Overly Righteous? Too Wise?

¹⁵In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. ¹⁶Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? ¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.  – Ecclesiastes 7:15-18

To say the least, this is a provocative passage. Is Solomon really suggesting that wisdom and righteousness can be overdone? Is he suggesting that a little bit of wickedness and a little bit of foolishness are each needed for leading a properly-balanced and God-fearing life?

Ecclesiastes is a series of observations of life “under the sun.” In other words, these are the findings of a man who has left no stone unturned in his pursuit of the secrets for successful living. He is not claiming to operate from some profound posture of spiritual insight. His is not a particularly religious point of view at all. He is just looking at life as a man who has tried everything and is announcing his conclusions as to how life seems to work best.

The terms had not yet been coined, but Solomon had observed the workings of what we call the “common grace” and the “common curse” of God. On the one hand, God’s sun and rain fall on both the righteous and the wicked. On the other hand, no one is exempt from being touched by the consequences of living in a fallen creation. We might like to believe that the wicked will always perish, and that the righteous will always prosper in this life, but that is just not the case. There may be some broad life principles that trend that way, but life is not so simplistically manipulated.

One side-effect of common grace and common curse is that we can easily deceive ourselves as to what the respective blessings and hardships of our own lives mean. One man may conclude that he is being divinely punished for something when he is not. Another man may conclude that God is smiling down upon him when He is not smiling at all.

It is obvious why engaging in excess wickedness and foolishness is a bad idea. Still, some people wear their so-called nonconformity (self-will) as a badge of honor. Others are just so depraved that no degree of self-gratification, violence against others, or indifference toward society even registers to their dead consciences. But, what can Solomon possibly mean when he warns about the perils of being “overly righteous” and “too wise”?

Solomon is warning about that kind of righteousness and wisdom, which a man pursues to advance himself in this life or to promote himself in the eyes of others. He is speaking of the righteousness and the wisdom by which a man can deceive himself. He suspects that he might “merit” the rewards of God. Such righteousness and wisdom may express themselves in public service, a charitable project, some social cause, or religious academia. Such righteousness and wisdom may secure a certain status as well as the admiration of men, but they can also lend themselves to pride over accompanying deeds, sacrifices and accomplishments.

Other expressions of being “overly righteous” and “too wise” may pursue one isolated virtue or cause with such abandon that other responsibilities and relationships of life suffer as a kind of collateral damage. Deep sincerity may propel such persons forward, Still, I have known a number of people in ministry, parachurch as well as pastoral, who bring such intensity to their project that they come across not simply as off-putting, but as unnerving. They are so identified with their cause (often the past bondage and baggage that now defines their current ministry), that they can no longer interact with many folks on a mutually comfortable level. Their identity as a recovering “whatever” seems to define them more than the freedom of their new life in Christ. I make this observation with great uneasiness, because I do trust where their hearts are. Still, Ecclesiastes is a book of practical wisdom that can inform us even in our respective ministries.

Any “righteousness” and “wisdom” that a man generates is not the righteousness and wisdom he needs most. It is a righteousness and a wisdom of self and, taken to extremes, it can become self-sufficient, plastic, falsely humble, unattractive, legalistic, and more unsettling for others than engaging. In the final analysis, this odd state of being “overly righteousness” and “too wise” may prove to be more divisive and serve more causes of wickedness than they prove to be true reflections of the beauty of Christ.

There is a righteousness and wisdom that IS to be pursued with all of one’s heart, but it is not that righteousness and wisdom by which a man seeks to gain the world, the adoration of onlookers, or even the temporal rewards of God. It is a true righteousness and an authentic wisdom that transforms the inner man rather than simply masks him. And, we can never get enough of that.

Jesus modeled for us a human life in perfect balance. He knew when to sing and celebrate with others, and He knew when to weep with them and for them. He knew when to minister to the poor, but He also knew how to accept a gift. He knew when to take center stage for a cause, and He knew when to withdraw for prayer. He knew when to speak and when to keep silent. He showed us what true righteousness and wisdom really look like.

Our own generated righteousness and our own efforts to prove ourselves wise, our quests to become “overly righteous” and “too wise”, are poor substitutes for the grace and power of God to teach us and to change us.