Ecclesiastes 7:17

"Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be. fool. Why should you die before your time?"

Of course, Solomon isn't saying that. little sin is OK or that sin is find as long as one sins in moderation. Or that you can be wicked just as long as you aren't really wicked. Rather, Solomon is quickly correcting any misconception that any of his readers might have about what he had just said. People love to jump to conclusions, and people with the wrong attitude (selfishness) seem to be always looking for any supposed excuse to ignore God. After reading Ecclesiastes 1:15,. can just hear someone saying, "Well,. guess it's OK to live. sinful life". Solomon quickly reminds such. foolish thinker that while some wicked men live materially prosperous and long lives, many do not! (Proverbs 10:27). Many. man or woman has found their physical lives cut short due to their own foolishness or some habitual sin. Do. need to mention all the young men who have died of AIDS?

Hence, the wise man is careful to avoid self-righteousness or over-confidence. And neither is he shaken when adversity comes his way. He doesn't envy the wicked who are prospering, for he realizes that such is only temporary and often he is looking at the wicked man or woman who is the exception in God's universe rather than the rule.