Part 1 of 4-Ways to Make a Difference in Noisy World
Dr. Randy Carlson
One man changed his world.
… He never raised his voice.
… He was never recognized.
… He was never rewarded.
… He was never appreciated.
No statutes that were built for him that could be torn down later. In fact, the Bible doesn’t even record his name. But within his story, you’ll find four things you can do to make a difference in your world, in your family and in your community without having to scream, yell or stomp your feet – which unfortunately seems to be the case in far too many places in our world today.
As you explore these verses, you’re going to see this man in Ecclesiastes lived in a time, not too different from today. It was a time of a lot of noise. There was a lot of power hungry control going on, and wisdom was despised then, as it is today.
In Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon in the latter part of his life, God speaks to us about the power of wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 9:13 says, “This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me” (NKJV). And then Solomon shares this story to illustrate what he wanted to communicate. He says, “There was a little city with few men in it.” There weren’t a lot of men in the city. “And a great king came against it and besieged it and built great snares around it” (v. 14). This noisy, powerful king comes into this small city with a few people and takes control of it. He builds a snare around it. It’s very much a power-hungry type of experience.
But verse 15 says, “Now there was found in it this city a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city” (NKJV). That is a powerful thought. One man with wisdom delivered the whole city.
The story doesn’t tell us how he did it, and that’s really not important for what I want to share with you today. But clearly, he was a man of great courage to stand up. It goes onto say, “Yet no one remembered that same poor man. And then I said wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man’s wisdom was despised, and his words were not heard” (Ecclesiastes 9:15-16 NKJV).
It sounds like a contrast here. Through his wisdom the city was spared, yet the people never listened to him. Sometimes quiet people behind the scenes make a difference with courage and strength. We may despise what they say, but they are making a difference. That is going to be increasingly so for those of us who cling to scripture as we hold up the Bible as an authority.
Scripture says, “You are salt and light.” We’re making a difference behind the scenes in the world, but the world will never acknowledge it.
Ecclesiastes 9:17-18 says, “Words of the wise spoken quietly should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good” (NKJV).
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