Obsessive Tendencies
Proverbs 8:1-11
One of the sure signs of spring each year is the sight of lots of fishing tackle on the dining room table. There are reels to be cleaned and respooled with line. There are lures to be sorted out and put back in their proper boxes. And of course, the latest this and new color of that to be purchased for the fishing season ahead.
This year I decided to do a deep cleaning in all of my baitcasting reels to sort out which ones still work well, and which ones need to be retired. One reel was about 20 years old and still worked fairly well but was having some issues. It was a nice reel and I wanted to save it if I could. For those who don’t fish you might be surprised at how sophisticated and complex these little machines are. Every little piece needs to be put back exactly right or they won’t work.
The secret is to make sure you notice exactly how the parts fit together before you pull things apart. Taking pictures is always a good idea. That’s all well and good unless several pieces come flying out when you remove the cover. Hmmm, where did those come from?
I can’t tell you how many times I put that reel together only to have it not work. First this then that didn’t work. Unless I was missing a piece there had to be a way to get it back together correctly. At some point it had gotten personal—I couldn’t let the reel win. But after trying everything imaginable I was ready to give up. The reel had won. Ugh!
Sometime in the night it came to me, “Of course, if this piece went here and that piece went there then the other piece would have to go right there. That’s it!” In the morning I put it all back together and what do you know, it worked perfectly. Can anyone say obsessive tendencies? The funny thing is after all these years it doesn’t even faze Patti anymore. She knew I couldn’t let the reel win.
Yes, it’s true, I dwell on some things (Patti would say obsess) until I figure them out. Over the years I have done this a lot with trying to understand and apply God’s Word to our lives. I get the biblical truth of the text but how does this apply to us? What makes it relevant to our lives? I will sit in a restaurant or coffee shop and look at the people and wrestle with what makes the truth of the text for that week relevant to these people? Yes, I obsess over it. It feels good to get that off my chest.
In our Proverb this week the truth is personified in lady wisdom. She calls, she cries out, speaks and utters truth everywhere to anyone who will listen. She’s on top of the heights beside the way, where paths meet. She’s at the gate to the city, she’s at the entrance of the doors. She’s everywhere shouting out wisdom’s message. Can anyone say obsessive tendencies?
Contrary to the allure of the strange woman in last week’s proverb, lady wisdom calls to bring us life. Listen, she says, for I will speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will reveal right things. For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness, there is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
We need to be obsessed with God’s truth. We need to think about it when we lie down and when we awake; when we go to work and when we come home; when we eat lunch and when we go for a walk. Lady wisdom is everywhere because her truth impacts every area of our lives. She’s obsessed with giving us what we need to be skillful in whatever we do and wherever we go.
A more familiar biblical term for this obsession is to meditate. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. The Hebrew word translated meditate is hagah. It was used, for example, to describe a lion growling over a piece of meat or of a cow chewing its cud. It meant to go over something again and again. To be obsessed with it.
This concept can help make these admonitions in Proverbs more practical. We’re not talking about attending a church service now and then. It’s not simply a daily devotional. We’re not prepping for a final exam to get into heaven. It’s about learning the truth to such a degree it penetrates every area of our lives. We obsess over how these great truths impact life at home and at work and at play. How they impact my view of this or my involvement in that. We seek to figure out how a particular truth makes me more skillful in every environment.
The call is to meditate on the truth. A word used again and again in Proverbs is understanding. It carries the idea of putting the truth into practice in simple and practical ways. In other words, to live it. The Proverbs formula is, to understand it is to live it. I can tell you that’s not easy. Over the years this is consistently the hardest part of preaching. I get the biblical concept but determining how it impacts life at the most practical levels is hard. That’s why I sit in restaurants and coffee shops and obsess over it. I’m growling over the piece of meat before I feed it to others.
Why? Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. It’s hard work but worth it. What lady wisdom offers money can’t buy or replace. It’s the ultimate treasure. It’s not easy to live skillfully today but lady wisdom cries out if we’re willing to listen.
Yes, I have obsessive tendencies. But obsessing about what’s true and how it impacts my life is an obsession well worth embracing. O how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.