Fighting Foolishness

October 11, 2026 | Fighting Foolishness| Ecclesiastes 10

JD Cutler

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Over the last year we have been seeking to learn from the Old Testament wisdom book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes offers us an unfiltered look at the frustratingly mysterious experience we call life in a fallen world.

I have said it a few times throughout the series, but it bears repeating. Ecclesiastes is a fantastic exploration of and commentary on the effects of the fall in Genesis.

Much of this book is the author’s recounting of his examination of life under the sun as he looked for purpose and satisfaction. One by one he dismantles the things the world tells us to chase, or find our identity in, or promises satisfaction.

As a book, it kind of gives away the ending in the very first line after introducing the author. Ecclesiastes 1:1–2 “1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

The rest of the book is spent bringing us along, from wherever we are to the place where we realize that it is all vanity!

But even as it does, there is a constant refrain, that seems life is frustratingly mysterious, but in the end, it is still better to be wise and to live wisely. Especially in light of the reality that we will have to give an account to God for how we lived.

Around chapter 7 the preacher shifted from exposing life’s vanity to teaching us how to live wisely in a fallen world.

Now, as the preacher nears the conclusion of his words he applies wisdom to a number of areas as well as warns against even a little foolishness. The set up for our understanding of chapter 10 begins at the end of chapter 9.

English Standard Version Chapter 9

16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. 17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

The preacher seems to indicate that wisdom is genuinely better than might, that shouting, than weapons of war….but, one sinner destroys much good.

Hebrew is a difficult language to wrap my mind around, but the idea here seems to be as good as wisdom is, one foolish or sinful action can undo a great deal of good.

In East Texan language, we might say, one bad apple spoils the whole barrel.

Think about it this way. We say things like ‘trust is hard to gain, but easy to lose’

What do we mean? Someone can spend years building, earning, and keeping trust, but one violation, one breach of trust and it is all wiped out.

Think about some of the perceived giants of the faith, who have had years of sermons, books, lectures, and then it comes out that there has been a moral failure and their reputation is forever tarnished.

Ultimately, the preacher is warning that maintaining what is good, living wisely, requires more than merely possessing wisdom. It demands vigilance against the corrosive influence of sin, whether in ourselves or others. This brings us to our text this morning. Which we will look at under the heading ‘Fighting Foolishness’. Let’s pick up in verse 1 of chapter 10.

Ecclesiastes 10 ESV

1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. 3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. 4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. 8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. 10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. 11 If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. 12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. 14 A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? 15 The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! 17 Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18 Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. 19 Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. 20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

The connection between where the preacher ends in chapter 9 and begins in chapter 10 should be fairly apparent. One sinner destroys much good. Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

That brings us to our first division this morning, the preacher wants us to see…

I. THE DANGER OF FOOLISHNESS

The preacher uses a powerful but simple example of how something little can ruin something great. A perfumer’s ointment. Is the idea of oil that had been carefully and craftfully mixed with spices to achieve a pleasant aroma.

Throughout the Old Testament there are references to the job of the perfumer or the compounder. God gave instructions for the holy anointing oil to be blended as by the perfumer. The same for incense. Many of you may have sprayed a little perfume on this morning. Someone blended a variety of ingredients in order to produce something whose smell that you find pleasant.

Think about all of the good ingredients and careful execution that goes into blending something only to seal it with dead flies in it that cause it to go rancid and smell horrible. Something so seemingly little and insignificant and yet can ruin a large batch of perfumed oil.

The New Testament takes this principle in Ecclesiastes and develops it into a recurring biblical warning showing how tolerated sin, corrupt speech, bitterness, and false teaching can harm an entire community.

For instance… The Apostle Paul says it this way.

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 “6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Paul finishes that chapter by saying, purge the evil person from among you. Why? Because whether it is a person, a false teaching, a sinful practice, a single corrupting influence undermines the integrity of the whole body.

Jesus warns against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

James warns that the tongue, a relatively small member of your body has disproportionate impact on the whole body.

Hebrews warns that a root of bitterness can defile many.

Paul tells Timothy that a little false teaching can spread like gangrene.

The consistent thread across these various passages is that integrity requires vigilance. The effects of tolerated foolishness can spread far beyond what we imagine.

We tend to think we can tolerate a little foolishness without much consequence. We assume we can keep it contained, confined to one area of life. But the Preacher warns us that even a little folly can have consequences far greater than we anticipate. Like dead flies in a perfumer’s ointment, what seems small can spoil something valuable.

Let’s walk out the preacher’s illustration a little bit. He has repeatedly told us that wisdom is better.

Okay, how much wisdom do I need? Can I be wise in most of my life and a little foolish in the other areas? Can I be faithful to God in most of my life and a little unfaithful in other areas?

Of course not!

The preacher not only wants us to recognize that wisdom is better, but to fight against foolishness in all the areas of our lives.

If wisdom is defined as living according to God’s ways and instruction then foolishness can be defined as living any other way.

You may not feel like you are foolish, but are there areas of your life that you are refusing to bring in line with God’s word?

Is there even a small area of your life where you say, you can have all of that, but this thing is mine?

Be careful. The preacher observes that just a little foolishness can ruin you.

Just a little folly can outweigh wisdom and honor.

The next couple of verses underline the main emphasis.

A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. Notice that he says it inclines him or directs him, not takes him. Again, I think he is warning about being diligent in our war against foolishness and sinfulness.

3 Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.

Even in ordinary life, the fool's lack of sense becomes apparent. He doesn't have to announce that he's a fool; his behavior does it for him. Foolishness has a way of exposing itself.

The next proverbial statement seems out of place.

4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

Because we lack some key understandings, this is a difficult sentence to pin down. Why is the ruler angry, what place are they encouraged not to leave?

Some commentators have suggested that this may be in reference to not leaving our post, as in a military assignment. If that’s the case then wisely staying where you are supposed to and doing what you are supposed to do is better than abandoning your post. Without that specificity, I would say the most important lesson is to respond wisely to anger rather than allowing it to provoke a foolish reaction.

But, even in the midst of the preacher’s discussion on wisdom, he returns to the idea that wisdom doesn’t guarantee worldly recognition or even success.

The Preacher observes an inversion of the expected order: folly occupies high places, while the rich sit in low places. The world doesn't always put people where we would expect them to be. Wisdom remains better than folly, but the world doesn't always arrange things according to wisdom's value.

Verse 7 gives us another picture of this same reversal: slaves riding on horses while princes walk like slaves.

The preacher is describing a world in which people and positions are not always where we would expect them to be. Wisdom is better than folly, but we cannot assume that life will always recognize or reward wisdom appropriately.

This reminds us of what we saw in chapter 9, where a poor man's wisdom went unrecognized. The Preacher has repeatedly shown us that wisdom is better, even though life doesn't always reward it as we would expect.

We are often tempted to embrace foolishness precisely when wisdom feels costly, uncomfortable, or unrewarded. These are the very times we need to fight foolishness. Here’s the statement I want you to take from these verses.

We must value wisdom even when foolishness seems advantageous.

Having again commended wisdom to us and warned us against foolishness, the preacher is now going to address various aspects of wisdom as it relates to different parts of our lives. The first is…

II. WISDOM AND OUR WORK

Some commentators understand the first three examples negatively, interpreting the digging of a pit as laying a trap for someone, breaching a wall as breaking into a neighbor’s house, and quarrying stones as removing boundary markers. While those interpretations are possible, the text itself does not clearly indicate malicious intent.

What we do know is that the first examples describe actions that expose a person to danger of unintended consequences. Whether the preacher has specific activities in mind or is using familiar examples more generally, the point is that our actions carry risks, and wisdom helps us navigate them.

For some of us, the danger of our job isn’t immediately recognized or physically identifiable like the preacher’s examples. But make no mistake, foolishly engaging in our work, no matter what we do can bring us harm.

In verse 10 and 11 the preacher gives us two examples of engaging in work wisely.

Verse 10 imagines someone with the task of cutting down a tree with an axe. You can do it with a blunt edge, but it takes a lot more force and work. But if you sharpen the edge, the work will be both easier and more efficient.

If you are like me that reminds you of a well-known saying, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, although there isn’t any reliable evidence he said it. It goes,“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

What that quote and the preacher are getting at is that preparation is not wasted time; wisdom helps us accomplish our work more effectively.

Similarly, verse 11 introduces someone who potentially engages his work foolishly.

Imagine a man whose livelihood depends on handling snakes. 

He has learned the techniques. He knows how to approach the serpent, how to handle it, and how to charm it.  His skill is useful precisely because it helps him prevent the snake from striking.

But if he gets bit before he uses those skills, the opportunity to prevent that bite has passed. The preacher is reminding us that wisdom must be applied in time to be useful.

With these two different illustrations before us we can begin to see the preacher is not just saying we need wisdom, he is saying we need to apply wisdom appropriately and timely, before the opportunity to benefit from it has passed.

I have heard it said this way, wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Knowing when to prepare to do something and when to do something is being wise in our work.

Let’s apply that to what we have been studying about fighting foolishness.

The time to engage in the fight is before the consequences arrive. The time to prepare is before the work is started.

We cannot wait until a pattern of careless speech damages a relationship before learning to guard our tongues.

We cannot wait until a small compromise becomes a destructive habit before taking sin seriously.

We cannot wait until a preventable problem becomes a crisis before exercising wisdom.

Whether you are a housewife or a construction worker, the preacher encourages us to engage with our work with wisdom. When wisdom can help us succeed or minimize danger, it is foolish to neglect it or try and apply it too late.

But the reality is that life is unpredictable and there is always the potential for danger.

Being wise is beneficial, even though it will never eliminate all of the risks. To be clear, wisdom is beneficial, but it does not guarantee safety.

Here’s the takeaway for these verses.

We should exercise the wisdom available to us without imagining we can eliminate all risk.

The preacher then shifts subjects from wisdom in the what we do, to wisdom in what we say. Let’s look at…

III. WISDOM AND OUR WORDS

Wisdom is not only displayed in what we do, but what we say.

After a brief commendation of the words of a wise man, the preacher more thoroughly discusses the effects of the foolish man’s words.

The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.

The contrast between the wise man’s mouth as an instrument of speech that endears him to people and gains favor and the lips of the fool as an instrument of speech by which he consumes himself is striking.

The idea is either that his words bring ruin to himself or that his words are squandered, as in useless. Either way, the warning is strong.

People with foolish mouths bring harm upon themselves.

Some people seem to talk simply because they like the sound of their own voices, right? You have probably been around someone who seems to have a lot to say but never really says anything.

This is the kind of vain rambling the preacher describes.

When they open their mouths, their talk begins with foolishness and ends with foolishness, often getting worse the longer they talk.

They say more than they should about more than they should more confidently than they should.

Some commentators see Verse 15 as saying something along the line of ‘the fools labor in speaking wearies the one who asks him for direction’.

It could also simply be describing that foolishness is like the dull axe from the previous illustration, even in the ordinary tasks like making your way to the city become incredibly difficult when you are foolish.

The fool's problem is not simply that he talks too much, but that his words reveal a lack of wisdom.

He speaks foolishly, grows increasingly reckless in what he says, and talks confidently about things no one can know.

Verse 15 then broadens the picture: the fool's lack of understanding makes even ordinary tasks unnecessarily difficult.

What is the application for us in what we say?

The New Testament has a lot to say about our words.

Jesus is recorded as saying in Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Paul says to let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

James tells us be quick to listen and slow to speak. He also goes on to say if we claim to be religious but cannot bridle our tongue, our religion is worthless.

Friends, we ought to seriously consider what our conversations and what our speech says about us. Not only can we be foolish with what we say, it can have devastating effects on our relationships and our witness.

If you were to look back over your life as a believer, would you say your words are becoming more thoughtful, more gracious, more wise, or more careless, more stinging, and more foolish?

The reality is that Jesus says what comes out of our mouth is from the overflow of our heart. That is to say, it’s not just about whether or not we speak wisely or foolishly, it is that..

Our words reveal and to some extent shape the kind of people we are becoming.

Having addressed our work and our words, I think the preacher now moves to how we live in general, or…

IV. WISDOM AND OUR LIFE

Wisdom shapes how we live with others and exercise responsibility in a fallen world.

The preacher uses a few different illustrations here. Let’s try and work through them.

First, he pictures a land under two very different types of rule. Woe to you, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning. The idea of a child is not necessarily thinking about age, but maturity. A leader with childish impulses and foolish living. In the Eastern culture the morning time was for dispensing justice, hearing cases, etc… Essentially these imagined leaders and rulers place their well-being and frivolous living above their responsibilities. Ultimately foolish leadership often brings devastation and ruin, which is why the preacher laments, woe to you, o land, if you are under this kind of leadership.

But happy, or blessed are you, o land, when your king is the son of the nobility and your princes feast at the proper time for strength, and not for drunkenness. In this case, the leaders exercise their duty in wisdom and prudently, not indulging themselves but merely eating to replenish their strength for their tasks.

Here is where I want to take an idea that may be a little foreign for us and try and make it more readily approachable. The issue here is not kings, and princes, and the ruling class, it’s about leadership.

You may be under foolish leadership or you may be under wise leadership. Most of the time, you cannot control that. But what you can control is what kind of leader you are.

Are you leading in such a way that the people who follow you, for whom you are responsible, are blessed by your leadership or hindered by it? Everyone entrusted with responsibility for others should seek to lead in such a way that the people under their leadership, their land as it were, would be blessed by it.

Men, I especially want you to hear me when I say this. God calls you to lead your families and your homes. He also calls you to do that wisely so that your wife and children flourish rather than flounder. Especially in the church we need men who not only are willing but eager to lead their families in wise and godly ways.

I am sure that any man in here would say that’s what they want, but why is it that we don’t always see that reality in our families? Verse 18 puts its finger on one of the largest issues. Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.

It’s not that you don’t want to lead well, it’s not that you aren’t genuinely trying, it’s that even a little bit of neglect can have a larger impact than we think.

Just a little foolishness, just a little laziness, just a little sluggishness and the rafters begin to sag. Then just a little foolishness, just a little inactivity, just a little idleness, and now the house leaks.

Now, this isn’t just for men. This is for all of us.

What area of your spiritual life, what area of your family life, what area of your physical life are you neglecting?

Just like we have been talking about, just a little bit of foolishness tolerated instead of fought against can lead to devastating results.

Then the preacher says something that feels kind of out of place. He says. Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.

We know from the rest of Ecclesiastes that money cannot satisfy the human heart or give us control over life. Yet money has real practical usefulness: it can purchase comfort and provide the food and drink that make enjoyment possible. The Preacher may simply be acknowledging that practical reality here. Elsewhere, he reminds us that the ability to work and enjoy its fruit is a gift from God. We should neither despise the usefulness of money nor imagine that it can give us everything we ultimately need.

Then he finishes with a warning about cursing the king, even in your thoughts. At first, that may seem strange. There is language about birds carrying messages.

It’s a little of an abrupt change but stay with me for a second. Perhaps he is just saying, even if you find yourself under the kind of foolish leadership he outlined, it would be foolish of you to curse the king. The Preacher warns against cursing the king even in our thoughts, or cursing the rich in the privacy of our bedrooms. We may assume that what we say in private will remain private, but we cannot guarantee that. Wisdom teaches discretion even when we think no one is listening. And beyond the risk of being overheard, we must remember that our private lives are not outside the scope of our accountability to God.

Taken all together, we should lead wisely, fulfilling our responsibilities and not being foolishly indulgent, we should fight foolishness even in the little areas of our life that can lead to larger problems, we should work hard and enjoy what God has provided for us in the right way, and we should pursue wisdom even in our private thoughts.

That I think sufficiently describes living wisely. The truth is…

Wisdom shapes how we live with others and exercise responsibility in a fallen world.

Why should you care about living wisely?

First, our Lord Jesus, when he sent out his disciples, he said, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Second, we find Paul praying specifically for wisdom in Philippians 1:9–10 “9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”

Wisdom matters to you Christian because how you live matters.

Not because we earn God’s favor by living wisely, not because living wisely guarantees that life will go well. We pursue wisdom because we belong to Christ. His grace doesn’t make wise living optional; it frees us and teaches us to live differently. We cannot eliminate every risk or control every outcome, but we can refuse to make peace with foolishness and seek to walk faithfully in the wisdom God gives.

The Bible tells us that the wisdom we need is not the world’s wisdom but God’s wisdom. That we must ask him for it, reject the world’s definition of wisdom, and follow Jesus’ example as we are conformed to his image. The danger for us is this.

Because even a little foolishness can destroy a great deal of good, we must diligently pursue wisdom and refuse to tolerate folly in our lives.

I pray that Ecclesiastes 10 has encouraged you to fight against foolishness and pursue wisdom. To be ruthless as you eliminate the small corners of your life where sin or folly has taken root. May God grant us the strength and wisdom to do just that. +

Let us pray.