You Won't Be Smelling Any Carrots in Here

The Book of Proverbs...aaaand GO! It seems to be one of those books you can't get enough of, or you've had enough without really having much. I'm currently focusing on Solomon's second chapter in this letter to generations. It begins with these words:

My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.    (2:1-5)

Do you hear it? If...then... I heard that for much of my life. Whether it was the way things were communicated, or the toxic relationships in which I remained, or the perversion of truth and my reluctance to seek correction, I heard a lot of "If...then..." rhetoric. If you cover for me, then I will cover for you. If you do this, then I will know you really love me. If you do this, then I will really love you. To clarify, there is an element of "If...then..." to our human relationships. It's how we begin to understand justice and social proprieties. We are taught from an early age that if we are nice, then people will be nice to us; if we share our toys, then people will share with us; if we are well-behaved, then we will get a reward. In a perfect world, these may all be true, but I've never met anyone who has spent even a moment in a perfect world. More often than not, "If...then..." serves as a means of manipulation, a way one dangles a carrot before someone in order to get them to do what the carrot farmer desires. 

But that's not God's idea of "If...then..." at all. The One who holds the future in His hands, the One who created all things, the One who knows our innermost thoughts even before we do, the only One who would have the authority to use "If...then..." for His purposes exclusively, is the One who never has and never will --at least, not in the corrupted sense with which humanity uses it.

The "If...then.." of God, the one Solomon explains for us here in Proverbs 2, is one that has more to do with natural consequences than some divine quid pro quo. If you grasp what I'm saying, if you give these things the esteem they deserve, if you strain your ears to catch every word and take copious notes, if you apply what you are learning and ask for understanding, if you are ravenous to gain more, if you read until your eyes are weary and dig until your back is sore, if you would sell all you had to gain more wisdom, then you will have all you need. Sadly, the converse is true as well: if you don't seek wisdom, if you don't seek to know God, then you won't have what you need. Not because God is withholding those things --Jesus came that all might have abundant life-- but because we are not positioned to receive them: inclining our ears, eyes open, pen in hand, the pages of our Bibles worn, Scripture swirling through our brains and flowing from our mouths, knees worn from petitioning the Lord, attending church faithfully and serving the body, applying what we have learned, laying down our lives.

So, if you're hearing "favor for favor" or getting a whiff of carrot, read it again. Proverbs is full of the wisdom of God, She cries out that all might hear and heed her words. A reward awaits, but not because we have been well-behaved, but because we have given our all to the search, and we are well-loved.