The Way of Wisdom

Most of the Biblical literature is focused on how man can be in a right relationship with God given his holiness and our sinfulness. Wisdom literature recognizes the rawness of life. If you have your relationship with God right and then you’re thrown into the lion’s den of interpersonal interaction, most of the time you will fail. As a young person, you are almost destined to fail.

Ironically, we have so many church kid’s and youth programs geared toward teaching you “this week’s moral/virtue” like diligence or forgiveness or joy or compassion. Yet at the same time we have arguably the least amount of virtue out of young people today. And you, even as a young person could potentially agree with this statement.

In times past, we’ve seen an larger amounts of virtue and civility without churches constantly pouring these morals down our throats. What’s changed, in some sense, is some churches approaches to their teaching. In stead of giving you the hard edge gospel commanding all people everywhere to repent of their wicked sins, they sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya and asking, “how does this make you feel?”

This weak effeminate Christianity has come in contact with a society who has rejected natural law, rationality, and basic observation. You see, the wisdom literature (like Proverbs) is so intriguing, even for the unbeliever, because it analyzes the way God has organized the world. Picture and old man sitting on a bench on a busy street for a hundred years. This man just sitting there observing human behavior. He has discovered two ultimate paths people take: one leading to life and the other leading to destruction. By basis of this simple observation, the old man has distilled the order God wove into the universe. Now he plans to impart this wisdom to you with short, wise sayings that are generally true.

This idea is known as natural law. That is there exists, because of the creator, an innate sense of right and wrong which comes from creation and the outworking of life. David Haines and Andrew Fulford, professors of Apologetics and Philosophy explain, “There is a divine order to the universe, this order is knowable, and some unregenerate (that is unsaved people) recognize this order.

Take for example, the Golden Rule, which if you know is located where?

Matt. 7:12 ““So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Notice what Jesus says, “whatever you wish that others would do to you” implies all people have implicit, natural knowledge of what is morally right and wrong. Modern and post-modern man has rejected rationality and simple observation that leads to the recognition of what is wise and foolish. C.S. Lewis laments that mankind used to be preoccupied with learning how to live their lives and have given that up. He writes, “For the wise men of old the cardinal [main] problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue. For magic and applied science alike, the problem has been how to subdue reality to the wishes of men. . .” (Abolition of Man, 25-26). In other words, Lewis wrote (almost 80 years ago), that people used to be occupied with figuring out how the universe words and conforming their soul to that reality. This is what the book of Proverbs seeks to do. Now, however, man sees the universe as something they’ve mastered, and if they can’t figure something out, just Google it.

The universe is shouting at us, “This is how life works! If you want your life to work, do this! This is how God designed it!” Lady wisdom herself is shouting:

Prov. 9:1-6 “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “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.””

“Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.”

Wisdom is how God designed life to work.

Wisdom builds her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. Remember our simple definition of wisdom here: Wisdom is how God designed life to work. This term, חָכְמָה deals with skills and crafts (building your house on the rock, not the sand; aside: can we come up with tech to overcome natural obstacles? Sure, but even modern beach houses often have foundations going down to the bedrock), intelligence, good sense, and an understanding of fundamental issues of life in relation to God. So “how god designed life itself to work” is here personified as a wealthy woman who just completed her house, a large house, and is now hosting a banquet to inaugurate the building’s grand opening.

This was common practice among wealthy and royal people of the ancient near east. They would generously host an event to the benefit of their fellow countrymen. And this house is large, being held up by the symbolic number of seven pillars. This house is so very large to host anyone and everyone who would want to enter in. It reminds us of Jesus’s teaching in John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Just as Christ makes room for all who will come in, so does Wisdom.

Now wisdom, that is, how God designed life to work, is setting up a huge banquet, slaughtering animals, mixing wine (to make it more enjoyable), and setting the table. Wisdom is constantly working, and working hard to put on this great feast in her great house.

Wisdom never stops working .

Think of the principles listed in Proverbs:

Prov 10:2 “Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.”

Prov 10:4 “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

Prov 10:9 “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.”

This is wisdom, this is how God designed life to work. The wisdom reflected in these Proverbs don’t stop working. You may find human societies, corrupt governments, and crime organizations that pervert these things; however, you’re never going to wake up to a universe that magically starts to award your laziness (as much as you might like), or a universe that starts to praise “snakes” (which is modern slang for hypocrites for you older people).

Partaking in wisdom is an enjoyable experience in the long term.

This does not mean that there are not short term pleasures as well. But rather, choosing wither wisdom or folly is like taking a path for the rest of your life. Take a particular career path for example. Imagine you decide to become an aerospace engineer at an early age. You know how important the subjects math and physics are to this field so you work diligently and make 100’s on all your math assignments. You have the small pleasures along the way of reaping those benefits of your hard work. Then you have the pleasure of being accepted into a top notch college. Then one day you have the pleasure of being hired at SpaceX and designing the rocket that leads to the first human journey to Mars!

On the flip side, imagine you chose the same career path, but also chose the way of folly. You cheat on all your math exams, and never get caught. Your parents pay to fake your college entrance exams and you get in to the top notch college. You get fired at SpaceX and are tasked with designing the same rocket, but you don’t really know how, but are really good at faking it, so good, no one notices your terrible mistake until your rockets consecutively explode before maintaining orbit. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” Folly can provide you with temporary pleasures, but in the end, leads to abject misery.

Prov. 9:3 “She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town,”

Wisdom is taught not caught

Prov. 1:8 “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,”

Prov 10:1 “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”

The “young women” that Proverbs sends out are representatives of the sages and especially the parents to whom God intrusted to teach the ways of wisdom to their children. “But wait,” you may wonder, “I thought you said that wisdom is universally and innately recognized.” And there is truth to that claim. Think about a parent’s responsibility to his offspring. Isn’t it right for a father to take responsibility for the children he begets? This is wisdom that is universally recognized.

Here’s some examples:

“Children, the old, the poor, etc. should be considered as lords of the atmosphere” (Hindu, Janet)

“To marry and beget children” (Greek, list of duties, Epictetus)

“‘Nature produces a special love of offspring’ and ‘To live according to Nature is the Supreme Good’” (Roman, Cicero)

“The Master said, Respect the Young.” (Ancient Chinese)

“The killing of the women and more especially of the young boys and girls who are to go to make up the future strength of the people, is the saddest part. . .” (Native American account of a massacre)

Humanity, naturally recognizes the importance of training and respecting the young. Furthermore, the Bible places the responsibility of teaching young people on the backs of the parents.

Dt. 6:6-7 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Mal. 4:5-6 ““Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

Children emerge on the scene as “simple” ones or “gullible.” Simple because they do not yet recognize how life generally operates because they lack experience. They are gullible because they are liable to believe whomever they allow to influence them. And wisdom, how God designed life to work, does not keep quiet:

Prov. 9:4 ““Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says,”

Prov. 9:5 ““Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.”

Just because they way God designed life to work is innately recognized by all people does not mean that it does not need to be taught. Children and teenagers must be taught by their parents the way of wisdom.

But let’s be real: modern Western society is doing EVERYTHING it can to get you to ignore your parents. It began with the American dream. Parents neglected their responsibility to their kids in order to give their kids more money. Because mommy and daddy weren’t home to teach their kids, the kids rebelled. Why? Well that’s where all the secular psychologist stepped in:

Well the kids rebelled because the church repressed their urge to have sex

Or, the kids rebelled because teenage hormones

Or, the kids rebelled because “generation gap”

In fact, in our day, teenagers are expected to rebel. If you don’t rebel as a teenager, you’re seen as abnormal! How’s that for crazy? Then when we look on the law for a rebellious son in Dt. 21:18-20 ““If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’”

We think this law is insane! Why? Is the problem with the law or with our society? You see, we think this law is insane because we expect kids to rebel, the ancient man did not expect their child to rebel. In fact, rebellion would be abnormal!

Not only does our society expect you to rebel, it encourages you to rebel. Take the recent movie Luca for example. The titular character, Luca, dreams about getting to know how the universe works especially the stars. But, his parents, out of fear, prevents his dream. So, Luca rebels against his parents, leaving them in the dust, and eventually makes his way to a public school where he can learn how the world really works without the corrupting influence of his parents!

Family is universally recognized as the foundation of society. God ordained family to impart wisdom to future generations. But modern man instead of recognizing wisdom and conforming his soul to it has instead decided to conquer wisdom. Modern man is trying to destroy the family so he can keep the money he wants to keep, sleep with whomever he wants to sleep, and cut off whatever body parts he deems necessary. This so-called “moral revolution” is a slow-moving butchery of the human race! Humanity may not fall, but any society that gives into this will.

Any individual, family, or society who rejects wisdom’s invitation is headed to destruction

This is expressed in the positive Prov 9:6 “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.””

And the negative, look at the woman of folly: Prov 9:13-18 “The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

Immanual Kant attempted to get at this ethic with his Categorical Imperative. What this taught was that if every human did something and it culminated in human flourishing, then that thing was virtuous. And, if every human did something and it led to a decrease in human flourishing, then that thing was a vice. For example, if everyone decided murdering was good, that would lead to a decrease in human flourishing; therefore, murder = bad.

However, this had some weaknesses in it. For example, it cannot explain the innate goodness of self-sacrifice. Surely the sacrifice of a few could lead to the flourishing of the greater society, but on what ground are some men being asked to die for the benefit of others? In Kant’s imperative, there exists no “ought” for them to die, there could be no appeal to pride, or honor, or love. In this moral imagination the “few” most be chosen rather arbitrarily, like in Hunger Games. Is there truly anything to self-sacrifice if you do not do it out of your own voluntary selflessness?

Every attempt to discover how God designed life to work while rejecting God has ended in dismal failure.

Look at folly again for a moment. She’s loud and seductive. Folly is an understanding of how life works that in some way rejects God. She lazily sits at her door lying in wait. She does not prepare a feast, but expects you to steal to get what you want. Notice what she says Prov. 9:17 ““Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.””

Folly is not without her pleasures. But her pleasures lead to the dead and Sheol. Take for example the chemical dopamine: The all-knowing Web MD says this about it, “Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That's why it's sometimes called a chemical messenger.

Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It's a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting.

Your body spreads it along four major pathways in the brain. Like most other systems in the body, you don’t notice it (or maybe even know about it) until there’s a problem.

Too much or too little of it can lead to a vast range of health issues.”

Check out how dopamine works in a drug addiction, “Drug misuse and addiction. Drugs such as cocaine can cause a big, fast increase of dopamine in your brain. That satisfies your natural reward system in a big way. But repeated drug use also raises the threshold for this kind of pleasure. This means you need to take more to get the same high. Meanwhile, drugs make your body less able to produce dopamine naturally. This leads to emotional lows when you’re sober.”

Video games and social media outlets know how these pleasure centers operate in your brain. Once you are rewarded and rewarded more often, the game or social media site can keep your attention. Generally these applications give you small but frequent rewards at the beginning to get you hooked. Then, they decrease the amount of rewards but the rewards are greater so it keeps your interest.

In social media, for example, you are rewarded by posting something. Other people will notice what you post and this brings you pleasure. The more you post, the more rewards you get. Every once and a while you might post something amazing that gets 100 or more likes or whatever which hooks you so you’re constantly looking for that great post. Congrats, you’re now addicted.

Pornography works in the same way. If you’ve looked and indulged in it, you know how pleasurable those first few experiences were. If you’ve been addicted for a while, you’ve probably noticed you have to scroll through the images a lot longer to get the same fix. You’re hooked, you’re addicted, you need help.

And just because we know a little bit more behind the science of this, does not mean we really have any new information. The Bible speaks of sin as slavery to our passions. Tit. 3:3 “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.”

But you’ve hopefully noticed the pattern in your life, right? You believe something, either rightly or wrongly, this guides your will (your decision) to do something, that behavior, whether right or wrong, interacts with your pleasure center, which then in turn enslaves your will. If your faulty belief and wrong choice caused you to find pleasure in the wrong thing, you’ve fallen into lady folly’s trap.

Once your in the trap, all the fools around you will do everything it takes to keep you there! You find pleasure in rebelling against your parents? Good, the fool says, stay there! And the mocker joins in. You know the scoffer, right? The scoffer makes fun and laughs at anything that reflects God’s wisdom. You know when you’re trying to do what’s right in the class where everyone else belittles the teacher and despises that teacher? When you try to do what’s right, the scoffer stands up calls you out and says, “oh what are you the teacher’s pet?” Why?

Fools will do whatever it takes to stay in Folly’s house.

Fools will laugh at you, belittle you and do whatever it takes to keep you in folly’s house. There’s one grade here that’s full of scoffers. I’m afraid to even call them out because I’m sure if I did, they would begin to scoff! Why? Because they’re going to stay in the fool’s house. The culture will encourage you to stay in the fool’s house too.

Sexual sin is especially heinous in this regard because it’s a sin against your own body. 1 Cor. 6:18 “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” When you find pleasure in sexual sin the entire modern society will stand up and applaud you. Lady folly has convinced our society that it’s normal for a teenage boy to be addicted to pornography and masturbation. She’s convinced our culture that a teenage girl should gawk over good looking men and get caught up in romantic fantasies. If you fantasize and find some pleasure over some same-sex attraction or some other perversion, guess what our culture tells you? “That’s just who you are” Or “You were born that way!” Why? Because the world wants you trapped in lady folly’s house. The world, that is the system that has rejected God, wants you to figure out life, to find pleasure in anything and everything that God tells you not to find pleasure in. And once it hooks you it wants to convince you that you’re trapped. There’s no hope!

Is there?

Have you ever found pleasure in something wrong? Have you given in to something just because the world is screaming “It’s okay!”?

Well let me tell you something, Lady Wisdom is not the only one offering you an invitation. There’s someone else. Someone Lady Wisdom points to Prov. 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Jesus gives you an invitation too Matt. 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

Ps. 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

John Flavel says of Christ, “But let me tell you, the whole world is not a theatre large enough to shew the glory of Christ upon, or unfold the one half of the unsearchable riches that lie hid in him. . . Alas! I write his praises but by moon-light; I cannot praise hims so much as by halves. Indeed, no tongue but his own is sufficient to undertake that task. What shall I say of Christ? The excelling glory of that object dazzles all apprehension, swallows up all expression. When we have borrowed metaphors from every creature that hath any excellency or lovely property in it, till we have stript the whole creation bare of all its ornaments, and clothe Christ with all that glory; when we have even worn out our tongues in ascribing praises to him, alas! we have done nothing when all is done.”

Don’t you see? Your not trapped in your misbegotten pleasures! There’s something far greater. Thomas Chalmers speaks of this as the expulsive power of a new affection! Paul says in Gal. 5:24 “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” You’re not trapped in your sin! You’re not trapped in the house of folly! Look to Christ and live!