Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NASB) The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
Resolution, completion, is what I believe Solomon was getting at in this verse. The resolution of the “matter” is more aptly achieved to a positive conclusion through patience. Pride slows the matter’s conclusion or prevents it entirely. How true is this? As I ponder this verse, I find myself in total concert with his statement. Thinking back on so many instances in my life where patience produced a far better end than what the matter began as. Conversely, I can think of as many or more times where pride stymied a positive result or worse yet, made the matter worse than it began.
Patience, what a virtue. God’s word is rife with reference to this virtue. I consider myself a fairly patient person, but admit I have a great deal of room for refinement. What about you? How does your patience measure up? Can you think of specific instances where patience produced for you a measurably better conclusion to a matter than its beginning? Can you think of specific instances where you thought, “ah I can do this”, and then charged pridefully forward and ended up creating more chaos than what you started with?
This is a very concise verse and it doesn’t need my excessive wordiness muddying it up. So, there you have it, just a short meditation on a teaching from Solomon. Patience and pride, we’re concluded. Have a blessed weekend!
In full pursuit of the greatest Trophy,
Scott Pace
