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SOLOMON'S SORROW What you are about to read might seem to be the fruit of a proud and arrogant heart, but it isn't. It's just straight and honest truth. If you don't believe me now, you will believe me later. Three thousand years ago, the wise king Solomon stated that ". . . in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." (Ecc. 1:18) There are many great joys that come with being a Christian, as any true believer will readily confess, but there are also many sorrows, such as constant struggles with the flesh, this present evil world, lost and backslidden loved ones, and, of course, the ever-frustrating fight to convince modern-day Laodiceans that they have the wrong god, the wrong Christ, the wrong spirit, the wrong Bible, the wrong church, the wrong music, and the wrong everything else. Pastors often whine about the sorrows that they face day-to-day while trying to lead a flock that acts more like a zoo, but I often have trouble sympathizing with them because I know that many of the problems they grumble about are the results of their own weak and ignorant leadership. But there is one kind of sorrow that no one ever mentions, probably because most never experience it. I'm referring to the sorrow of BEING RIGHT. We read that Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa. 53:3-4), and though much of His grief was experienced at Calvary, a great deal of it was also experienced as He spent thirty-three years living and walking among willfully ignorant people. Sure, there were some who believed, listened and learned, but most went on about their lives as though He never existed. On at least one occasion, He actually wept over man's unbelief (John 11:35), yet those present on the scene completely misunderstood the reason for His tears (John 11:36). I believe that Jesus had to be about the loneliest man to ever live because, although people gathered around Him all the time, none really understood Him. Some came closer than others, and John came closer than anyone, but no one fully got it. No one knew what He knew, so no one understood the burden that He carried. Not just the burden of Calvary, but also the burden of BEING RIGHT . . . 24/7, 365 days per year, for 33 years straight. Why is that a burden? Ask any serious student of Scripture, and you'll find out. It's THE BOOK that puts this unique burden on believers, and the more one learns the more he is despised by those around him, family members included (Luke 12:53). It would be wonderful if God called His servants in GROUPS, but He doesn't; He calls us one at a time. One at a time we receive Christ, one at a time we are baptized, and one at a time some of us decide to get serious about THE BOOK. Most never do. Oh, sure, many read the Bible regularly, but it's usually for selfish and/or emotional purposes only, though they will call it "devotional" in order to sound spiritual. They never really learn doctrine, so they never really grow and get to know God and experience the sorrow that Solomon spoke of in Ecclesiastes 1:18. If you doubt it, just ask them to give you two verses on the United Nations, five types of the Antichrist, three verses on finance, three verses on child training, two chapters that list the Ten Commandments, three verses on the blood of Christ, three verses on the rapture, three Old Testament references to the Crucifixion, and then ask them why the Tribulation is called Daniel's "Seventieth Week." Duh . . . test flunked. Of course, you'll get some sorry excuse like "Well, I'm no Bible scholar, but I love Jesus, and it's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know, etc." No, they're not Bible scholars, they're not Bible students, and most of them have Jesus locked outside knocking on their door (Rev. 3:20). They're Laodiceans, and they hate your guts, IF you happen to be serious about that BOOK.I began learning of this sorrow about, I told God that I would give up ANYTHING or ANYONE in order to learn THE BOOK, and He knew that I meant it. The more I learned the more people backed away. The more I learned the more I realized how confused and deceived this sick world really is. The more I learned the more I realized that over 90% of the churches in this country are just a waste of time and often do more harm than good. The more I learned the less I trusted other Christians, many preachers included. The more I learned the more I realized that I was pushing myself further and further up into a high tower, the tower of God's word, a tower that few others were even climbing at all. By the grace of God, the things that I have learned give me a very clear view now of what's going on just about everywhere. I see the past, the present and the future more clearly than most, not because I entered this world better than most, but rather because I have loved and learned THE BOOK that most have ignored. Millions disagree with my views, and a great many of them have told me so, but I keep climbing upward and bearing Solomon's sorrow because I know one thing for sure . . . I'M RIGHT. I'm right because THE BOOK is right. So, each day I climb a little higher, grow a little wiser and become a little lonelier. I could come down and stay down, as many others have, but then I would be breaking the promise that I made to God long ago, and living in such dishonor just doesn't appeal to me. So I come down for the sake of ministering to others, then I'm right back up the tower. THE BOOK is right, so I am right, and it's a heavy and lonely burden to bear, as all true Bible believers will confess. But it is our heritage and our cross, so we cherish it with great honor and press onward, increasing knowledge and increasing sorrow.