There are several pieces of probing wisdom in today’s reading. “Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others” (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22). Ouch! “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity” (5:10). This is hardly new information for anyone, yet somehow we still keep on thinking that if we just had a little more money, everything would be just fine. And so, indeed, ouch again.

Then we find this observation, important for all those who would explain to Job that he must be a secret sinner if he is suffering so much, because that’s the way that God always does it: “In my vain life, I have seen everything: there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evildoing” (7:15).

As to all our ambitions and the things we say about them: “With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear God” (5:7). The key thing is to shiver in awe and wonder in the presence of the Lord. We all know that: yet we spend more time with speaking and hearing harsh words, and with pressing on for more money, and with the judgments we offer about other people’s sinfulness, and with our own long-winded ambitions. What if instead of these we simply stepped back from all of that, and allowed our hearts to tremble in reverent worship before our Lord?

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You are the Almighty One, Lord of all things in heaven and earth! Save us from all the ways we fall short of your good intentions for us, in our words and in our deeds; and teach our hearts to tremble in worship as we bow before you.