It’s Better to be Poor and Wise Rather than Rich and Foolish

Continuing our study of Solomon’s search for meaning in life….

Eccl. 4:13-14 "Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor."

Well, the translations certainly read quite differently on these verses. I tend to think that the NLT translation makes the most sense until the last phrase: “It is better to be a poor but wise youth than to be an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could come from prison and succeed....”

I think the last part of verse 14 is saying that the foolish king could end up poor as a result of refusing to listen to counsel.

The key observation Solomon is making is that there is wisdom to be found in realizing that all of us are subject to fault and in need of correction and counsel sometimes. Though not specifically stated, the implication is that one should be open to the correction and counsel of wise and respected men.

I decided to pull out an old book, The New Dictionary of Thoughts, to see if there were some good quotes on the subject and found a couple that I thought were applicable.

Diogenes – “Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one.”

Bacon – “All precepts concerning kings are comprehended in these: remember thou art a man; remember thou art God’s viceregent.”

Eccl. 4:15-16 "I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit."

These verses continue in context with the preceding two. He seems to be thinking in reference to observation of a neighboring kingdom, though he may just be following a scenario through in his thoughts. My brain goes off on such tangents at times, and I couldn’t help but find application to the current political scenario in America today.

An intelligent and charismatic new young ruler of the next generation rises to power with the support of an adoring public who is fed up with the “old ruler” whose time of leadership is perceived by many as having been filled with unwise decisions and in disregard of the advice of those who perceive themselves to be wiser and more experienced.

In Solomon’s consideration, the new young ruler will also lose his popularity as the people find fault with his choices and the actions he takes and the next generation emerges on the scene. The cycle is doomed to continue because men are fallible and proud. A couple of the translations describe this cycle as “chasing the wind,” one that will never produce a satisfying result. As Christians, we know that to be a valid observation. Without acknowledging God as LORD and living according to the truth of His word, man’s efforts will always fall far short of expectation and true success.