Wisdom and Folly in the Streets

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice…

‘If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.’”

“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.’”

“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.”

Proverbs 1:20, 23, 9:1-6, 13-18

We hear voices calling to us everyday. I mean, I’m guessing no one tried to literally call to you on the streets today. But in our digital world, it’s a daily occurrence for us to hear voices calling out who claim to understand how life works. They tell us they have the secrets we are missing, the key that will unlock the life we long for. They tell us what the good life is.

This is so true for us as business-minded women who are driven toward self-improvement. In our modern context, we could read this as wisdom and folly calling from podcasts, from Ted Talks, from coaches, from courses, from masterminds, and from Instagram reels. Many voices are calling to us, and the stakes are high regarding who we listen to.

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” Proverbs 13:14

In fact, The Bible Project did a fascinating podcast (which you can listen to here) on the book of Proverbs, and they pointed out that Proverbs continues many of the same themes we see in Genesis 1-3.

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are invited to grow in wisdom progressively with God, in relationship to God, as they carried out the dominion mandate they had been commissioned with. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a shortcut. A way to cut God out of the equation in their quest for wisdom. A way to fast-track success, so to speak. Part of the sin they committed was their desire to gain wisdom outside of relationship with God. And isn’t that the same choice we are faced with every day as entrepreneurs? The desire to cut God out of the equation and fast-track success without Him? Just as in the garden of Eden, it is a lie to think we can experience the good life without the person of Jesus.

Circling back to Proverbs, we see that Solomon’s own life continues this theme. As a ruler (think: dominion) he was given a choice by God. Solomon asks for wisdom, and God blesses him abundantly. But that choice wasn’t only a one-time choice, it was a choice he needed to continue making. Unfortunately, we see that Solomon made many unwise choices, especially when it came to the marriage altar.

Now, as Solomon writes Proverbs, he invites us to learn from both his wisdom and his folly.

“The books of Solomon (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job) what they represent is they invite the reader to sit down at the feet of this success and failure of Solomon. He's now going to tell you, as the next generation, that you have in front of you the same choice that he had, which is the same choice that Adam and Eve had. Every human sits in front of the tree of knowing good and bad, and you have your own choice to make.” - The Bible Project, Podcast Jul 1, 2019, Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly

Proverbs even explicitly introduces wisdom to us as a “tree of life”

“She [Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” Proverbs 3:18

The stakes are high. Every day, we are called on to choose what voices we will listen to. And as you know, there is much discernment needed because even wise people say foolish things and even foolish people sometimes utter truth. So this isn’t about looking for the “black hats” and the “white hats” like in the old Western movies. Who we listen to, and how we go about our quest for wisdom makes a big difference to what kind of life you will live.

Ray Ortlund points out that there are two kinds of “wisdom” we choose between,

“We must understand that there are two kinds of wisdom, and they are competing for our trust. The Bible calls them ‘the wisdom from above’ and ‘the wisdom that is… earthly, unspiritual, demonic’ (James 3:15,17). Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter when Peter urged him not to go to the cross? Peter was saying, ‘look boss, there’s another way to go about this. Crosses are not a smart formula for success.’ But Jesus said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan!… For you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man’ (Matt 16:21-23). How did Peter earn that stunning rebuke? Not by setting his mind on the things of Satan, but just on the things of man- natural, understandable things like survival. Peter was being wise with the wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. Our natural wisdom panders to our pride and makes losing unthinkable.” - Ray Ortlund, Commentary on Proverbs

We see from this that discerning between true and false wisdom isn’t natural or easy for us. How can we have discernment? How can we sift through the many voices that call to us to follow their wisdom?

We do well to recognize that we ARE simple. We need help. We need wisdom. So who should we listen to? Let me tell you a little bit of my story, and what it taught me about discernment…

Part of my story is that I was raised in a Christian cult. It’s not something I talk about a lot, but I think it bears on this topic. Half-truths are just as much lies as blatant lies, but much more dangerous because they have an aroma of wisdom. I experienced the deception of believing I was right and finding out later that I had been wise in my own eyes (Prov 26:12).

As you can imagine, it’s difficult when you realize that your whole perception of Christianity and God has been “off”. It leads to an existential crisis where you wonder how you can know truth, because you really thought you did. What I learned from that experience is that there is a way to know truth, but it’s not something we reason our way to by being smart. There isn’t a secret to understanding how to sift through wisdom and folly on our own. Wisdom is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ.

Once you see that the wisdom theme throughout Proverbs ultimately points forward to the person of Jesus, what seemed at first glance to be a book of fortune cookie quips becomes a book of rich encouragement that highlights how present Jesus is with us in the everyday stuff we face.

“We need God’s help moment by moment, down at the level where there are no hard and fast rules to go by. What kind of man or woman should I marry? Which career path should I take? How can I endure this suffering I can’t escape? How should I spend my money? Through the book of Proverbs, God coaches us in the wisdom we need through the long and complicated path of our everyday lives… The book of Proverbs is a gospel book… it is good news for bad people. It is about grace for sinners. It is about hope for failures. It is about wisdom for idiots. This book is Jesus himself coming to us as our counselor, as our sage, as our life coach. The Lord Jesus Christ is a competent thinker for all times and all cultures. He is a genius. And he freely offers us, even us, his unique wisdom.” - Ray Ortlund, Commentary on Proverbs

You may have noticed the interesting parrallel between what Lady Wisdom cries out and what Lady Folly cries out. Both of them say, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” (Prov 9: 4,16) As the simple ones passing by, how can we know what is wisdom and what is folly? When you’re listening to a podcast on business advice, how can you know what will lead you toward life and what will lead you toward death?

The answer is that we listen for our Shepherd’s voice.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

When we seek after the person of Jesus, everything else tends to fall into place. When we go to the Scriptures to know our Savior, to know our beloved, to know our Shepherd, He leads us to green pastures and still waters.

Jesus is Wisdom personified (1 Cor 1:23-24, 30). He is our “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). And even though we walk through a minefield of messages every day, when we listen to Him, we become wise.

Remember the choice Adam and Eve faced in the garden? Walk with God and learn wisdom slowly from Him, or take matters into their own hands and fast-track the process by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? We face the same choice as entrepreneurs. Will we trust God in the process of building our businesses? Will we learn wisdom in the context of relationship to Him? Or will we try to take the pen and write our own story on our own timeline?

I know that’s a choice I’m faced with constantly. There are many gurus out there who promise that they can show you the path of quick and easy wealth. A path that ignores God and puts you in control. But this is not wisdom, this is folly. Wisdom trusts that God gives more to those who learn to steward what they have been given (Matt 25:23). Wisdom presses into relationship with God to listen to His voice and allow Him to control the outcome.

If we are honest, we must admit that seeking wisdom this way is hard. We are the simple and naive ones in Proverbs. We desperately need someone to come alongside us and teach us the path of life and shalom. And we see another beautiful shadow of a greater reality in verse 23:

“behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.’” Proverbs 1:23

Does that language sound familiar?

It’s almost verbatim what Peter says in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit comes to the people of God, and Peter preaches,

“This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’” Acts 2:16-17

In other words, even in Proverbs, we have a little echo of the Holy Spirit who would come and pour out the Spirit of God on His people and make the words of God known to us. We aren’t alone on this journey of sanctification. We have a helper.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26

We are not left to figure this complicated life on our own. We have Jesus as Wisdom personified as our counselor, and we have the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us and applies that wisdom to our lives. No, we are not alone. We have been given everything we need for life (2 Pet 1:3).

In conclusion, be aware of the voices you are listening to. Know that when you hit play on a podcast, or a Ted talk or a reel, that you need to be discerning as you listen. And your discernment will grow as you press into daily listening to your Shepherd’s voice and learning wisdom from Him through the Scriptures. Consider the areas of your business where you are tempted to take the reins and seek wisdom outside of relationship with God, the times you want to skip your Bible time because it feels irrelevant to your work. And most of all, rejoice in the personification of Wisdom Himself.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 8:33-36