Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:7–18
In today’s society, at first glance, this particular piece of scripture would seem wrong to most. So often the race is in fact won by the swift, and we see time and time again the battles around the world won by the strongest nations, and so forth. So, if this verse were talking literally about our society, there’s no doubt it would be hard to believe, if not almost impossible, because that’s not typically how things work. On the other hand, if you look Biblically into this verse you can become engulfed in the fact that when we’re on God’s playing, or even battle field, it’s an entirely different set of rules. That may be hard to believe, but true, and those who are at the top, those who constantly win don’t trump anymore, because in the sight of the Lord, we are all equals. This verse states countless ways we are placed on a level playing field, and verifies this sense of equality in us all, which as a Christian is an important reminder, and we must not forget this. In closing it is important to remember even though we might not be the best at something, especially in our secular society, it is important to try, because time and chance do happen to us all.
John Knouse
