Of the millions (or billions? Trillions?) of new things published on the internet every day, a lot of it falls into the category of a “hot take,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “a quickly produced, strongly worded, and often deliberately provocative or sensational opinion or reaction (as in response to current news).”  I have to admit I sometimes get jealous when I see the amount of attention this stuff gets (and feel guilty when I click on it and read it).

In many of these hot takes, the writer is stating an opinion about the future, but of course nobody knows the future.  Can wisdom be based on knowledge of the future?  The author of Ecclesiastes seems to say no:

“A fool multiplies words,
            though no man knows what is to be,
            and who can tell him what will be after him?”[1]

Since “no man knows what is to be,” it would seem that “I don’t know the future” is a better starting point for wisdom than “I have a strong opinion about what’s going to happen next.”  Talking a lot about something where the starting point is wrong is foolish.  Unfortunately, it’s the best way to get attention and make money online in our modern culture.  Wisdom is out of style.

How much time and effort is put into predicting sports, politics, and many other things with no evaluation of accuracy or value?  Imagine if people on the internet were held to the standard Old Testament prophets were supposed to be held to: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’  And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

Nowadays we hardly keep track of whether people’s opinions and predictions are right or wrong.  We just enjoy tossing entertaining opinions around.  We prefer provocative and interesting over correct and useful, or wise.  Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, made a great point when he said: “The news media has decided that the way to arrive at neutrality is to put two opposing voices together and let them yell at each other.”  That’s entertainment, I guess.

Anyway, you won’t see many “hot takes” here, and I’ll just have to be satisfied with fewer clicks and follows.

To do otherwise would be foolish according to Ecclesiastes, which was written with the assistance of Someone who does know the future.

(PS. This post was “quickly produced”)

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[1] Ecclesiastes 10:14