Days, Years, and Shalom

Days, Years and Shalom

Proverbs 3:1-2

Many years ago, my daughter Bobbi and I decided to go fishing. I think she was in middle school then. The fish in our pond were still quite small so we visited a pond that belonged to a friend. It was a small pond, but I knew from experience there were some big bass in it. We flipped over the small fishing boat laying on the bank, hooked up the trolling motor and off we went. 

It was a hot July day but were catching enough fish to keep ourselves well entertained. It was a great father daughter outing. Suddenly, Bobbi let me know she had one and it was a big one. The reel was screaming from the drag being set too loose and she was reeling like there was no tomorrow. I wasn’t sure if it was a fish or a snag, but it was all very entertaining.

Then the fish jumped out of the water. There was no doubt now. It was a huge largemouth bass. I think the jump kind of wigged her out because she immediately tried to give me the reel. “Dad, you reel him in,” she said as the water churned and he jumped again. “You’re doing fine. It’s your fish, you reel him in. Just take your time,” her wise father calmly replied (that would be me in case you missed that detail).

Eventually she wore the fish out and landed it safely in the boat. It was her first Nebraska Master Angler fish, and she did it all by herself. What an exciting finish to a wonderful day on the water. We have laughed about that fish many times over the years. It was 5 minutes of chaos and a memory to last a lifetime. 

I’ve had many such moments with Patti or my kids over the years, moments that seem almost magical. Often, they start off as ordinary days that are interrupted by something special that will be remembered a lifetime. To me those moments are but a glimpse of the world as God intended it to be. They are a peek into the world as it one day shall be again. 

The writer of Proverbs describes such moments this way, for length of days and years of life, and peace they will add to you. The word translated peace is the Hebrew word for shalom. In other words, more days and years of flourishing—days that we wish would never end.

Isn’t it true there is something in the deepest part of our soul that longs for that? There’s something in us that seems to know we were made for something so much more than the misery or boredom that often defines life these days. Lots of people are trying to stay alive, but not many are truly living.

So how do we experience this life? How do we capture more moments? Chapter 3 opens with these words, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments to experience length of days and years of life and peace. He goes on to say, do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So (the result) you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.

The words kindness and truth are key to understanding this. They may seem like ordinary terms to us but would have captured the attention of the Jewish reader. Kindness is translated from the Hebrew word hesed. It really has no English equivalent but generally means to help the needy. The deeper meaning carries the understanding that an agreement is made, a promise, where the needy person is dependent on another for deliverance. The deliverer enters into this covenant freely flowing out of his  love, mercy and kindness. 

Truth then carries the idea of faithfulness, being true. The deliverer chooses to act with enduring grace and mercy resulting in faithfulness or reliability to the covenant. The two words together carry the idea of kindness without fail.

For the Jewish readers, these words would have reminded them that this is the covenant God made with them. He will be faithful in His kindness to them without fail. That’s His promise. Understanding and remembering this is so important the writer tells us to bind it around your neck and write it on the tablet of your heart. Why? It’s the way to the life we desire, to making moments. 

As long as your life is bound up in your own fears and insecurities you will be enslaved by your own selfishness. Our fears and insecurities cause us to think about ourselves all day every day. We’re constantly worried about what might happen or how others might treat us or what they might think about us. As long as we’re stuck in that mode we can’t flourish, and neither can the people around us.

But when we do not forget my teaching and keep my commandments, in other words bind them around your neck and write them on the tablet of your heart, you do not let kindness and truth leave you. When you cling to God’s truth you soak in the kindness and faithfulness of God’s promises to you. 

God is the deliverer, and you are the needy. Apart from God you have every reason to be fearful and insecure. You are desperate. But the deliverer has made a promise to faithfully treat you according to His kindness rather than your performance. Dwelling in His promises to you, you are needy no more. You are free to think of others as more important than yourself. You are free to love your neighbor as yourself because you are grounded in the never-ending kindness of God. 

When life is lived in the kindness and truth of God it changes how we view ourselves and the others around us. We see the world through a different lens. This then sets the table for length of days and years of life and peace. More glimpses, more moments, more life. 

If your days are filled with insecurities and fear, it isn’t because God hasn’t promised. It isn’t because God isn’t faithful. It’s because you either don’t know the truth or have failed to believe the truth about who God is and what He has promised you. Bind them, write them, believe them. That’s the prescription to living a skillful, flourishing life.