Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time. (Ecclesiastes 7:3–4)
“Sorrow is better than laughter.” Our thought process is seldom more shallow than when we have some clown dump a joke into our ears. After a quick laugh it’s amazing how quickly the joke is forgotten. But we seldom forget a stroll through a graveyard and what we learn there about the great men and women who have shaped lives. As a pastor, I’ve seldom had a wiser audience than in a funeral service. They really listen.
Sure, it’s frightening, but it’s amazing how much perspective is gained when we get a glimpse of life from the back door. That’s what Solomon means when he makes the next statement. “The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 7:4 NASB).
There’s a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would have to lower the boat without her.
She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her head and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in in time.
Now, that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over even the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And, in that moment, she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.
Death gives you that kind of wisdom. Those who live their lives suffering from a terminal disease often demonstrate a remarkable degree of wisdom in the way they spend their time. It is amazing what happens even to one’s conversation! Solomon seems to have lost interest in the silly side of life. He’s coming back home. Wisdom is paying its dividends.
