Eccl. 10:11-20

v. 11-20
"If a snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.

Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips.
At the beginning his words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness-
and the fool multiplies words.

No on knows what is coming-
who can tell him what will happen after him?

A fool's work wearies him;
he does not know the way to town.

Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant
and whose princes feast in the morning.
Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time-
for strength and not for drunkenness.

If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

A feast is made for laughter,
and wine makes life merry,
but money is the answer for everything.

Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say."

When the Jewish people had incompetent or lazy leaders the result was that the nation often fell into disrepair or was captured by an enemy.  I think that Solomon is saying that when people are in positions of power they should be wary of things that may trip them up.  Solomon being in a position of leadership could see how easy it is for a kingdom to go under.  Money alone will not be able to meet all of our needs.  Money itself is not sinful, it is the love of money that will push out God from our lives.  It is better to be poor in bank account than spiritually bankrupt.

We are not to revile (speak with contemptuous or opprobrious language; address or speak of abusively) about our leaders.  So even in our homes we are not to put down leaders or the wealthy.  I believe this is running rampant all over the world.  Remember that little ears will hear what we say about those in authority, they may have a grudge against those people when they grow up and are out of our home.  I know that this is hard to fight against because in many cases we don't agree with their policy or they are abusing their power.  Our culture is one that encourages the putting down of any leader we think is not worthy of the position they hold.  We should show respect for the office held by everyone from small town aldermen to presidents, kings, or other leaders around the world.  They many be very wrong about what they are doing, but shouldn't we leave it to God to deal with?  Many times our words will come back to bite us.  If we are trying to teach integrity to our children then this should be an area that we are very careful in.  In the end we will not be held accountable for others actions, only for our response to those actions.  I love how it says that "a bird of the air will carry your words."  This could mean many things these days, the birds could be: our children, spouse, other family, friends or even technology.

When we decide to be a Christian, it is a 24 hour/7 days a week position, we need to be extra careful when we are on "break" so that our hearts do not get corrupted with the world's view.