Ezekiel 7:10-14: a reflection

In a word about the coming day of reckoning, the prophet says something striking about buying and selling: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for a larger reckoning was coming that put such gains and losses in perspective. Don't let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, Ezekiel says; for wrath is on all its multitude. In ordinary times, the buyer who has gained rejoices, and the seller who has parted with something mourns his loss. But in view of the great day that was coming, such gains and losses were put in perspective, even relativized: the ordinary satisfactions of a good deal and the ordinary griefs of a bad one no longer mattered as they had, in light of the larger reckoning. This shows how a larger reckoning relativizes our ordinary gains and losses. A larger reckoning puts our ordinary gains and losses in perspective. Do not overvalue your gains, nor be crushed by your losses; a larger reckoning looms. Our small gains and losses are not what finally matters. Hold your gains and losses loosely in light of what matters most.

Notice how the coming reckoning reframes buying and selling. Ordinarily, the one who makes a good purchase rejoices in his gain, and the one who sells at a loss mourns. These are the ordinary satisfactions and griefs of gaining and losing. But the prophet says that, in view of the great day that was coming, the buyer should not rejoice nor the seller mourn; for a larger reckoning loomed over all, before which these ordinary gains and losses shrank to insignificance. What mattered so much in ordinary times, the gain of a good deal, the loss of a bad one, was put in perspective, relativized, by the larger thing that was coming. This holds a wisdom worth taking to heart. We can be greatly elated by our gains and greatly cast down by our losses, treating them as though they were what finally mattered, rejoicing over a profit, mourning over a loss, as if our whole wellbeing hung on them. But in light of the larger realities, God, eternity, the reckoning we will all give, our ordinary gains and losses are put in perspective; they are not what finally matters. This does not mean gains and losses are nothing, but that they are not everything, and should be held loosely in light of what matters most. We do well not to overvalue our gains or be crushed by our losses, but to hold them loosely in light of the larger realities that finally matter. Do not overvalue your gains or be crushed by your losses; they are not what finally matters. Larger realities put our ordinary gains and losses in perspective. Hold your gains and losses loosely, in light of what matters most. Let neither profit elate you nor loss crush you beyond measure.

That is worth taking to heart, for a larger reckoning puts our ordinary gains and losses in perspective, and we do well to hold them loosely, as the prophet said the buyer should not rejoice nor the seller mourn. We can be elated by gains and crushed by losses as though they were everything; but in light of the larger reckoning, they shrink to their true size. Hold them loosely. Do not overvalue your gains or let your losses crush you; hold them loosely in light of the larger realities, God and eternity, that finally matter. Hold your ordinary gains and losses loosely, neither overvaluing your gains nor being crushed by your losses, in light of the larger realities that finally matter, as in a word about the coming day of reckoning the prophet said something striking about buying and selling, that the buyer should not rejoice nor the seller mourn, since a larger reckoning was coming that put such gains and losses in perspective, for wrath was on all its multitude; for in ordinary times the buyer who has gained rejoices and the seller who has parted with something mourns his loss, but in view of the great day that was coming such gains and losses were put in perspective and even relativized, the ordinary satisfactions of a good deal and griefs of a bad one no longer mattering as they had in light of the larger reckoning, which holds a wisdom worth taking to heart, since we can be greatly elated by our gains and cast down by our losses, treating them as though they were what finally mattered and rejoicing over a profit or mourning over a loss as if our whole wellbeing hung on them, but in light of the larger realities of God, eternity, and the reckoning we will all give, our ordinary gains and losses are put in perspective and are not what finally matters, which does not mean they are nothing but that they are not everything and should be held loosely in light of what matters most, so that we do well not to overvalue our gains or be crushed by our losses but to hold them loosely.