I know it is not like this for some other people, but my Mom and Dad would often come out with a saying that would stop me in my tracks and help me think about my situation. In a way, my parents were wise old sages. At least when I was a kid, it felt like that. It felt like I could go to them and they would have the words to open my eyes to the world and place my feet on solid ground. Sure, they were fallible, and not always right, but I still have their sayings with me. One saying in particular comes to mind. I once came home sick after gorging myself on candy at a friend’s birthday party. I remember complaining to my mom about how much my stomach hurt, to which she replied, “Next time remember not to let your eyes grow bigger than your stomach.” I never again ate candy to bursting point.
Sometimes we look with our appetite instead of our eyes. It gets us in all matter of trouble and causes us to respond to situations in irresponsible ways. When we see something we don’t want, we instantly respond according to what we want rather than stepping back and looking carefully at a situation. When we something we do want, we live by impulse to obtain it. It’s all too easy for us for our appetites, wants and desires to become our eyes.
In Ecclesiastes 5-6 we read about the trail of damage that occurs when humanity is led by appetite. We live in a world where people pursue wealth and power and it so often ends in a trail of destruction. As we read through the realities of this world, Solomon also gives God’s people a guide for our response to the situations before us. He often puts them in the form of a “better than” proverb. One such proverb is found in Ecclesiastes 6:9. “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”
Acting on impulse is so often the worst thing we can do. When we do this, we are allowing our appetites and desires to control our path and often it’s a path of destruction. We want revenge, vengeance, power, wealth and we end up acting like the rest of the world. Instead, we are told to step back and look. The candy on the table might catch our appetite for sweet pleasure, but when we look with our eyes, we see that enjoyment won’t come from eating the whole bowl. When Christians look with our eyes we act and react differently because we know that our appetites are not trustworthy.
Ecclesiastes is a constant help for us in showing us how not to act and react in worldly foolishness rather than godly wisdom. It helps us to calmly remind ourselves that we are living for One who is greater than anything we can have in this world. We put on the glasses of Christ and remind ourselves that Jesus is our satisfaction. We don’t need to let our appetites reign.
That’s simply wise. Wisdom is like a godly mother in our ear and a cherished gift from God. Better to really see than to live by want. Stop wanting and start looking.