But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?

~Job 28:12 NIV~

On this Inauguration Day, I enjoyed watching the broadcast on television. Hearing the speeches, the poems, the songs, and the prayers.  What I did not enjoy was the commentary that followed. Is it absolutely necessary to spend so much time dissecting what was said? Our society places way too much value on breaking down everything that happens and analyzing it until it has virtually no meaning. As a writer, I’m guilty of doing this as well as will be illustrated by this post. Sadly, the events that take place in our lives are often overshadowed by the commentary given on those events. I believe the same thing happens with the Scripture. Many times, we get so caught up in the analysis of the Word that we fail to appreciate the immense power of God’s word as it stands. We spend so much time trying to dig deeper that we forget the most basic principles taught in it and perhaps find ourselves missing the forest for the trees.

While there is nothing wrong with studying and trying to understand what we see and hear, there is much to be said for simply experiencing something and letting ourselves feel what we feel without always questioning why we feel it or why we understand it that way. The questioning is often the culprit for creating things like mistrust or suspicion where none is necessary. Questioning or doubting what we have seen or heard, while there are appropriate times for these things, takes away from our confidence in the way we synthesize the things that happen in our lives. It leaves the door wide open for doubt and unbelief and we fail to simply live and place our cares in God’s capable hands as we go about the business of living according to what we know to be right from His word.

I fully believe that this obsessive need to understand every possible motivation for each and every statement made comes from living in a society that wants to permit all which is considered as sin and to condemn that which is meant to regulate it. In an age where we encounter political correctness and oversensitivity at every turn, we can no longer just say what we mean to say without first considering the repercussions of our words. While we have the freedom to say what we want to say, we know that we will in fact, reap what we sow should our words offend or otherwise annoy someone else. Though we are supposed to be more open-minded than ever as a people, we are only open to those things which constitute sin and disobedience. It is the limitation and structure that people find offensive. So although we may believe that we are absolutely free as Christians to throw our hands up to worship God, we must be careful that we don’t imply with our worship that others are expected to worship Him as well. We must be careful not to be too enthusiastic in our belief in Him lest we negate someone else’s belief in another God. And so on, and so on.

In the end, what matters is did we believe in the One who understands why we needed to tear apart each and every experience? Did we hang onto Him for meaning or did we seek to find it in our own understanding? Did we look to popular consensus to determine where our loyalties should lie or did we remember that our Creator had written our stories long before the consensus had ever envisioned itself as such? If we must analyze the meaning behind anything, it should be in finding what prevented us from leaning fully on the arms of the Everlasting God. What prevented us from finding that peace that only He can provide? We are far more justified in seeking that kind of meaning than any other we choose to know.

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.

~Job 12:13 NIV~

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