Good morning everyone,

Ecclesiastes1:18– For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Sadly what has become "mundane" as we watch the news or read the newspaper is the constant tragedies that go on all around the globe. Some of the tragedies for us as Americans can seem so crazy that we can’t imagine such a thing happening in our country. Yet behind the face of every country is individuals, who then make choices that reveal that wickedness is not restricted to a group of people/country. But wickedness runs through our hearts and looks to master us as a human race (Genesis 4 v7).

I believe it is still God’s mercy and grace that continues to shelter us (at least for now) from the extreme things we see that is so consistent in other countries. But with technology so advanced, we are able to gain knowledge that no matter how "cushy" our lifestyles maybe, we can’t escape the sad fact that such knowledge brings with it a reality that I think most people want to avoid inside, which is why we turn the channel or the computer. The unhealthy part about always avoiding what is sad, tragic, etc. is that we maybe prone to avoid what evil is going on in our own heart. Somehow looking to "turn the channel" or go to a "chipper" website, or avoid sorrowful people to evade our conscience.

God teaches that in the gaining of wisdom with it comes grief and sorrow. I wonder how many people knew that from experience or don’t believe it because it sounds so negative? Yet it is the gaining of godly wisdom that enables us to see not only the sad state of the world from the curse of sin, but the wicked selfishness of our own hearts that brings sorrow. That’s not pessimism that’s reality! Which is why the need to cling to Jesus Christ is a necessity for genuine joy, love, and good to be done in this world. Gaining the right kind of knowledge and wisdom is key. Although it causes sorrow, it provokes the Christian to seek Christ to live the gospel and give hope to people who believe there cannot be joy in such a sorrowful world.

In His Love, Ld