Saturday, March 8, 2008

A Picture of Wisdom/Live It!

Are you getting the picture?
When you analyze Solomon's picture of two women--one named Wisdom and the other Folly--you begin to understand in a practical sense where the lines are drawn between the two.

As you read this blog, you have the advantage of observing Wisdom and Folly do their things from a detached perspective, and it's easy to think "I would choose Wisdom." But what happens when you hit the street. Will you use the same cool judgment to avoid Folly's traps? Will you embrace Wisdom (as Solomon suggests) and take her along with you? Or will you determine you know best and go it alone?

If you desire to live a life of Wisdom, there are things you can and should do in advance to improve your chances of taking the right path when the temptation comes.

Let's follow the outline I introduced earlier--place, posture and pitch.

Place. Determine in advance where you will go and won't go. You know the places that lead you to Folly, to the crooked path. It may be a channel on cable, or a URL on the Internet, or a corner establishment on the way home from work.

Apply understanding to the places in your life. Be honest. Which places are productive and which are destructive? Make a solid decision to only be in the places that will lead to your long-term benefit. When you find yourself in the wrong place, practice quickly thinking through the consequences of being there. Choose to move locations and tell yourself why it's important to do it NOW.

Posture. Remember that Wisdom was standing, but Folly was sitting. We see in that picture a contrast between a productive life and a life wasted on trivial pursuits. We see a pro-active stance that seeks out opportunities. In contrast, we see a person who plants his hind end on a comfortable place and expects life to come to him.

Wisdom engages life and benefits others through her productive pursuits. Folly sits with folded hands, lazily letting life go by until she sees a gullible passerby who can be swayed to join her party. In the process, Folly profits from her hapless victim's loss.

If you find yourself sitting--a lot--determine to change your posture.

Pitch. Pay attention to the pitches you hear. They are constant these days. If it seems everyone wants a piece of you, it's because it's true.

Analyze what you hear. Will the action or direction that's being pitched reward you with only a fleeting pleasure that has attached to it some significant negative consequences? Or will it yield a long-term benefit and the satisfaction that comes with building something positive and permanent?

Dismiss the pitches that promise a sumptuous meal, but leave you with a mouth full of dry dirt. Our world is littered with them. From "Girls Gone Wild" to "This Bud's for You" to "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas," it feels like Folly has men surrounded.

Remember that to choose Folly is to slip into a hollow life and to miss out on the significant and fulfilling life that real men are capable of and were created for.

Friday, March 7, 2008

A Picture of Wisdom/Go Deep

Foolishness also is a woman, according to Solomon.
Her name is Folly (Proverbs 9:13). She is, of course, vastly different from the lady Wisdom.

Let's start by looking at her place. Like Wisdom, Folly is in a highly visible location; but unlike Wisdom, notice that Folly is not in the public square. Her house is on a side street.

She can see the main street from her vantage point. But she dares not go near it. Instead, she boisterously calls out to people who are walking a straight path, hoping to entice them and divert them to her crooked ways.

Instead of engaging people in the productive pursuits of life--like meaningful relationships, just governmental affairs, or honorable civic or professional duties--Folly offers diversion.

Secondly, notice Folly's posture. She's sitting (verse 14). Folly eschews hard work, because she is undisciplined. And she lacks knowledge, because that would just crimp her pursuit of pleasure.

The thing she does that most closely resembles work is the sales job she applies as she recruits cohorts—people who will buy into her “live for today” philosophy.

That's the third characteristic I want you to note--her pitch. Notice that she doesn't sell based on the benefits of her product. Benefits are the long-term rewards (or values) that are gained by taking advantage of a product or service.

Folly can't afford to talk about the outcomes of her types of diversions, because they are disastrous and of no value in the long run. Instead, she promotes the short-term pleasures, the instant gratification, the excitement of trying something forbidden.

Folly is like the prostitute that sells the sex, while failing to mention the sexually transmitted diseases and the broken relationships. Or like the drug dealer that sells the high, but skips the part about brain damage, addiction and jail time. And yet, she seems to be quite convincing.

Solomon describes Folly (as he did Wisdom) as if observing her from a high vantage point, somewhat detached. From there, it's easy to see the problem with following Folly.

But, what happens if you're at eye level, in the thick of the battle so to speak? Will you clearly see the truth of Folly's place, posture, and pitch? Or will you divert from the straight path?

Monday, March 3, 2008

A Picture of Wisdom/Think About It

Wisdom is a woman, says Solomon.
But be careful. Solomon pictures Foolishness as a woman as well. They are two totally different women, of course, and how he pictures them tells us a lot about the contrast between wisdom and foolishness.

Let's concentrate on the picture of Wisdom first.

Wisdom "takes her stand" in a very public place, the "gates that lead into the city." In Solomon's time, all paths converged at the gates of a walled city, so everyone walked past this point as part of their daily living. Solomon pictures Wisdom standing prominently in the midst of everyone and calling out an invitation.

The picture is of a person who is not embarrassed to be on display in front of everyone. She is at home in public and confident when people gaze at her. She has nothing to hide. In fact, she is certain that what she has to say is both pertinent and productive for every person to hear.

There's no lurking in the shadows for this person, no cowering from the light of day, whispering, "Pssssst, have I got a deal for you." Wisdom loudly proclaims to everyone, "What I have to offer is more valuable than gold or silver or rubies. Test what I have to say!"

Important business took place at the gate in Solomon's time. Cases were heard and judgments made at the gate. Business transactions were negotiated and sealed. Goods were traded. Fortunes were made and lost. Even families were brought together as marriages were arranged.

You see, Wisdom is at home in all arenas of life--whether business, civic, judicial, or relational. Everywhere people transact important business, it's wise to invite Wisdom. Both the knowledge and the judgment she brings to the table will contribute to your success.

But, people passing through a gate are often occupied with other things, too busy to pay attention to what Wisdom is saying--even though she is staring them in the face. Wisdom is a lady. She makes her presence known, but she doesn't force herself on others.

So the question is, every time you metaphorically pass through the city gates, do you choose to slow down and have a conversation with Wisdom? She is calling.