Wisdom or Folly?

Proverbs 9:13-18 (NIV)

¹³The woman Folly is loud;

she is undisciplined and without knowledge.

¹⁴She sits at the door of her house,

on a seat at the highest point of the city,

¹⁵calling out to those who pass by,

who go straight on their way.

¹⁶“Let all who are simple come in here!”

she says to those who lack judgment.

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet;

food eaten in secret is delicious!”

¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there,

that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

The Hebrew word for "folly" is "stupidity".  Have you ever found yourself doing something stupid, or calling yourself "stupid" for doing something that you know was against God's will?
How do we end up in those situations?

Notice how Proverbs 9 describes "Folly"...
First, she is LOUD.  Have you noticed when we are being tempted to sin, or do something stupid, it is really "loud"?  Loud in the sense that it shouts at you in your mind, calling you, enticing you to do something wrong.  It is so loud that it sometimes becomes hard to resist.

Then, she is UNDISCIPLINED.  What folly tempts us to do has nothing to do with discipline.  Undisciplined is the opposite of self control, resistance.  Folly makes sin look so easy to do, at a certain moment, that we don't think of resisting or controlling ourself.

Then, she is WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE.  Folly tempts us to do something stupid without making us think, without making us look ahead at the consequences of what we're going to do.

And then look at verse 17 - "stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious".  Folly usually moves us to do things that are SECRET, that we hide from others.  It's that secret text to someone of the opposite sex, or using our company's money without permission (with the intent of giving it back, of course...which is exactly what we're talking about), or looking at a website in secret.

In chapter 9 the opposite of folly is WISDOM, God's wisdom.  Wisdom invites us to visit her house, to eat the food she has prepared, and to be ready for instruction, correction and rebuke when needed.
Wisdom calls, no need to be loud.  Wisdom calls us to discipline - to listen, accept correction and rebuke.  Wisdom grants knowledge to us.
9:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

We face either wisdom or folly in our life everyday.  I pray we choose wisdom.