Proverbs 7 (Dora)
The Right Hooks
While most men have a good fish story to tell, my Dad used to tell one that was both believable and meaningful. He told me that one day he had been out fishing in a local river for hours and not caught a thing. He had his eye on an older black lady sitting nearby who seemed to catch a fish every time she cast her line in the water. He decided he would ask her to share her secret with him. He approached her and said, “Ma’am, how are you catching so many fish, when I can’t catch even one fish?” She lifted her tackle box and answered, “Darlin’, you gotta use the right hooks.” She was generous enough to share her hooks with him, making him more successful in his efforts at catching fish. He kept those hooks though, because he saw the deeper meaning in this special encounter. I remember him saying that her words had such a profound impact on him that he wondered if she was really an angel. My dad pulled out his little box of special hooks and shared this story with me a few times as I grew . . . Sometimes he told the story as a way of helping me to understand the importance of using “hooks” in a positive way for making friends and sharing Christ. Other times, he used this story to help me learn to watch out for the “hooks” that the enemy throws in our river.
In Proverbs 7, Solomon tells young men how to bypass one of life’s many “hooks” as he begins giving instruction: “Keep my words; lay up within you my commandments (so they’ll be handy when you need them) and treasure them” (give them the proper place in your life). In verse 4, Solomon entreats the young man to make skillful and godly wisdom his friend and to keep understanding and insight as close friends. If I value these virtues, I will be able look past the lure to see the implications and consequences of my actions. When I love wisdom and understanding, I will stop to think, rather than just pursuing that tasty-looking bait. Adultery does lead to utter darkness and destruction, but anything that leads us away from the Father has the same potential. Jesus is the light of the world, and I must be committed to remain in the light of his love.
If Solomon were alive today, he might say, “Don’t be like the simple minded whose greatest aim in life is to satisfy their own fleshly desires. You have a real enemy out there who just wants to hook you and throw you in the frying pan. He knows just what will make you hungry.” While this passage is directed toward young men, I think it can apply to all of us. I may not be interested in the guy next door, but the things I am passionate about might be used to lead me away from the Father. Knowing myself will help me recognize traps the enemy might lay for me, so I can avoid them. If I embrace wisdom, insight, and understanding, I will know myself, and more importantly, I will know the Father. Jesus teaches us that knowing God will satisfy our needs in a way that nothing else can. In John 6:34-36, Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
