Pride and Position

Sermon Text

Ecclesiastes 10:4-7

Wisdom and Folly

4 If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,
Do not leave your post;
For conciliation pacifies great offenses.

5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
As an error proceeding from the ruler:
6 Folly is set in great dignity,
While the rich sit in a lowly place.
7 I have seen servants on horses,
While princes walk on the ground like servants.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

• Ecclesiastes 10:4 calls us to remain steady when an authority is angry: slow down, control our speech and body language, and seek to calm rather than inflame the situation.
• Remaining at our post is a normal posture of humility and faithfulness, not permission to assist evil, ignore abuse, or obey a command that requires sin.
• Verses 5-7 acknowledge an upside-down world in which rulers make foolish appointments and deserving people are overlooked; bad leadership can bring real harm.
• Promotions, status, and comfortable circumstances are not simple measures of God's approval, so believers should neither idolize systems nor anchor their peace in earthly leaders.
• Jesus remained faithful under unjust rulers, passed through humiliation for our salvation, and now reigns as the perfect King; hope in him gives us stability when human authority fails.

• When criticism or anger comes from someone over you, what usually drives your first response: pride, fear, rejection, or a desire to honor God?
• How can you lower the temperature of a tense conversation without compromising the truth?
• What is the difference between faithful patience under authority and cooperating with sin or remaining in an abusive situation?
• Have you been treating a promotion, demotion, or other circumstance as a simple verdict on whether God is pleased with you?
• Which human leader, institution, or system are you tempted to trust for the peace that only Christ can give?
• If God has placed you in authority, how are you seeking wisdom before appointing, promoting, correcting, or judging others?
• How does Christ's humiliation under unjust rulers and his present reign help you remain steady when life feels upside down?

Conciliation

A calm, gentle response that seeks to reduce anger and prevent a conflict from becoming worse.

Authority

A position of real responsibility over others, such as that held by rulers, parents, employers, teachers, or church courts.

Folly

Sinful, unskillful thinking and conduct that rejects God's wisdom and harms people when it is given influence.

Providence

God's wise and sovereign ordering of all things, including circumstances whose purpose he has not revealed to us.

Humiliation of Christ

The Son of God's willing lowliness in taking our nature, suffering injustice, and going to the cross to save his people.

King of glory

Jesus Christ, who reigns perfectly now and will return to judge with equity and put all things in their proper order.