Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 8, No. 19
“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.” (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9)
What is Solomon speaking to us about here? Basically, he is speaking to us about the need to be careful in all that we do. And he uses four different activities that we may engage in to illustrate his point to us.
First, he speaks about the digging of pits. As we all know, we often dig pits for various good reasons. And there are times that we dig pits to deliberately endanger the lives of others.
In any case, Solomon’s point is that we must always keep in mind the fact that we ourselves can fall into a pit that we have dug, even if we have dug it for a good and legitimate reason. Therefore, when digging any pit, we should put safety measures in place.
That way, nobody’s life, including our own very lives, will be endangered by it. Then we should be careful never to dig a pit for anybody’s fall. That is because we may end up being victims of our own wickedness.Solomon also speaks about breaking through walls. And there are times that we need to break through some walls to move ahead in life or to enjoy some relationships or to know some secrets.
But whether it is a necessity that we break through a wall or not, it is important that we demonstrate utter carefulness and preparedness in doing. That is because we may not fully know or appreciate what is waiting for us behind that wall. And if it should be a snake or something even more harmful, we should meet it ready.
Otherwise, we may end up being sorry for ourselves.What we are saying is that what is behind a wall of limitation may be more dangerous and limiting than the wall itself. And where people don’t function with an understanding of this, where all they are after is just breaking through their limitations and they are not preparing for what may be behind those limitations, they may end up losing their lives or endangering their lives in ways beyond their expectations.
Furthermore, Solomon speaks about the quarrying of stones and splitting of wood. And while these things can be done legitimately, it does not cancel out the fact that there are dangers associated with doing so. Therefore, anyone quarrying stones or splitting wood ought to know that he may endanger himself and others around him while doing so, if he is not safety conscious.
Now Solomon says this to let us know that each job has its own hazards. It will be wise of each of us, then, to appreciate the dangers associated with whatever work we are doing and put measures in place to protect ourselves from them. Otherwise, we may end up endangering ourselves and others that we love. And how painful would that be?
At any rate, while it is highly important that we are safety conscious in all that we do, we must also never forget that unless God keeps us safe, we will not be safe, however careful or safety conscious we may be. So, we must never put our trust in our being safety conscious but in God. And may God continually keep us all safe from all forms of accidents and hazards, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
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