Jonathan Smith: Better Days Ahead

Jonathan Smith: Better Days Ahead (Eccl. 7:10)

Well, today’s Scripture text at Ecclesiastes 7:10—it might be good to read it in its entirety. It says here: “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ for it is not out of wisdom that you ask this.”

Now, it is possible that a person who reads this verse, perhaps for the first time, might disagree with this statement. For example, based on his own personal experience, an older person might remember the days when he was younger, he was healthier, he was stronger, he had energy to accomplish virtually anything he wanted to do, his memory was sharper. And now that he’s getting older, he’s forgetful, he’s tired, and he’s grumpy. He may say that the former days were better than the present.

Or perhaps we know of someone who had to leave Bethel or perhaps another form of special full-time service and now they long for the days that they served at Bethel or perhaps pioneered or did missionary service. Well, what if (another example is) we are transferred to a different department at Bethel? Now we’re struggling to learn a new assignment, we’re trying to adapt to a different routine, and our overseer is just not the same as our former overseer. Well, we might think that the former days were better than the present, possibly.

So, what will help us to understand Ecclesiastes 7:10 a little better? Well, let’s take our first example of the older person. *The Watchtower* from which our text is taken says that older ones who show humility will have a realistic view of the way things were in the past. So how does that realistic view help? Well, although we recognize that some things were better in the past, we see many things are better now. For example, although a person may have had more energy and strength when they were young, most often as a person ages they learn to work smarter, not harder. So to make a blanket statement like, “Why were the former days better than these?” isn’t realistic. It isn’t “wisdom,” as the scripture says.

In addition to helping us be realistic, Ecclesiastes 7:10 helps us to be content. How so? Well, if we constantly view the past as being better, will we be content with the present? It’s not likely. We will probably live in a constant state of discontent, wishing that we could go back in time. But is that realistic, and does that make us any happier? No, it’s not wise.

But Ecclesiastes 7:10 can also help us in a more sobering way. An article in our 2018 *Meeting Workbook* said: “When we experience difficulties, it is easy to long for ‘the good old days,’ perhaps the days before we came into the truth. When doing so, we often exaggerate the joys and minimize the problems of the past.” And that is what the Israelites did after they left Egypt.

How did the Israelites do that? Well, the account referred to here in this reference is Numbers 11:5, 6. Let’s take a look at that—Numbers 11:5, 6. Here the Israelites said: “How fondly we remember the fish that we used to eat without cost in Egypt, also the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic! But now we are withering away. We see nothing at all except this manna.”

Well, through the rose-colored lens of nostalgia, they remembered the fish and the melons and the vegetables but not the hard slavery that made their lives miserable every single day. So they actually viewed the former days as better. In fact, looking back at the past actually blinded them to all that Jehovah was doing for them right then in the present—for example, the manna.

The manna appeared every morning simply out of nowhere in the middle of a wilderness. The Israelites didn’t have to plow the ground, they didn’t have to plant any seeds, they didn’t have to water, and harvesting was as easy as just picking it up off the morning dew. Evidently, the manna was also a perfect food, satisfying all of their dietary needs in one easy meal. And it was tasty. The Bible says: “It tasted like an oiled sweet cake.” Not bad.

Well, manna provided another advantage that perhaps the Israelites didn’t think about. Remember that they never knew when that miraculous cloud was going to lift and suddenly the whole camp was going to have to follow that cloud to another location. Can you imagine? Even if you did bring some watermelon seeds with you from Egypt and you managed to plant a few and you started watering them, and all of a sudden—what happens?—the cloud lifts and the whole nation begins to depart long before you get to harvest your watermelons.

Well, we can see that manna was actually a perfect solution in every way. And yet, by looking back at the past, the Israelites were blinded to all that Jehovah was doing for them in the present.

So, what lessons do we learn from Ecclesiastes 7:10? Well, looking back at what seems to be “the good old days” produces discontent with the present, and discontent can lead us to feeling ungrateful for all that Jehovah is doing for us now. For the Israelites, that ingratitude also led to unfaithfulness and spiritual disaster ultimately.

In this regard, note this comment from the 2012 *Watchtower*. It says: “Although it is not wrong to meditate on the lessons we have learned from past experiences or to savor cherished memories, we need to maintain a balanced, realistic view of the past. Otherwise, we could accentuate our dissatisfaction with our present circumstances.” Yes, realistically, some things in the past may have been good. Perhaps we did have better health, but it wasn’t perfect health. And we may have enjoyed certain theocratic privileges or maybe we had an excellent relationship with our work overseer in the past, but can any privilege or any relationship that we have now compare to the privileges that we’re going to enjoy in the future? Not at all.

As our *Meeting Workbook* mentioned: “How much better it is to count our present blessings and to focus on future joys under [God’s] Kingdom!” And isn’t it true also that the challenging things that we may deal with now often refine us? They make us better Christians. So if we avoid viewing the past through the blurry lens of nostalgia and if we cultivate contentment with the present and we keep our eyes focused on the Kingdom and the real life, well, we’ll be happier and also more likely to remain faithful. As Ecclesiastes 7:10 reminds us, the better days are not behind us, but they’re actually just ahead.