People are people. Though thousands of years have come and gone since Adam and Eve, the nature of humanity remains the same. It amazes me how unique we each are, yet how similar the thread of humanity weaves into our nature. We’re predictable, can be categorized by different personality types, maintain similar preferences, and mirror sheep in our congregational followings.
The same yet different, which is precisely how God made us. Only He knows why.
He created us in His image and for His glory. One aspect of our lives expressing said image is our capacity for relationships. From birth on, relationships immerse us. We automatically belong to a mother and father, sometimes siblings, and we grow to find friends. Other relationships we encounter remain distant—between us and the store clerk, our bosses, coworkers, and clients. Relationships span as far as the horizon and impact every area of our lives.
One peculiarity we experience at some point in relationships is the “elephant-in-the-room” phenomena.  Far from fortunate, elephant-in-the-room situations stint our relationships and can extinguish authenticity quicker than birthday candles on a cake.
A relational “elephant” is any unresolved issue, problem, or behavior left unaddressed. If not confronted, it grows from a baby elephant (a minor issue) into a big elephant (a huge issue) laying a thick blanket of awkwardness in every conversation and interaction.
Honesty and humble confrontation prevent elephants-in-the-room effectively. However, sometimes the situation remains out of our control, and we’re left (because of status or other confine) working around the elephant.
Though surprising, Jesus encountered elephant-in-the-room situations. Of course, He (being God-incarnate and everything) picked up on elephants when everyone else remained ignorant. He perceived the hearts of individuals around Him. Definitely not a pleasant ability.
One such experience involved His relationship with Judas Iscariot—the disciple infamously known for betraying Him. Can you imagine the tension? Judas followed Jesus as His disciple (which meant student or personal apprentice far exceeding any practice of the sort today). He observed and participated in His ministry for dozens of months—witnessing miracles and listening to truth all in the context of being in Christ’s inner circle.
One can only imagine the elephant-in-the-room between those two. The other disciples most likely remained unaware of the beast, but Jesus and Judas knew, and it must have plagued them both mercilessly.
The tension climaxed at the Last Supper, the meal during which Judas would leave early to officiate the betrayal.
Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His house had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and…began to wash the disciples’ feet.
John 13:1-5
Did you catch Jesus’ response to the elephant-in-the-room? Well aware that His time had come (He would soon die on the cross for the sins of humanity and rise again to be with the Father, ushering in a new era of His kingdom), He humbled Himself. He refused the address the elephant because He knew Gethsemane was coming, yet in His final moments with Judas, He performed the greatest act of humility known to man at the time—He washed His feet.
Jesus died for Judas. He died for his sins just as He died for yours and mine. The elephant wouldn’t get in the way of what He was called to do, and He refused to let it interfere. Sometimes we must do the same.
Though oftentimes it’s appropriate and commendable to clear the air and work to eliminate the tension, sometimes it’s unavoidable. If so, we must push on and fulfill the role God calls us to. We must not allow inconvenience or awkwardness stand in the way of His calling in our lives.
If we do our best to deal with a situation yet it remains unresolved, surrender it to God and pursue what He’s called you to regardless. Christ knew Judas’ heart. He knew what Judas was planning and what he would do. He knew all this from the beginning, but allowed it anyway. He never compromised God’s plan for His own comfort, even if it meant dealing with an elephant-in-the-room situation for months.
Relationships weave in and out of bad and good, rich and sour. God calls us to be at peace with all men to the best of our ability, yet without neglecting His purposes for our lives. If ever a discrepancy between the two arises, follow Jesus—humble yourself, and let God’s perspective and purposes reign as your own. Master the elephant; don’t let it master you.

A good name is better than a good ointment, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

Yes, Solomon needs a hug. He may suffer from a bit of depression, and probably qualifies for several rounds of counseling. But woven throughout his somber state exists truth—difficult, but necessary for wisdom and spiritual growth.

First, reputations trump goods. Mingle in a room with at least two other people and we inherently meander toward the person of better character and reputation. Any friendship matured beyond the realm of superficiality finds substance in the moral fiber of the other individual, not his/her stuff. True, riches and wealth attract people and may even create the allusion of friendship, but eventually someone richer, wiser, and more astute arrives on the scene and steals any affection away.

We relate to and interact with people based on their reputation. But we attribute intrinsic value and worth in relationships to the type of reputation and character of a particular individual. Character sustains relationships and serves as the fuel to keep them going. Depth of interpersonal connections reflects the profoundness and compatibility of the individuals. Once compromised, the relationship fractures and rehabilitation (if at all pursued) requires significant effort from then on.

Stuff produces infatuation, not sustainable relationships. Reputation and character trump worldly wealth and assets in the realm of worthwhile relationships.

With the brief backdrop of the vitality of character in our relationships, the Teacher declares the value of the day of death over the day of our birth. Anyone paying attention to the text pauses a moment at this point. The wisest man who ever lived, the man who received his wisdom straight from God Himself, asserts death’s worth over birth? Seems a bit odd.

Odd indeed. But at what point did truth begin mandating conventionality? Unfortunately, nowadays truth stands largely outside the realm of popularity. Solomon’s statement here exposes a trend that continues for generations on end.

The day of one’s death reigns over the day of birth for a couple of reasons. One, the endless treadmill cycle of mundane existence ends with death. Solomon touches on the continuous monotony of life several times throughout Ecclesiastes and reveals its only escape—looking beyond the sun and then finally getting there through death.

Second, death provides inexplicable liberation for those living beyond the sun. Christians wrestle with unnerving tension every day. We live in a fallen, broken, and fading world. The affects of sin (both internal and external) bind us and force us to depend on Christ’s sustaining grace for peace and joy amidst the abhorrence and mundaness of daily life.  We find ourselves trapped in a world leading nowhere, and we must counter it daily by investing in our eternal lives beyond the sun. Death frees us from the tension and releases us into unhindered glory—to bask in the majesty of our Maker and frolic about in the freedom we’ve tasted in bits on earth.

Our birth ushers us into a broken world where hurt serves as a baseline and goodness accents the path every once in a while. The day of death for a believer transfers us into full glory of His goodness, rid free from the broken fallibility of this world. Death consummates the relationships with Jesus Christ we entered into while on earth.

Though outside the realm of popular thought, death trumps birth in the life of a believer. Before we fall into depths of dejection and forlornness, we must acknowledge God’s intent for us to live in this world—fully aware of the tension we must live with. He uses everything—both evil and good—to accomplish His divine purposes, and faithfully provides us glimpses into our ordained eternity with Him along the way.

While living, Solomon advises the profit of entering houses of mourning rather than parties and orgies of pleasure. Already establishing Solomon needs a hug, we look beyond that fact to observe the truth of his words. Funerals hardly amount to desirable events on our social calendars. However, the wise strive to remain aware of the truths typically contemplated while attending them.

Deep conversations of life’s most philosophically challenging truths rarely surface at parties. Friends, laughter, food and drink usually produce happiness and freedom from somber contemplations. Funerals, on the other hand, accomplish the opposite by forcing us to ponder tough realities of our finiteness and mortality.

Our character develops far more profoundly during life’s valleys than mountaintops. A wise man once said, “Valleys develop our character; mountaintops reveal the character developed.” As depressing as it may seem, keeping our minds “in the house of mourning” rewards the development of our character and wisdom far beyond “the house of pleasure” ever could.

Is Solomon advocating our existence in a constant depressive state? Not exactly. Though admittedly tired of this world’s empty promises, he challenges us once again to look beyond the sun; and if ever given a choice, choose to ponder the eternal instead of mindless numbness of pleasure here.
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God created us for eternity with Him. Don’t get sidetracked by the empty pursuits of this world. Man cannot escape death, and we benefit from pondering our own mortality from time to time. Let your intellectual and spiritual endeavors thrive in accordance with God’s truth and eternal glory. Enter into His truth, and let His glory shine in life, death and everything in between.
 

Regardless of personal opinions regarding war, we all owe our deep respect and gratitude to the soldiers who serve our country. They fight, defend, protect, and secure us—accomplishing everything within their power to ensure our freedom and safety. The minds and experience of our military leadership astound anyone who lends an ear, and their selfless dedication to our country too often goes unnoticed.
God blesses America far beyond our ability to comprehend, and each individual experiencing the freedom within our country should ardently pray for those He installed as our leaders. Even if we vehemently disagree with our leaders or find ourselves disgusted with the politics that rampage our government, God charges us to pray. No leader reaches heights of power without God’s permission, and He challenges us to trust Him and storm His throne on behalf of all our leaders—brilliant or not.
Obviously, beseeching God on behalf of our leaders comes easier when they make decisions we agree with. But what if they draw lines in the sand that make us squirm? Average citizens aren’t privy to the information our leaders sift through when making decisions, and sometimes, we find ourselves pleasantly surprised in hindsight when a decision turns out for the best. (Though, these moments admittedly occur less seldom as time progresses).
Unlike America, ancient Israel operated in a theocracy—meaning God alone served as their King and government. He installed prophets and judges to enforce His laws and serve as His hands and feet (police officers, if you will) among the people. Ultimately, any human leadership readily acknowledged their submission to God’s authority.
Once such leader, ordained by God to serve as a prophet and leader among His people grew from a childhood of ministry service and thrived in the calling God placed on his life. Samuel remained faithful to God and humbled himself before God’s authority and leadership even when he reached prominence among the people of Israel. He endured several years of Israel’s rebellion on several occasions, yet also witnessed their desperate returns to God.
One such return followed a brutalizing defeat at the hand of the Philistine army. After 20 years of suffering its effects, Israel returned to God and began following Samuel’s ordained leadership over them. When life seemed peachy, chaos loomed around the corner. The Philistines once again formed their troops around Israel with intent to attack, and Israel threw themselves at the mercy of God’s feet via Samuel.
Imagine the scenario for a moment. Grave enemies surrounded Israel and slowly inched in to their territory. Israel existed without significant military or leadership, just recently recommitting themselves to the Lord. Training eluded them, and unpreparedness punctuated every aspect of their leadership and functionality as a people. In the midst of political and social destitution, they find themselves an easy target for a greatly feared enemy posing to launch their arrow of death. Israel easily could’ve coined the “freak out” market with this one.
Instead, they turn to God by pleading with Samuel to pray and intercede with God on their behalf. Samuel obliges, and we enter into a ridiculous scene.
Normal people would franticly prepare for attack running around, embracing loved ones, hiding in the most creative of places—all in a last-ditch effort to survive. Not Israel. Instead, they attend a church service. They worship God and focus intently on Him, supporting Samuel as their liaison all the way. The louder the Philistines pound their chests, the more adamant Israel grows in their steadfastness. They choose to invest in the weapon of faith over traditional weapons of war.
To the world, this approach amounts to utter foolishness and senselessness. No rational bunch of human beings sing praises and worship God when the enemy places an enormous bulls eye on their backs!  The military elite of our country would hardly substantiate this as a viable course of action. But God once again reveals how His truth and this sinful world diametrically oppose one another.
Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel. The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car…so the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
1 Samuel 7:10-11, 13
God rewards the feeble faith of His people by shattering worldly categories. Israel contributed nothing to this victory. God immersed the Philistine army with confusion and forced them into positions as sitting ducks before the ill-equipped and broken Israel. All glory belongs to God, and only in Him did Israel find victory.
Samuel remained faithful, and God used him to draw Israel back to faith. When a test of faith arrived, Israel passed by clinging to God and His sovereign leadership rather than worthless means of personal protection. The account challenges us on several fronts, yet one shining with distinct sheen causes us to ponder the object of our trust.
The natural five senses God designed us with get us far, but only in this world. When we surrender to Christ, we gain another sense—one that renders us with spiritual gifts, abilities, and insights. He endows us with His perception, if only we’ll choose to embrace it.
Israel embraced God’s sense over their own. Whose sense do you abide in every day? Let God’s Word challenge you to shatter the fallible categories we so quickly place Him in and awake to the realization of His divine sovereignty and purpose in our lives. Only His sense matters. Tune into His, even if it means surrendering your own.