“The wise man’s eyes [are] in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.” (Ec 2:14 AV)
Aren’t everyone’s eyes in their heads? Last time I checked, that was where mine was. I have never seen someone whose eyes are on their arm or in their tummy. Pretty much everyone is born with their eyes in their heads. So, what is our wise king trying to tell us? A person who is wise uses his powers of observation and reasoning to become wise. Wisdom is not the gathering of information. Wisdom is not the discerning of truth. Wisdom is the discipline to live what one knows is true. Wisdom is as much a character issue as it is an intelligence issue. The latter phrase is speaking of death. No matter how wise or foolish, the flesh will end in death. His point is if escaping death was our objective in life, it didn’t matter how wise or foolish; we were going to die, anyway. The first phrase is what struck me this morning. The wise man’s eyes are in his head. Or, the ability to be wise lies within the head. The eyes represent our senses of observation. What we see and hear is in the head. The ability to discern it all is in the mind. Which is in the head. The fool does not use his powers of observation, nor his ability to reason. Thus, he walks in darkness.
I have a very low basement ceiling. Our gas main comes in almost at the bottom of the stairs. It’s about five feet off the floor. As almost six feet, this main pipe is a hazard. We wrapped it in caution tape. I know it is there. Do you think I might avoid smashing my head on it each and every time? Not so! One would think as hard as that pipe is and the stars I see after I hit my head, I would never do it. Yet, it is common for me to smash my noggin on that overhead pipe! Where am I failing? I know it is there. I am aware of how intense the pain is when I hit it. I realize that if I hit it enough times, I may cause some damage to myself and or the pipe. Where I fail is to look up at all times when walking in that direction. My tendency is to look at my feet and the path before me. That is what we usually do. We watch where we are going and not what might drop out of the sky. Thump goes another noggin! Ouch! That hurts! Use the powers of observation and reasoning to avoid injury, you simpleton! God gave you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind to make sense of it all. Use them!
Solomon is applying the truth above completely differently. Yet what we have thought on is still a profitable application. The eyes of the wise are in their head, means the wise use what God gave them, all of what God gave them, to perceive harm and avoid it. Powers of observation and the ability to reason do not guarantee wisdom. One must act upon what one sees and reasons. Temptation from the flesh can sideline all we observe. However, wisdom starts with powers of observation and reasoning of the mind. If we are to be a wise person, we must open our eyes, learn facts and information, and discover how it all works together. The eyes of the wise are in his head is a way to say that if we are to be wise, it starts with going through life with our eyes wide open. Wisdom starts with thinking, seeking, asking questions, and reasoning out truth. If we are prone to mistakes, it might be a matter of blindness and deafness. It could be we have our eyes wide shut, going through life and allowing things to merely happen. If I hit my head on that gas main one more time, it won’t be anyone’s fault but my own. Going through life with blinders on only leads to harm somewhere down the line. Open your eyes and see what is or what may be so you don’t get a goose egg on your noggin.
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