Please read “E1. Meaning to the Meaningless” before reading any of my other articles on Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 10:1-2
One foolish decision can result in calamity. The writer of Ecclesiastes makes this point in vs.1 of chapter 10. A single moment of foolishness can wipe away a lifetime of wisdom and honor. He has observed this many times, and I am sure most of us have too. Think of the wise elderly man who ruins his reputation by taking a twentysomething for his wife. Think of a politician who throws it all away with one disastrous DUI. The examples are endless. We do not need more examples; we need guidance on how to avoid foolishness.

Verse 2 reveals one of the root causes of much foolishness. Verse 2 is not about the right and left of American politics; it is about the position at the side of a ruler. Ancient cultures considered the right side to be the position of highest honor; we still understand it in the same way today and we often refer to someone as our “right hand man”. In the ancient world, right came to symbolize power, honor, authority and strength, and the left represented the opposite—weakness or even evil. Earthly wisdom tells us that it is foolish for us to incline our hearts toward the left, on that earthly wisdom is right.

Earthly wisdom says that the wise incline their hearts to the right. They desire power, honor, authority and strength. Earthly wisdom is wrong. Spiritual wisdom reveals it is also foolishness for us to incline our hearts toward the right. Christ sets at the right hand of God; all the power, honor, authority and strength are His. It would be foolish for us to set our hearts upon replacing him. As Christians, we no longer incline our hearts and minds toward earthly things. If we want to be wise, and if we want to avoid foolishness, we must correctly incline our heart. To be wise we set our hearts on Jesus Christ and his righteousness. (Colossians 3:1-2)