While in this time of social distancing and quarantine it is important to stay connected with those you have relationships with. The Bears for Christ group that I am involved with through my university has found ways of keeping us connected during this time. The zoom meetings online are a bit of a challenge when you have become so used to getting to see your friend’s faces every week in person. We have small groups that meet once a week and mine have been switching between Psalms and Proverbs each week.
We recently went over Proverbs 7 through 9. These chapters speak of a man yielding to temptation, the invitation of wisdom, and then the house of wisdom versus the house of folly. I wanted to speak more on the house of wisdom versus the house of folly in chapter 9. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two. The first half of the chapter describes this well put together and thoughtful woman while the other half describes a simple, unruly woman who knows nothing. Something that stands out is in verses 3-6 and verses 16-17. They both invite people by saying the same thing, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” This shows how easy it can be to confuse wisdom and folly at first glance. We can sometimes get mixed up in the surface level of things; however, once we dig deeper it is easier to see the differences.
Following the invitation, wisdom and folly had different ideas. Wisdom asks of “those who lack sense” to “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and live and walk in the way of insight” while folly states that “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant”. I took from this that with wisdom we will find great rewards. But we must first leave our simple ways, our sinful ways of being ignorant to God’s word. We must seek insight and knowledge. Luckily for us in James 1:5 we are told that if we lack wisdom all we have to do is ask. On the side of folly, we can see that once we go past the surface level we are left with stolen goods and secrets, nothing we should strive to have. It also tells us that in her house the dead are there, those who do not have eternal life as they would in wisdom’s house. I hope that during this time we can find it in ourselves to spend more time learning, asking, and seeking wisdom if we hope to have that eternal life promised for us if we follow God’s word. We have plenty of free time to do so!
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without holding fault, and it will be given to you” James 1:5
-Abigail (p.s. stay home and stay safe!)
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