daily java

Daily Java: As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

It doesn’t take much to ruin something good. A couple of dead flies in the perfume and the perfume, no matter  how expensive is less desirable. A roach crawls across a sirloin steak and it is no longer appetizing. A crack is in a Waterford crystal vase and it is less valuable.

Somebody says something really stupid and it ruins any wisdom credits he has attained. He just looks silly, no matter how wise he looked before.

I have said things in my desire to be cute that removed the aura of wisdom and knowledge I had so carefully cultivated. This has not happened a lot, but when it did, I would almost give an arm to call the words back in.

As I said in an earlier post, I have a big mouth that sometimes, even now, seems to speak of its own volition. When it does, it makes me look foolish. And I hate looking foolish.

A preacher devotes his life to doing good stuff, but then has an affair. The rest of everything is overwhelmed by the affair. It now doesn’t matter to people how many people he has brought to Christ, or how well he writes, or how many degrees he has. He has committed an overt, public sin, and that folly outweighs all the wisdom and honor he may have had before.

The dead flies of his foolishness give his life perfume a bad smell.

The same with a public official who says something incredibly foolish, or is caught taking a bribe or something else foolish. It doesn’t matter what else he has done. A little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A lie is told, something is stolen, someone is betrayed in some way – no matter how the person was before, this is now remembered. The dead flies and the little folly come in.

But it is not fair, the person says. And he is right. It is not fair to have a moment of weakness take over a person’s whole legacy. But it happens.

A prominent senator does a lot in his life, but there was a marital infidelity in his past that resulted in a car crash and the death of his mistress. He gets off due to family connections but his life is never the same. Even though he is respected, people still remember that.

A president has a moment of weakness with a young intern, and no matter what else happens, that is remembered.

A prominent minister is caught with a prostitute, and no matter his repentance, the damage is done and his ministry is forever altered. His church is a fraction of its former size.

A senator is caught on a boat with young woman and the picture is everywhere. No matter what he did before and the potential he had, his promising career is derailed.

It doesn’t take much. People are watching for stuff anyway. Sometimes you can overcome it by, if nothing else, sheer fortitude and hard work.

But the flies have ruined the perfume and the folly has outweighed the wisdom and honor.

Life is tough and then you die. And life is not fair. And you have to sleep in the bed you make. A hundred aphorisms come to mind. But the point is, watch your life.

And shut up once in a while.