“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
You’ve likely heard this American proverb at some point in your life. No one is certain from whence this little nugget of wisdom came. The truth the phrase is intended to communicate, however, is widely understood and accepted: The loudest problems and most noticeable problems are the most likely to get the most attention.
In many areas of my own life, I have experienced the truth of this little phrase. It came to mind during a recent family trip.
As we made our way down the highway, our vehicle was running perfectly both inside and out. My lovely wife was napping in the passenger seat. My children were honoring the boundaries of their limited personal space in the back seat and entertaining themselves on their digital devices and keeping the sound to themselves via the wonder of Bluetooth headphones.
The only sounds I could hear were the subtle hum of rubber tires on the road beneath us, the occasional passing of another vehicle and the dulcet tones of popular Disney songs. Judge me if you must, but the sound tracks for “Moana,” “Encanto” and “Frozen” are sonic gold.
Everything was wonderful until I hit a bump in the road. It wasn’t a big bump, but it was just enough to shift some of the items in the back of the car ever so slightly. I began to hear a subtle crinkle of plastic every so often. I tried to lock in on my music and just ignore it, but it was as if it had a direct line to the inner recesses of my ear. It cut through the serenity of my quiet morning drive like an old cement truck through a minefield.
I began watching my rear-view mirror, searching the back of the vehicle for what could possibly be making such a terrible noise. I changed lanes a few times, and as I did, I caught a glimpse of the source of my suffering. There in the corner of our luggage was a plastic Walmart bag. Every time the car would shudder, the handle of the bag would rub against the rear windshield, sending its foul sound ringing through the car to assault my ears. Finally, I had to stop and rearrange some things to stop the insanity.
It’s crazy that something so insignificant could garner so much attention and become so unsettling that it literally stops all forward progress. But that is the truth of the squeaky wheel. Sometimes, one “wheel” draws an undo amount of attention and effort and inhibits the whole operation from functioning as it should.
The greater issue, however, is not the squeaky wheel but those of us who allow it to distract, discourage and derail us from doing what is necessary. The simple truth is that anytime there is forward motion it will create friction, and friction generally makes some noise.
Annoyances and inconveniences will come and opponents will make noise. Squeaky wheels are gonna squeak. But we must see beyond the squeaky wheel. We must press on toward the goal (Philippians 3:14), refusing to let something little detour us from doing what we know is right.
We must remember the encouragement found in Hebrews 12:2-4 and fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, considering all he endured so that we might not grow weary and lose heart. Many times, we need to learn to let the squeaky wheel squeak, understanding it is a sign we’re making forward progress.
The Rev Jeremy Myers is the lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Seymour. Read his blog at jeremysmyers.com.