Here, right between Solomon’s observation and conclusion, we see wisdom at work. How easy it is for us to look at a scene and allow our feelings to either dictate or drown out our thoughts. The picture of the slothful man is both sad, and infuriating; but if we simply leave the scene with a heavy heart or a critical spirit, we’ve gained nothing. Yet, in our culture, we have learned to let our hearts do the thinking, and our ability to judge and discern has been placed on the back burner. If the major influences of our day were writing verse 32, it would simply say – Then I saw: I looked upon it. It has become a serious offence to consider and receive instruction from the self-destruction of foolish behavior. When we consider even recent events where towns are literally destroyed by their own citizens, the media appeals strongly to our emotions and feelings, in an attempt to keep us from considering and receiving instruction from what is actually taking place. Perhaps if Solomon’s report would have been filtered through the modern media, we would have read countless details as to why the man was slothful, how he had been victimized by his family and society, and in the endless emotional jargon, the truth of this man’s slothfulness would never be addressed. Now, to some of you, this may sound harsh and heartless, but in God’s sovereign purpose, He wasn’t concerned with inspiring Solomon to look into this man’s life narrative, He simply taught him the destructive nature of slothfulness. Brothers and sisters, if we aren’t careful, we will let emotional details distract us from wise discernment. May we look to Christ for wisdom and skill in this area.