v1-8: This passage isn't a condemnation of being rich. There are the good rich people, who obtain their money honestly and use it to benefit those around them, then there are the wicked rich who grow wealthy dishonestly and use their money to create more wickedness. An honest man will be sick to his stomach rather than wanting to go along with the exploitive and sinful ways of the latter group.
Verse 7 points out something Christians often seem totally unaware of: it's not what people say, it's what's in their hearts.
v10-11: Though it doesn't seem like it often happens in this life, the poor and orphans will receive justice at the Lord's return.
v13-14: Again, beating with a rod in these verses doesn't necessarily imply automatic use of physical punishment in every situation. The idea is more that of a shepherd using his crook to bring the sheep back into line when they start straying off the path.
v17-18: As I learned from studying Eclesiastes, we, as Christians need to take the eternal view of things. As with the verses about joining in with the wicked rich rulers above, it is mighty tempting to want to go back to doing the sinful things the world says are so pleasurable and profitable, particularly when we're at times in our lives when there doesn't seem to be much of that for us who have victory in Jesus. However, we must remember eternity is coming up and it lasts for a very long time. Don't throw away forever because of what you're going through and what looks like a better alternative now.
v23: Jesus Christ and the wisdom, direction and sense He gives us are the most precious thing we could ever own. We can't afford to give them up because of people in our lives or even a whole society that hates Jesus and these attributes He gives His people.
v29-35: Again, these verses are not preaching against drinking alcohol but rather against drinking too much of it.
The main meaning of this passage gets preached on a fair amount, so I want to talk about a second, spiritual meaning that can be applied to these verses as well. If we interpret mixed wine as combining faith in what Jesus did on the cross for us with a simultanious belief that we have to work our way into Heaven, we see the spiritual effects are the same as drinking too much -and being addicted to alcohol.
We'll have woe, that feeling of imminent calamity, because we never feel like we measure up well enough to earn our Heavenly mansion, thus constantly living with a feeling we're one of the damned. This failure to measure up will also of course lead to sorrow. This mixed theology of faith and works will lead to picking arguments with other people over doctrine, theology and other things because, if we have a legalistic, works-based view of salvation, then it naturally follows that for other people to be truly saved, they have to follow the exact strictures and believe the exact same things we believe. We'll also spout out a whole lot of views about Christ, salvation and the Christian life that don't make any sense. The aforementioned contentions with other people will lead to "wounds without cause" as the King James puts it, that is, broken friendships, hurt feelings and memories of hurtful words exchanged. We'll be bleary-eyed, not able to see Christ properly.
This kind of mixed theology ends up biting and stinging us because, again, we end up mad at ourselves for never being able to meet our own standards and we end up mad at others and with them mad at us for not measuring up to our standards or them being expected to do so.
False doctrines, i.e. strange women will cause us to spiritually fornicate. We will believe perverse things about God, His Word, and His way, not merely incorrect things but things that blaspheme God, besmirch His character and are completely contrary to what Christianity is supposed to be about.
You will be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. Ephesians 4 14
You'll be so numb to just how off the mark you are you won't even realize it and when you do feel the side effects of your mixed theology, you'll just ignore it, get up the next morning and try to live it, getting drunk off that mixed wine yet another day.
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