"8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields."
Ecclesiastes 5:8-9
These are thought-provoking verses. The AV rendering of 8b is less than clear and it is better to follow the modern versions. The RSV has 'the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them'. The meaning of 8 seems to be something like this: We are not to be surprised or dismayed when we see injustice and oppression in the world. How should we expect anything else in a fallen world? Not that we are to sit light to it, for it is always the believer's duty to seek to alleviate suffering wherever it is seen; but a certain measure of realism must come into our thinking. There are, after all, more important things - eternal issues - and we must have our priorities right. While it is right and proper for the Church to be deeply committed, and involved in many of the burning social issues of the day, it is always possible to become so involved and committed that even greater issues are neglected. J.B. Phillips utters a timely warning about this when he says that 'today all the emphasis is thrown upon making the most of this life' and that 'even Christianity is only considered seriously in many quarters because of its social implications'. The Church's primary calling - and this must be its priority - is to prepare men for the everlasting habitations, and nothing - not even injustice and oppression, which will always be present in a fallen world - must be allowed to deflect us from that awesome purpose. If we take the RSV rendering of 9, 'But all in all, a king is an advantage to a land with cultivated fields' it appears to be a word commending the concept of monarchy, something that is held at a discount today, even an anachronism. But royalty, with all its faults, is surely infinitely better than the dismal substitutes offered today - the heroes (?) of the sports and television and pop worlds that receive such adulation from young and old alike. Feet of clay indeed! If we must have something to look up to - and we do - let us show some ambition!