Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 New Living Translation (NLT)
13 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. 14 Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. 15 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. 16 Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.*
I. Guard against destroying friendships (v. 13)
• Two people are better off than one if we want to
• Better to have one handful with
hard work. (4:6)
• Inability to empathize results in unjustified
II. Guard against unjustified expectations (v. 14)
• A single social issue does not
• Good politics is not disqualified by evident
• Madness is the boastful arrogance of
• Folly is the failure to make an impact due to
III. Guard against unreasonable hope (v. 15)
• Unreasonable hope is change for the sake of
• Idealism is chasing perfection which is
• Delusion is to falsely believe something despite the
IV. Recognize the shadows of reasonable hope (v. 16)
• There is no end to
• Politics is toil because we know we need a
• Cultural Christianity prioritizes autonomy over friendship by being
influenced by the