Foolishness in Carelessness
Eccl. 10 8-11
8. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10. If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.
11. If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.
How many times do we experience the pain of careless mistakes? There are tasks that require careful precautions. Solomon mentions some: One who digs pits may fall into it; one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake; one who quarries stones may be injured in the process, or one splitting logs could get cut.
When some keep working with improper tools and dull axes, they'll have a more difficult time accomplishing the task. Skill and knowledge bring success. Not doing a job right can get you into the trouble. There are right and wrong ways of doing jobs. A foolish decision may be prompted by the temptation to do things that are the easiest, quickest and sometimes the cheapest.
Verse 15 relates a little to this theme as well. "A fool's work wearies him; he does not know the way to town." We have a couple of proverbs that relate to what Solomon is saying. “He who plays with fire may get burned.” and “An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Jesus was teaching an important discipleship principle in Luke 14:24-29. We need to count the cost. A wise man counts the cost of a project before he goes ahead to does it. Otherwise, he is a fool.
All of these have practical implications in our living, but spiritual applications as well. Solomon isn't just giving good work advice to be careful on the job, but be careful in our lives in the daily experiences, because it can cause us to fall into sin as well. A fool who wants to catch someone in a trap will be caught himself.
That was the story of Daniel’s accusers who planted a trap so he would end up in Lions Den, but they were killed by those lions instead. Haman hated Jews and designed a plot to kill the Jew Mordecai in the book of Esther, but he ended up there himself when the king discovered he was family and caregiver to his wife. Haman fell into his own trap, hung on his own gallows.
Foolish intent on seeking harm to others can easily cause harm to fall on us. Stay away from sin. Be careful of silly mistakes. Satan loves to ruin reputations and witness through silly mistakes.
We all are careless at times. When we fall into the consequences of such actions then use them as lessons to prevent future problems. The real fool is one who does not learn and keeps repeating actions that get him or her in trouble.
Prayer- Lord, Help me to be more aware of the consequences of my actions and decisions before I make them. Amen
