Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

This is what we did not get to discussing on Wednesday, but I would like you all to just think about and respond if you want to!

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning. 14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. 15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king's successor. 16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

What is the advantage of being the “poor but wise youth”? Is there an advantage, or is it all, in the end, meaningless? Or is it both, with an advantage in some scale, but not in the long term? I feel like a lot of Solomon's thoughts have conclusions like the latter question. What do you think?

In America, the land of rags-to-riches, Solomon’s take on the poor but wise young man is hardly big news (although it probably was quite strange for his listeners to hear). What is the take-home message for us in this? Are we to model this man and go for huge life aspirations or is there another message? If so, how does that play out in our lives and work?