A House of Mourning

Just a word for all the words I have missed. In knowledge of Gods’ glorious grace (and this from a man whose disobedience has placed him far from those green pastures and quiet waters (1) spoken of through the prophet David) I echo this: “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.”(2) I do not pretend to know the full depth of this statement, but my heart has revealed to me thus far: God has created pleasure, along with all other good things. I will try to explain in short why I believe this and why it does not contradict the above verse.

How dangerous it would be for us to remain on our knees day in and day out in solitude trying to muster tears because we misinterpreted this verse to think pleasure was evil! That would be a sore interpretation. I might even go as far as to call it legalism. The devil will use it if we are not careful to push us away from God. This is doubly dangerous because while moving away we will think to ourselves that we are growing closer! One day we may look back and realize how far he has actually pulled us from that glorious light. What a blessing that would be! If this is you now do not be discouraged. God is still sovereign and he has said through the patriarch Joseph, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives”(3).

If it is not apparent yet why Satan would cause such a fallacy to develop in us, I will share another thought.

If the Devil can cause us to sin and enjoy its pleasures he will have begun his work in pulling us from God. If he can cause us to sin and be miserable while doing so, he is not only pulling us from God, but blindfolding us so that we will not find our way back. He will have many companions in his misery. I can explain this better with an example. I used to exclude myself from social gatherings. I was full of insecurity and seclusion seemed like the perfect way to deal with it. It seemed righteous and appealing. I would be a recluse writer and God would be on my side. The majority of the time I was able to convince myself that I was not insecure and that it was God’s will for me to be alone. There was no pleasure in my life because I had misunderstood the verse on mourning. Hatred grew in my heart for the relationships of my friends and their families. I needed people, but that need had turned into loathing because I was insecure. I thought I was doing Gods’ will. Satan had pushed me backward and blindfolded my eyes from faith. I sinned in my heart and was utterly miserable.

Since then I have found that there is a balance between pleasure and mourning. It came to me this past Sunday. I was half listing to preacher and half wondering why I hadn’t gotten coffee before I sat down. My mind wandered for a moment and then BANG! The verse rung in my ear “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified”(4). The narrow minded fool looks nowhere but to the present moment in search of things that can gratify his flesh. The Christian does all things in the shadow of the cross. He eats in the shadow of the cross, works in the shadow of the cross, entertains friends in the shadow of the cross, and even sleeps in its shadow. In essence all these things are pleasing. Bread and wine “gladden the heart of man”, sleep is the pleasure that comes from hard work “The sleep of a laborer is sweet”(5), and friends are an unquestionable pleasure “If one falls down, his friend can help him up”(6). The difference between the pleasure of the Christian and the pleasure of the fool is this: the Christian sees who he is in light of that which is greater than him. He knows that he must die “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (7) and sees it soberly. He knows also that in death he rests with Christ in the tomb and will rise with him in glory. This is what it means to live in the shadow of the cross and- I believe- to be in the house of mourning. The fool does not consider death. He does not see it soberly, but is drunk on worldly pleasure.

One more thing: If the Devil tempts your faith by questioning a verse, go back and read the verse in context. In this instance it would have helped me greatly. The verse right above the one I just explained reads “It is better to go to a house of Mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man…” (8). Those who are in the “House of Mourning” consider death and the Christians do it soberly and even joyously in light of the cross.

1. Psalm 23 (NIV)
2. Ecclesiastes 7:4 (NIV)
3. Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
4. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
5. Ecclesiastes 5:12 (NIV)
6. Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NIV)
7. Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)
8. Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NIV)