Why do we so often believe our way is better than God’s?
Key Verse:
“Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” — Ecclesiastes 7:29 (NASB)
Background Context:
As Solomon concludes Ecclesiastes 7, he reflects on the limits of human wisdom. Despite all his searching, observing, and learning, he honestly admits that some things remain beyond his understanding. Even the wisest man who ever lived recognized that human wisdom has its limits.
Yet after all his searching, Solomon arrives at one clear conclusion. The problem is not with God’s design or His wisdom. God created mankind upright, but humanity has continually chosen to pursue its own plans instead of trusting His.
(Continued and expanded after scripture.)
23I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it? 25I directed my mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
27“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, 28which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these. 29“Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”
Reflection on Ecclesiastes 7:23–29:
Solomon begins this passage with a remarkable confession:
“I said, ‘I will be wise,’ but it was far from me. What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it?” (Ecclesiastes 7:23–24)
These words remind us that no matter how much knowledge we gain, there will always be things that belong to God alone. Human wisdom is valuable, but it is not limitless. There are questions only the Creator can answer and truths that can only be understood as He reveals them.
That realization should produce humility rather than frustration. We live in a culture that often assumes every problem can be solved through human intelligence, scientific advancement, or personal insight. Solomon certainly valued wisdom, yet he recognized that human understanding can never replace dependence upon God.
After describing his diligent search for wisdom, Solomon reaches this conclusion:
“God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
The contrast is striking. God created humanity to walk in His ways. His design was good, His wisdom was perfect, and His instructions were given for our good. The problem is not that God failed to provide what we needed. The problem is that people continually seek their own way instead of His.
This pattern began in the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed and one simple command to obey. Yet the serpent tempted them to believe that God’s wisdom was somehow lacking and that they could determine good and evil for themselves. Ever since then, humanity has repeated the same mistake—trusting our own understanding above God’s.
Proverbs echoes this truth:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6)
Notice the contrast. Solomon says humanity has sought out its own schemes, while Proverbs calls us to trust the Lord instead of leaning on our own understanding. One path leads away from God’s wisdom; the other leads us back to it.
Isaiah likewise reminds us:
“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'” (Isaiah 55:8–9)
Following God requires humility. It means acknowledging that His wisdom is greater than ours, even when we do not fully understand His ways.
As followers of Yeshua, we are called to that same humble trust. Jesus did not come merely to give us more information or better philosophy. He calls us to follow Him, to deny ourselves, and to walk in the ways of our heavenly Father. Rather than inventing our own path, we are invited to walk in the one God has already established.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that wisdom does not begin with believing we have all the answers. It begins with recognizing that God does. The more we trust His wisdom above our own, the straighter our path becomes.
Application:
- Humbly acknowledge that God’s wisdom is greater than your own.
- Examine areas where you may be relying on your own understanding instead of God’s Word.
- Ask the Lord to help you recognize and abandon your own “schemes” in favor of His ways.
- Trust God’s direction even when you cannot see the whole picture.
- Seek wisdom with humility, knowing that true understanding begins with trusting the Lord.
Closing Prayer:
Father, thank You for Your perfect wisdom and for creating us to walk in Your ways. Forgive me for the times I have relied on my own understanding instead of trusting You. Help me to lay aside my own plans whenever they conflict with Your will and to walk humbly in the path You have prepared for me. Give me a teachable heart that seeks Your wisdom above my own, and strengthen my faith to trust You even when I do not understand everything You are doing. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.
May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.
John Golda
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