The more you know, the more you hurt; the more you understand, the more you suffer.
I quoted Ecclesiastes 11:1 because I got free Sashimi dish in 4.8 google rating Sushi Restaurant last week and I met a guy who remembered some entire verses including Ecclesiastes 1:18. And I happend to write a message on this verse today:)
Ecclesiastes 1:18
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
[2] expressed this verse as below:
More wisdom, more grief.
More knowledge, more sorrow.
The more you know,
the more you hurt;
the more you understand,
the more you suffer.
Finally [2] refines the verse into
The more one becomes wise and knowledgeable, the more one knows grief and sorrow.
So, now meaning of the verse became clearer. Then, what grief and sorrow will ‘the wise and knowledgeable’ become to know?
- New “what matters”: ethical > successful
A relevant verse is Ecclesiastes 7:1a “A good name is better than fine perfume“.
It is sad that the ethical object humanity have is frequently lost [3].
- The life is temporal.
As shown in Ecclesiastes 7:2 – 4, the wise take ‘death’ into account.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
The wise know “You can’t take possession with you when you die but you take “how ethical you are” with you when you die”.
[References]
[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Anglicised Edition, 2011). (2011). (Revised and updated edition., Ec 1:18). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
[2] Ogden, G. S., & Zogbo, L. (1998). A handbook on Ecclesiastes (p. 49). New York: United Bible Societies.
[3] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Zöckler, O., Lewis, T., & Wells, W. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Ecclesiastes (p. 42). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
