Turn in Here

Scripture Lessons: Ephesians 5: 15-20 and Proverbs 9: 1-6 Sermon Title: Turn in Here Preached on August 19, 2018 Zoey Brogan just read us a beautiful passage from the book of Proverbs, and it was right to have a female reader for this passage, because it’s Woman Wisdom calling us to come to her for insight. And I say us – because that’s who she’s talking to. Not anyone else; not your neighbor or your sister’s husband – she’s talking to you and me. Knowing that to be the case, there’s a difference then between the way we read Proverbs and the way we might be tempted to read a book of Law like Deuteronomy or a letter from Paul. It’s possible to read either and assume that their instruction isn’t really for us, but someone else, like drunkards or adulterers, maybe. Sometimes that may be the case, but we’re wasting our time reading Proverbs without ourselves in mind, because none of us are so wise that we don’t need to seek out Wisdom’s help. Let me give you an example of what I mean. With another shark movie in the theaters, I made an interesting discovery just this week: according to a recent study, on average there are six shark related deaths each year. That’s tragic, of course, but there are over 2,900 hippopotamus related deaths each year. Think of that for just a minute. Think of that disparity, and yet there was Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3. Plus, Sharknado, now the new Megalodon is the top grossing movie in theaters, but can you think of one horror movie involving a hippopotamus? When I think of a hippopotamus, I think of the Ann Murray record my mom used to play for me: There’s a Hippo in My Tub. What’s wrong with Ann Murray giving kids this horrible image? Why was she singing this horrible song? She’d never sing about a great white shark in her tub, would she? And yet consider the numbers. Consider for just a moment how much more afraid a rational person should be of a hippopotamus than a shark. But here’s the problem – we aren’t rational. And we resist change, even when we know we’re being irrational. I’m thankful for work done by one member of our church, David Waldrep, who’s lobbied to get some legislation through the State House so that driving while texting is now against the law. That will go a long way, but we should know better than to text and drive all on our own. However, we aren’t rational, and we resist change. We will all fight to keep things as they are, even if doing things the way we always have is killing us. Eating at Brandi’s Famous Hot Dogs isn’t doing anything for my physique, but I can’t stop going there, can I? Even if I know better I don’t necessarily do better, so Woman Wisdom calls us – calls all of us - to “Turn in here.” Zoey Brogan read it beautifully: Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. Why? Because she invites us to come and eat with her. To lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight. That sounds great – but it requires changing our ways and admitting that she’s talking to us. Some of our habits are so ingrained, we don’t even see them. And if you don’t believe you have any, then tell me why you’re sitting in the same pew that you always sit in this morning. Wisdom is calling you and me – and according to the book of Proverbs, with wisdom we will grow in knowledge and understanding. With wisdom we will be saved from the way of evil. But just as the first step in education is admitting what we don’t know, just as the first step towards forgiveness is confessing that we’re not perfect, so wisdom begins when we lean not on our own knowledge or insight. You know that one – Cheryl Reeve’s grandmother quoted it all the time and maybe yours did too from the King James Version: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. I had to learn that one the hard way. In 9th grade at Marietta High School, I failed Spanish I. That’s not something that I’m proud of, but it’s true. And that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention in class or do any of the homework. In 10th grade I took it again, and I remember my teacher, Senora Smitherman, telling me that the difference between the F that I made the first time and the A that I made in her class, was that in her class I was always the first to ask a question. Wisdom calls – “turn in here!” but too often we keep going, either unwilling to accept her help, or convinced that she’s not talking to us and that we’re doing just fine on our own – either way, in place of wisdom we make the fools choice to go on leaning on our own limited understanding. But in Ephesians we read: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” How important these words are – because it is so easy to allow our days to pass by without thinking about what we’re doing. A friend of mine once scolded his retired father for taking 2 hours to polish his shoes: “Dad, why is that taking you so long. I polish mine in 15 minutes.” His wise old father responded, “24 hours in a day son, got to fill it with something.” But what? It creeps in so innocently. Ballet lessons on Monday. Nothing wrong with that. Tae Kwan Do on Tuesdays. That’s good too. Then Church on Wednesday. Daddy works late on Thursdays. Mom was invited to go out with a group on Friday. Saturday there are soccer games. Sunday used to be a day that no one dared touch, but not anymore. And listen – I like to have things to do and I love being able to run to Home Depot on a Sunday afternoon as much as the next guy, but if we let all these keep going, if we just go with the flow of the 21st Century accepting the norms of our consumer culture, we’re going to catch ourselves coming and going. So, Wisdom calls us: “Turn in here!” Come and eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity and the desire to fit in with the craziness that everyone is calling normal and walk in the way of insight. I need to listen to her – because I find myself saying: “I just have too much going on.” But guess who can stop it? Guess who can change it? All any of us has to do is veer off the well warn road of doing things the way we always have and turn in to the way of wisdom. You see, we have to listen to her, because we’re not rational beings. We’ll self-destruct left to our own devices. We’re busy being scared of sharks, but you know the animal that kills more people per year than any other? The mosquito that flies in and out of our backyards every moment of every day. We know to be cautious of the big scary things, but what if it’s our normal life that’s killing us? What if it’s our daily routine that needs to change? Turn in here! She says – because this road that we are on, if we don’t turn off, what’s going to happen? We are the most medicated country in the world. Our bodies and our souls hurt. For some of us, it’s as though we know something’s wrong – but it’s just so easy to keep going, so we do. The other option comes in Wisdom’s voice crying out: “turn in here”. Look to her for answers. Today we gave 3rd graders their very own Bibles, because as a Christian Church, we believe that within the pages of Scripture are words of guidance and words of hope in a world full of words that should not be trusted. For a real-life example of words that cannot be trusted – you may have received an email yesterday from me, requesting that you help me out with a favor. All I needed, according to this email scam, was a few gift cards for a couple hundred dollars. I was asking you to buy them and send them to me. It was all very convincing, especially because the grammar and spelling in these emails made me sound like English was my second language. I apologize for this email – I didn’t send it and we’ve taken steps to make it stop, but this email does help to illustrate my point. We live in a crazy world where you can’t even trust the words of an email that looks like it was sent from your pastor. So, don’t take my word for it. Don’t take Hollywood’s word for it – they’ll brainwash you. Don’t take Washington’s word for it. Don’t take Wall Street’s word for it – because among all the changing voices of this present evil age only one voice can lead you to new life. Wisdom is calling. Rather than accept the patterns that our culture calls normal, and rather than accept the lies told that pass for truth, let us be about reading and studying the words of Scripture. And listening to Wisdom always. Amen.