The Grands Letter (Eccl/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on March 21, 2026 5:09 am (CST)
Dear Grands,
Ecclesiastes 8:5-8, “He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. 6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. 7 If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? 8 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it.”
The key word in the passage above is “happen.” It’s “key” because it possesses so many meanings. Happen is a derivative of “hap,” which means “an occurrence,” a “happening,” or an “accident.”
Now, think about that. All of this is written in order to jog your thinking related to what you (and I) say in general conversation. Speech often gets us into trouble. Have you ever been misunderstood? Of course! So have I. I’ve been quoted as saying things that I never said or even thought—all because someone heard someone else say that I had said them. Has that ever happened to you?
What are we to do? Tracing down wrongs is a delicate undertaking. Sometimes it’s better, as the saying goes, to “let sleeping dogs lie.” Eventually, and hopefully, everything will be forgotten, and it will then be “no worse for the wear.”
In the meantime, great care should be given to what and to whom we speak. Some people truly don’t hear well. Others have “selective” hearing. It is of no value to believe what you say will never be misinterpreted. Believe me, it will!
The clear and unmistakable solution is given to us in the words of an old hymn, “Take it to the LORD and leave it there!” He is our Redeemer! Yes, He redeems us from sin; yet, He also redeems us from the unwarranted sins that others have mistakenly assigned to us. Increase your prayer life! Think Upwardly! Trust the LORD! He NEVER FAILS!
Heartily in Christ,
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
United States of America
“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom
