Wisdom Lesson

Have you ever made a major mistake when you were younger that had un-intended consequences? What was the mistake? What were the consequences

Have you ever said something to someone that you later regretted? What did you say and how did it affect your relationship with that person?

Woman wisdom vs woman folly

The book of Proverbs describes two women two us. One named woman wisdom and the other named woman folly. The father specifically mentions these two women in chapters 1-9. In the New Testament the book of James shows us that James has learned many important lessons himself from Proverbs. Which makes sense. Someone who we know at first rejected the teachings of His brother, who went on His own way. But then listened to the Word of God, was a doer of the Word, who heard what His brother taught and saw that it connected to the Scripture in the OT that he had been taught as a boy.

So what is the difference between these two women?

Woman wisdom is described as bold? How is she bold? Well she calls out in the streets and in public places where many strangers will hear her.

Proverbs 1:20-21 “Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares. She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:”

At the main intersections of business she shouts

Proverbs 8:1-2 “Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard? At the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads, she takes her stand.”

This means that this wisdom isn’t hiding from us. Often we can think that wisdom is hard to get, but in fact, Proverbs gives us the exact opposite picture, that it is there for the taking if we would receive it.

How many of you have received a piece of advice from someone that you trusted, and yet you still didn’t take their advice?

The New Testament tells us the same thing about wisdom. James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”

So what separates her from woman folly?

Well instead of just being bold, she is brash.

Proverbs 9:13 “Folly is a rowdy woman; she is gullible and knows nothing.”

-It is that person who you are embarrassed of because they don’t know when to keep their mouth shut. They speak on topics they know very little about. Overconfident in their abilities.

So if we don’t listen to it, what does woman wisdom do? She will laugh at us, because we will then see the consequences of our own decisions.

Proverbs 1:24-26 “Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention, since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction, I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you,”

Again, it reminds us of what James tells us. James 1:13-15 “No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”

Essentially they say, “why do you blame me for the consequences of the choices that you have made? Haven’t you been drawn away by our own sin?”

Both of them speak to the inexperienced.

Proverbs 8:5 “Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish.”

Proverbs 9:16 ““Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!” To the one who lacks sense, she says,”

So it comes down to the listener to make a choice between these two women. To choose one path or the other.

But how do we choose this path?

James 1:19-25 “My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.”

James tells us that choosing wisdom isn’t about being perfect, being an incredible listener, or about being the smartest person in the room. Rather it is about being humble and recognizing you are imperfect, seeking to listen intently to wisdom so that next time you might not forget, and about knowing that we are under the law of freedom which means that we are given the freedom to make mistakes. But the hearer is the one who is told that he makes a mistake and then forgets the advice he was given and makes the same mistake again. The doer is the one who perseveres and learns.

So who do you want to be?