(A) The value of a good name. v1: A good name is better than perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

It is not immediately obvious how these two statements are linked. There are not many people who believe that the day of death is better than the day of birth. Perhaps the Teacher is thinking that if one has acquired a good reputation it is sure to be acknowledged on the day of death.

I am not an expert on perfume. Certainly I do not use all those toiletries designed for men. I suppose men and women use perfume for at least three reasons:
(a) It gives confidence.
(b) It gives pleasure. During my teaching career I was often close enough to girls to smell them. I must admit that I enjoyed the smell of perfumed shower gel more than stale sweat or cigarette smoke. It is also rather pleasant when out walking and to have a waft of fragrance when passing a well dressed woman.
(c) It makes them more attractive. It wasn't for nothing that Naomi advised Ruth to bath and anoint herself with perfume before going down to the threshing floor and lying by the side of Boaz. See Sermon on Ruth3.

A good name is like an expensive perfume because:
(a) It means that people trust you. This gives confidence and assurance. I suppose I have a reputation for being something of a maverick. So I am not quite trusted. I know from experience how much this undermines my confidence and authority. It also limits my usefulness.
(b) People with a good name are often a pleasure to be with. I find it a pleasure to be with Christians who have a reputation for being thoroughly devoted to Jesus. I enjoy being with my brother Paul and his wife, Edward and Henry and their wives, Pastor and Mrs Skull, John and Janet, Pastor Joe Hewitt and Elizabeth because they are out and out for Christ. The company of a man or a woman with a name for loving Jesus is more fragrant than the finest perfume.
(c) It does attract others. Every so often, over the last twenty years or so, a card comes through my letterbox advertising the services of a certain plumber. He is still advertising after twenty years. I use a plumber who never advertises. He doesn't have to. He has a good name. Good schools do not need to advertise and nor do good churches. A church with a reputation for showing love, warm fellowship and sound, lively, preaching will draw people in.

(B) The importance of focusing on what really matters: v2to4: 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; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Very few people would agree that: It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting. I know men who will niether visit the sick in hospital nor attend a funeral because the thought of death makes them feel sick. I have conducted several funeral services in recent years and they perform two salutary functions. Firstly they focus the mind on what really matters.

When I took the funeral service for Anne I mentioned three things about her that really mattered. She had a zest for life. She could make a shopping trip to the supermarket a pleasure. Every Thursday morning she took her old mother, Louisa, shopping for groceries. It was the highlight of Louisa's week. Life wasn't a chore.

Anne was a very thoughtful and considerate woman. She was a fine craftswoman - a dressmaker - who gave good measure, heaped up, pressed down and running over. She invariably gave her clients good advice. If they wanted her to make something entirely unsuitable she would advise them against it. Although riddled with cancer Ann hid her illness so as not to distress others. She got up and dressed herself until the last couple of days; did the dusting and taught her husband to cook. She wouldn't bother the MacMillan nurses and when she died they wept.

Anne was kind and helpful. She had a soft spot for the elderly. There were two or three old ladies that she shopped for. Her husband said, "Nothing was too much for her." Anne helped me. I am short in the leg and always need new trousers taken up. This is something the expert dressmaker condescended to do for me. After she was diagnosed with terminal cancer she sent me a message via her mother, "Tell him, I can still do his trousers." Anne loved others. Paul said, where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. But love never fails. 1Cor13v8. Love was something Ann was able to take with her as she left this life.

Secondly at a funeral we ask the most important questions. How did the deceased stand with God? As Anne's health deteriorated God drew close to her. She didn't reject God in her illness but rather she took consolation in him. God wants us for himself and in the end our joy can only be found in him. Christians are not devastated by death. A funeral can be life affirming if we concentrate on the great promises of Jesus. He said, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John6v40. None can thwart God's will. No one can stop Jesus giving eternal life to those who look to him and believe in him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God if we love his son. My friend Anne will be raised up to enjoy her Saviour and Lord - the one to whom she turned, looked and trusted in her weakness. In her weakness she was made strong by faith in the blessed name of him who died for her.

(C) Something worth having: v5and6: It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than listen to the song of fools. Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.

The song of fools, the flattery of people of no depth or perception, is like the crackling of a thorn fire. There is no substance to it. It may provide, perhaps, a little warmth and cheer but it does no lasting good. It is much better to heed a wise man's rebuke because:

(a) It would never be made if it wasn't necessary. A few years ago I had some girls in my form of whom I was very fond. They were almost like daughters! Sometimes I needed to rebuke them. One girl of a very affectionate disposition was totally disorganised and habitually late. I didn't like rebuking her. I rebuked her with great reluctance. This should have meant that she took particular notice of what I said. Perhaps she did! If a venerable, wise, pastor takes the trouble to rebuke you he is showing special love. You should be heedful and thankful.

(b) It is costly. Very few people enjoy criticism. It requires that rarest of virtues, humility, to accept criticism. So whenever a person rebukes another he is taking a risk, the risk of making an enemy. I used to be blunt at times on my pupil's reports. I can remember, on one occasion, writing something like this, 'James has a tendency to ridicule people - this will not make him many friends.' I didn't look forward to seeing James and his parents to discuss his report. However James realised that I didn't dislike him. His parents realised that I didn't dislike him. So James accepted the rebuke and acted upon it. It is a grave mistake to think that a rebuke never does any good. Sometimes it brings about a dramatic change in conduct. Church leaders show dereliction of duty when they fail to rebuke behaviour that will lead to trouble.

(c) It can put things right. I can recall a church elder coming to me in a highly agitated state. He had decided to resign as elder because he wasn't fit to hold office. The elder had unfortunately criticised a lady and the criticism had got back to her. She confronted him with it. The experience had left him shaken and smarting. He spoke to me in pique. I told him, "You just need to write a letter to the lady to apologise for speaking about her behind her back." The aggrieved elder did not much like this advice - but he took it! He is still a useful and respected elder in his church.

I have not been rebuked much in my life by those that love me. Some who have not loved me have rebuked me! My poor old father used to say to me after I had been arguing a point with great heat, "Speak the truth in love, boy; speak the truth in love." I would have saved myself a lot of trouble and others some distress if I had been able to consistently follow my father's advice.

(D) Getting it finished: v8: The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

The book of Ezra describes the rebuilding of the temple. There was much rejoicing when the work was begun and the foundations laid. And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. The people were rejoicing in anticipation of the temple being built.

After many set backs and delays the temple was finally completed in the reign of Darius. The celebration then was more substantial and profound: For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

It is good to start a worthwhile task but it is even better to successfully complete it. Nehemiah is very matter of fact about the commencement of the task of repairing the walls of Jerusalem. He has a meeting with the chief men of the city and urges them, "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." ..... They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work. Neh2v17 The dedication of the wall after the good work was finished in the amazingly short time of 52 days was very different. The choirs sang under the direction of Jezrahiah. And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. Neh12v42and43.

Some people are great at starting. Maybe they take a pride in being initiators and innovators. They are full of excitement and hope at the beginning of a project. They talk much about faith and are disparaging of those with reservations. Such people are not always renowned for staying the course. The opposition, set backs, delays and the sheer discipline required to get a hard task finished discourages them. They lack patience or endurance. That is why the Teacher writes patience is better than pride.

I used to tell my pupils that the last three months of their school careers before the public exams was the most crucial. They were on the last lap and it was time to make the big effort. Sadly it is far from easy to make the necessary effort at the end of the race. The runner is tired and just longing for the finish. The last lap is a test of character and desire. Only the disciplined runner maintains his effort to the end.

It requires faith to start the Christian race. There is rightly great rejoicing when a young man or young woman is converted and baptised. It should never be forgotten that more faith is needed to finish the race. My mother often told me that she was baptised with a dozen other young people at Salem, Richmond in Surrey in the 1930's. Her father baptised her. What a night of rejoicing that must have been for the folk at Salem. My mother never tired of pointing out in later life that she was the only one who remained a professing Christian. All the rest of those baptised with her fell away. The church at Salem has closed! I was sad when my mother died suddenly at the relatively early age of 67 but I was not sad for her. I rejoiced for her. She had endured to the end, her troubles were over and she waits in peace and security resurrection from the dead and life eternal. See The Race: Heb12v1to3

(E) The folly of short temper: v9: Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

I am both short tempered and hot tempered so I know from experience what folly it is! Let me give you an example. I was in a staff meeting. This predisposed me towards anger as a lot of nonsense is talked in staff meetings and a lot of time wasted. I remember with nostalgia my first five years of teaching when no meetings of any kind were held. Anyway, at this particular staff meeting the Headmaster said in a funereal voice usually reserved for announcing matters of universal sorrow, "The parents of Michelle X have been in touch with me and expressed concern that she isn't being stretched." This statement made me incandescent with rage. Michelle was an ultra-conscientious girl who didn't need stretching because she was able to extend herself. If she was given an essay and advised to write a couple of pages she would write six. Why on earth should she be stretched further? She was being thoroughly prepared for her GCSE exams that are the target for the vast majority of sixteen year olds. To my mind Michelle was overworking - it would have done her good to ease up a bit. I cannot say that I was happy with the parents - pushy parents drawing attention to what a clever daughter they had. Why did we have to pay such reverent attention to parents....

Let us look at the folly of my anger. First of all I was so cross I didn't make my case well. Secondly my colleagues didn't hear what I was saying because of how I said it. People were so antagonised by the way I spoke that they concluded I must be wrong. Unfortunately when you speak in anger the listener concludes that because your character is obviously flawed so, too, must be your judgement. Fellow teachers were aghast at a reaction the violence of which was disproportionate to its cause. My judgement must be at fault. There is a price to pay for being hot tempered. Headmasters are antagonised, colleagues frightened and no one wants to discuss anything with you. In the end your opinion doesn't count.

Now what is really sad is that it took me a long time to recognise the folly of my ways and since the lesson was learned I have been quite unable to do much about it. One of the few good things about growing old is that you lose some of your stamina for sustained anger. I cannot claim to have won the battle against my volatile temperament. You might ask what is the point of writing about anger if that is the case? Homilies on human weakness only have point if we can change. I think that if I had been convinced earlier of the folly of anger I might have improved more. For many, many, years I believed my anger was justified. I was too forgiving of myself.

I never doubt my need of a Saviour.

(F) Living in the past: v10: Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.

We are all prone to say from time to time, "The old days were best." I myself have been guilty of it in this exposition - recalling an era when staff meetings were unknown. We should be careful about doing this because memory is unreliable and very selective. I often say that I am glad I was a boy when I was, and not now, because I was free. I was free from parental supervision - free to roam and free, pretty much, to do as I liked. However I was not free from asthma and, to be honest, I could not face going back to a time when there was no relief from that wretched complaint. No I would not go back!

It is the same when we look back at our churches 50 years ago. Things were better then in some respects. More people attended our church. There were lots of young men in the congregation. Conversions occurred and morale was high. But the pastor was paid a pittance and lived in a manse reeking of damp. There was little warmth and affection. Members of the congregation did not kiss one another. The Sunday School Anniversary was a nightmare with small boys white faced and trembling reciting verse after verse of banal doggerel under duress. It is dishonest to look back at the past through rose tinted spectacles.

Living in the past is unproductive. We have to make the best of the present. Jesus said, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." John9v4. We must take the opportunities the present affords us to do the will of our Father in heaven. We are not called to fight battles long since gone nor imaginary ones in the future; our task is to stand firm now and resist the present foe.