And instead, I have to learn to embrace who I am, who God has made me, right? And so that that's where that's where really that's where joy comes from, is when we learn to embrace the lot we have in life, whether good or bad. That's where the challenge is, because for those who have things good, you and I assume they're always happy and they're always content. I've learned that's not always the case. Sometimes people who want more and more and more and more never have rest. I was in Africa last year, and I met some of the happiest people in the worst conditions I've ever seen in my life. They were happy, they were content. I I saw these little kids kicking a rock down the street, and they were laughing. Because you know, I think we confuse it. That that we convince ourselves that if I just have another thing, if I just have more, that I'll have joy, and listen, that's not biblical. Solomon says, enjoy your life, enjoy what you have. Don't don't worry about chasing other things, don't worry about whether or not what your neighbor has. Worry about you, worry about your wife, worry about your kids, worry about your family. Because what you have, God has ordained that. That's his sovereignty. So eat, drink, be merry. God has approved these things. Listen, that that's where real joy comes in, is when we can learn to be content with where we are. That word content has got to be the word that I hate the most. If you've ever read any kind of leadership book or anything like that, like that word just doesn't exist because they're always strive for more, do more, be better, do this, push, push, push. But the wisdom of scripture says, listen, enjoy what you have. Trust that God has given it to you. Trust that He is in charge of it. Eat and be merry. You and I are supposed to be people of joy. That's supposed to set us apart from the rest of the world. Listen, it's funny, but it's not. When you see someone who's in a bad situation and they say, Oh, I'm blessed. I think they mean it. There are there are people that that look at some of the toughest things in life and they say, you know what? It's gonna be okay. Because they understand, like we should, that God's in charge, anyways. We Danny works with a lady, and uh, I'm not gonna share a name, but like it was kind of crazy. In in like a two-week span, she lost her car because of flooding. Then they lost their house because of flooding, and then the house they were living in, because their house was being rebuilt, caught on fire and burned down. And I'm just like, what is happening? But but that's but that's the thing, though. Like, there are people who go through things like that all the time, and and again, we don't have to say that it's easy, but we can acknowledge that God's in charge. That's what Solomon is saying. God is in control. Don't worry about the things you and I have no control over. Instead, eat and drink and be glad. Enjoy life with your wife under the sun. I talked about it, but the the funeral of a believer is way different than a non-believer. The one thing that I always hear at funerals for those who have loved ones who have given their life to Jesus is they always say, Man, I have a weird piece about this. And I'm like, you should. It's not weird, by the way, it's scriptural. A piece that surpasses all understanding. Paul writes about this in his letter to the Philippians. He says, Listen, I've learned to be content, I've learned to be in one, I've learned to be satisfied with whatever God has given me because I trust him. So again, Paul is reflecting Solomon's wisdom. I've learned to enjoy what I have, and I've learned to live in such a way that people know that. You and I are called to be people of joy. Doesn't mean we suppress how we feel, it doesn't mean we don't talk about bad things. It means we look at things from a different perspective. If you follow God, God is in charge, anyways. He's not surprised by the things that happen to us, even when we are. So Solomon says, Be people of joy, be people who live a life of joy. And then as he as he gets into the end of chapter 9, he goes into verse 10. He starts talking about wisdom. So verse 13 says, I also saw under the sun the example of wisdom that greatly impressed me. 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. Now there lived in that city a man poor, but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembers that poor man. So I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded. The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of rulers, of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. And we're going to get into chapter 10 in a second, because chapter 10 is just kind of like a bunch of one-off proverbs. But Psalm is saying, listen, wisdom is better than folly. We should seek wisdom. We should seek to be wise. We should seek to listen. We should seek to be people of uh of thought. We should seek to be people who are who approach things. And he even says it in chapter 8 that when you're looking at the king, there's there's a time and a place to respect the king, to get things done. We should seek wisdom. You know, growing up, I always tell people that like before Jesus, I was like a different person. I did some dumb things. Some of those things were illegal. And I don't say that because I'm happy about that. I say that because upon reflecting upon my life, if I could go back in time to my 14-year-old self, I would ask me, what's wrong with me? But but I'm hoping that I learn from those things. Because I don't want my kids to repeat those things. That's what wisdom does, that allows us to reflect on life. So when I deal with, especially teenagers, you guys are listening, I promise us adults are not trying to ruin your life. Some of us just have wisdom. Not all of us. Some of us have wisdom, and we want you to do better than we do. We want you to live better lives. We don't want you to make the same mistakes. I don't want to learn, I don't want my kids to learn things the hard way. I would rather them be wise. And Solomon says this, it is better to be wise because fools seek out folly. He says, uh he says, in the shouts, this is the quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. People who are foolish, they tend to get in the way. They trip over themselves. When we're I was studying this week, one of the statements that I highlighted, it said, Mo more often than not, fools don't realize they're fools. And I think that's true. Most people who are foolish don't realize they're being foolish because they think that they're right. But but Solomon says, listen, seek to be wise. For those of you who are younger, seek the wisdom of those who are older. I know, seems counterintuitive, but I promise you, our goal, as the older I get, is to help those coming after me to navigate life differently than I did. I've made a bunch of mistakes. I hope that I can teach others to be wise and I look to the wisdom of others. We talk about this, or I talk about a lot. Like there's a reason why we have elders in this church. Not only is it biblical, but there's a group of men in our church who I go to when I don't know what to do. Because they they have wisdom. They have wisdom that I don't. Solomon says, Seek wisdom. Starting in verse 10, he gives off a bunch of proverbs. He says, as dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense, and show everyone how stupid they are. If a ruler's anger rises against you, do not leave your post. Calmness can lay a great offense to rest. There's an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of air that rises from a ruler. Fools are put in many high positions while the rich occupy the little ones. I have seen slaves on horseback while princes go on foot like slaves. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries uh stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits logs may be endangered by them. I think those are just like practical realities, right? If you dig a pit, you could fall. If you break through a wall, I get bitten by a snake. Verse 10, he says, If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. I knew I should have brought my axe today. Some of you know what I'm talking about. If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee. Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly. At the end they are wicked madness, and fools multiply words. No one knows what is coming. Who can tell someone else will happen after them? The toil of fools wearies them. They do not know the way to town. Woe to the land whose kings was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed is the land whose king is the n is of noble birth, and whose princes eat at a proper time, for strength and not for drunkenness. Through laziness the rafters sag because of idle hands, the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. So let's just break this down real quick. Solomon starts off by saying, When you're talking about wisdom and folly, a little bit of folly can ruin your wisdom. I don't know if you ever noticed, but some of the wisest people I know, they make one mistake and it sticks with them for the rest of their life. It says fools, they lack sense. They don't live like they're supposed to. They go against everything that tells them not to do it. And again, they're not even aware of it. Said, I've seen evil in the world that some of the foolish, most foolish people sit in the positions that are the highest. He doesn't know why. He just knows that's how it seems to go. And he gets practical, says, practical wisdom. If you dig a pit, you fall into it. Break through a wall, you might get bit by a snake. You know, again, he reflects back on uh chapter 9 says, everything happens. You know, every everything happens to people. No one is escaping it, right? So sometimes bad things happen that are out of our control. There's there's nothing we can do about it. Wisdom is understanding that. If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed. So the work smarter, not harder, right? So the snake bites before its charm, the charmer receives no fee. If you don't work hard, you don't get what you deserve. So this is my favorite. It says, Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly, at the end they are wicked madness, and fools multiply words. If that doesn't make you want to talk less, I don't know what it should. It says fools multiply their words. The house falls apart, it leaks. So the feast is made. Mine makes life merry. Money is the answer for everything. I don't agree with that. And if you do a little bit of research, there uh the translation's probably not quite right. Uh they think it's when you look back at the so the ESVs, the way the ESV talks about it, which is kind of more word for word, says the the consumption of money, right? The the the focus of money. And again, Solomon's kind of reflected on that, that the money is doesn't really matter. And and so we we kind of we we culminate all this and in into next week because all of this has a point. And and Solomon is getting to a point, and I realize that so much of this is it seems repetitive, but but in his reflection, he says, enjoy life but be wise. Don't be people who are foolish, don't be people who make bad choices, don't be people who allow yourself to be consumed with things that don't matter. And it says, he says, enjoy your life, but be wise. And so as he gets to the last two chapters of Ecclesiastes, his answer will be those who choose to enjoy life and those who are wise will seek God and follow his commandments. That's where we're getting to. We're not there, but that's where we're getting to. In all of his reflection, and all of his wisdom, and everything that Solomon has lived through in his life, he comes to the conclusion that those who are wise seek God first always. We enjoy life because God has given it to us. I told you. The difference between the death of someone who follows Jesus and someone who doesn't is dramatically different. When I do funerals for people who are non-believers, I don't like it. Because I see so many people that don't have hope. They think this is it. They they reflect on what the person did and whether it's a long life or a short life, there there's no hope. It's just to them, it's it's it's hopeless. Because what was it all for? And and I and I think Solomon does that, and he's like, What what is all of this for? But for those who follow Jesus It's not the same. I'm thirty-nine years old. I might have already lived half of my life. It's weird to think about. But every funeral that I go to forces me to reflect, as Solomon says in chapter nine, that everyone came, everyone comes to the same end. Everyone dies. That's that's the reality. You and I we don't get to escape this place. We we don't get to avoid that. So the question is, what do we do with that knowledge? If we know that someday our life will come to an end, we can be foolish, we can live for ourselves, we can build our kingdom, we we can try to gather as much as we want, we can chase after things that have no purpose and meaning, we can do all of those things. Or we can seek God, we can seek to live as people of God. Doesn't mean it's gonna be easy, doesn't mean it's always gonna we don't get a pass. Even people who follow Jesus, their house still burns down. Solomon says the fate of one is the fate of all. But what you do with that knowledge matters. For those of you who are younger, my wisdom would be follow God. Live for Him, seek Him, get plugged in, find out what He's calling you to do in your life. You don't have to go through a bunch of crazy things to grow up. You don't. You can follow God even at the age you are now and let Him change your life. You don't need experiences. You need Jesus. That's what matters. For those of you who might be in this place and you've never given your life to Jesus, my wisdom's the same. Follow God. Wherever you are in life, however old you are, there's still time. As Solomon says, better a live dog than a dead lion, because the living still have a choice. Because at the end, when life comes for us, when we come to the point of our death, there's no turning back. So my prayer is, and my hope is, if I'm the one who does your funeral, don't make me have to lie about it. Follow Jesus. I want to celebrate the end of your life with the people who love you and look forward to the day that we meet you again.