resonant or dessonant

This morning, I find myself stuck in scripture again. The Word's really not a bad place to be stuck, because if you're hung on a verse, you're not spinning your wheels - chances are there is something there for you.

Proverbs 1:20-23 is a warning against rejecting wisdom. It goes so far as to say that Wisdom calls out aloud in the streets, raising her voice against the din of noise that is everyday life. In other words, Wisdom is out there. It's not silent. It's screaming.

And we regularly miss it.

I read verse 23 specifically in a hushed voice...from God to His people, in a sober, you need to know this tone.

"If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you..."

Here's the deal: I don't want to find myself at the end of my days having missed the voice of God, particularly if He was calling out in the streets as I wandered through life. Think about it - the Voice is there. What's stopping us from responding?

I think a large part of it is too much ambient noise. How busy - or distracted - are we that the Voice of God calling in the street is barely heard over all of the other voices...and I don't even think it has as much to do with the volume of the other voices as it does the sound they omit.

If we were honest, we'd have to admit that much of the sound we tune into is not in resonance with the Voice of Wisdom. Rather, we seem to be drawn to the dissonant voices...the voices omitting wavelengths that actually counter the Voice of Wisdom in our lives.

You can only hear and process so much. Do you want to hear the Voice so badly that you're willing to shut out some of the dissonance?

Many will say "I listen to a fair amount of dissonant voices right now, and I manage to hear Him pretty well." And perhaps you do hear Him pretty well, better than most, better than me....but could you hear Him better? And are you really measuring your ability to hear and respond to Him based on the success or failure of those around you? That does make it easier....all you need to do is surround yourself with semi-failures and you feel pretty good about your ability to hear.

"If you had responded to my rebuke...." says the Lord. Not "if you had figured it out...if you had only known....." or "if I had only spoken up..." but "I made it clear, and you weren't listening."

That's a hard thing to live with. It's a horrible thing to die with.

----

This train of thought built up steam in the scripture I was reading as well as this good post by Zach.

Any time someone starts asking honest questions about entertainment, all sorts of bells and whistles go off. Those making an honest attempt to silence the dissonant voices in their own lives are quickly warned against legalism, because in our western culture, choice is king. Hmmm. Perhaps there's another post in that thought alone.