Unbiased

Over the past month, I have been reading about wisdom and how to attain that wisdom.  Proverbs has been helpful, but two things really stuck out to me today.  The first is the unbiased position of wisdom.  Verse 4 talks about how Wisdom grabs our attention, and the word 'whoever' stands out.  Wisdom is not concerned with age, race, gender, nationality, economic status or anything.  The same wisdom is offered to all who enter.  Something that raises the curious side of me comes near the end of the chapter though.

Proverbs 9: 16 says, "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here, and to him who lacks understanding..."

This stuck out to me because it is the same greeting as verse 4.  The difference is that verse 4 is the voice of Wisdom speaking, while verse 16 the voice of Folly is speaking.  The big question that rises out of today is how do I tell the difference between something wise and something that is foolish?

These verses have me thinking quite a bit actually.  In my life I have had to make a lot of decisions.  Some of them have been wise decisions, and some others have not been very wise.  Telling the difference is difficult.  Both Folly and Wisdom sound alike when they begin talking.  Yet they do differ with the content that directly follows their introductions.  Wisdom offers food and drink that was not taken from somewhere else; it is food and drink provided with no strings attached.  Folly offers food and drink that is stolen.  This food and drink comes with penalties.  These penalties are not directly referred to, but implied.  Stolen drink means someone will be looking for it, and bread eaten in secret is not great either.  In my walk today as I try to discern the difference between Folly and Wisdom, I will need to look closer at what each decision will offer.  Will I be given food and drink with strings attached?

In His service, CrazyPete