“When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong”
~ Ecclesiastes 8:11
Hi James and Ellen,
How do you feel about being punished? Have you ever been punished? What do you think would be a good reason for a guy, gal or kid to be punished? Do you think that a guy, gal or kid should be punished for committing a crime? What do you think would happen if a guy, gal or kid who is caught committing a crime is not punished for committing the crime? Your grandpaa believes that if a guy, gal or kid is not punished for committing a crime, that the guy, gal or kid will be emboldened to commit even more crimes. Your grandpaa believes that when other guys, gals and kids see that a guy, gal or kid has not been punished for committing a crime, that these guys, gals and kids will be emboldened to commit crimes, too. The Ecclesiastes Book ‘Teacher’ – who probably was Solomon, saw this mindset as being a truism or an axiom. The Ecclesiastes Book ‘Teacher’ had lived a long life. The Ecclesiastes Book ‘Teacher’ was not finishing his life strong. The Ecclesiastes Book ‘Teacher’ – as he reflects on the life that he lived, calls his life meaningless. The Ecclesiastes Book ‘Teacher’ seemed to be to your grandpaa having a difficult time reconciling the contradictions that he had seen over his lifetime between good and evil. Ecclesiastes 8 has the ‘Teacher’ reflecting back to his youth. The ‘Teacher’ is remembering the good times that he had of eating, drinking and being glad before he began to experience life’s real realities. The ‘Teacher’ over his long lifespan saw good guys get what bad guys deserved and he saw bad guys get what good guys deserved. The ‘Teacher’ over his long lifespan saw bad guys who had committed all kinds of crimes live long lives. Even though the ‘Teacher’ knew that a faithful, reverent God-follower will ultimately be rewarded by God at his or her heavenly homecoming and the guy or gal who did not fear and revere God will not bless on his or her deathbed, the ‘Teacher’ still saw his life through his environmentally conditioned grid or prism having become meaningless. The ‘Teacher’ had the mind and wisdom to know that God is always in complete and absolute control over all the elements of His creation; the ‘Teacher’ just seems to be super disappointed and mega frustrated that he does not have a better grasp – even though he has spent his long life trying to do so, of really having a comprehension of God’s workings and dealings.
Have you been trying to make sense out of life? Have you been wondering why it is that you exist? Have you been craving to know a lot more than what you already know? Have you been experiencing an innate sense of what is good and proper to do? Have you been thinking about the influence roles that you have been having in the lives of other kids? Have you been wanting to change the world? Have you been accepting what happens in your lives as being inevitable? Have you been consenting to the theory that you have evolved from a squiggly amoeba? Have you been expecting other kids to kowtow to your demands and/or expectations? Have you been discounting the values associated with learning? Have you been ignoring the home rules that your dad and ma have established for you to obey and the laws that elected government officials have established for you to observe? Have you been wanting to take complete control of the world? The ‘Teacher’ understood that there is always a time for everything but . . . the ‘Teacher’ communicates a feeling that he has allowed his life to be contaminated with misery because of his lack of aptitude to change anything and everything – from having the power to contain the wind, the authority to stop the day of his death, the competence to change anything and everything, the license to discharge a guy from fighting in a war and releasing guys from practicing wickedness. The ‘Teacher’ communicates being dispirited by the guys who do not take doing good the right thing to do but who take doing bad the right way to go. The ‘Teacher’ knew what would happen of ‘paying the consequences’ after having done an illegal act or illicit deed was taken off the shelf. Verse 11 says, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong”
Countries and people groups of guys and gals all over planet Earth have been infiltrated with misguided guys and gals whose life goals are to terrorize other guys and gals through whatever means possible. The Twin Towers would more than likely be standing today if a United States President had taken a lot more seriously prior terroristic activities – such as the carefully planned bombing of embassies, by doing all that he could do to try to eliminate this violent societal subset element from existing anywhere on planet Earth. It just so happened that your grandmaa was home the day that a guy tried to pry open the back door of the house that your grandmaa and grandpaa had moved into near the Santa Cruz, Bolivia zoo. The guy did not know that your grandmaa was home. When the guy saw that there was someone in the house, the guy took off running. When James Davids – who grew up as a missionary kid in Peru and Bolivia, heard that a guy had started to break into the house where your grandmaa and grandpaa were living, James said that he had heard that the Bolivian police would periodically round up fifty known guys who sold drugs to guys who robbed for a living who they would take to the edge of a river and shoot. James said the police in Bolivia did this to discourage other guys to become involved in criminal activities. Your grandpaa does not know if James was correct in what he told your grandmaa and grandpaa what the Bolivian police maybe did to keep crime in check in Santa Cruz but . . . there was not a lot of crime happening in Santa Cruz that your grandmaa and grandpaa were aware of. Your grandpaa is thankful that God is blessing him and your grandmaa with very meaningful lives.
Ecclesiastes 8 (612)