Ecclesiastes 7:4

"The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure"."The mind" -Long after the funeral is over, the wise man is still thinking about life and death. The sermon wasn't wasted on such. person. But we are behaving like fools, if we can't allow ourselves to soberly reflect on spiritual realities. The fool says, "I couldn't wait to get out of there,. need. stiff drink". Many people seem determined to live. life of denial. No matter where the fool is, he or she mentally wants to be thinking about superficial and shallow things. But life and death, heaven and hell are never far from the mind of the righteous (Colossians 3:1ff; Isaiah 53:3).

The Value Of Godly Criticism

"Solomon is still contending that one should maintain. good name and protect it. First by sober consideration to the lessons gained in reflecting upon death. Secondly, that our attention should be directed toward the rebuke of wise men" (Kidwell p. 160). Note that all the things discussed so far are completely at odds with the values the secular society. In our society, people think that any negative comment is terrible.