He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
Proverbs 16:20

Ever have problems paying attention to something? This is a common problem with just about everyone I've ever known. Many of us are avid day-dreamers who take excursions all over the world - or at least all over the recesses of our minds - every day. The problem is when distracted thinking affects how we approach and deal with God's Word and what the Lord is trying to say to us in our daily quiet time.

Today's proverb has excellent advice for those who want to be wise. Pay attention to what God is saying to you in His Word! That is the advice. Simple isn't it. Yet anyone who has ever had a quiet time go awry knows that simple in stating and complicated in obeying is the problem here. I've had quiet times where I spent the majority of my time turning down dog-eared pages in my Bible. I've had other ones where I will finish reading a chapter and wonder what is the world I just read. At other times I've been reading a chapter and been horribly distracted with thoughts poking themselves into my mind between every verse. All this can be downright frustrating at times!

Giving attention to God's word means that we do more than just read over it. The word for attention means to consider something. To place our entire attention toward it also is part of what this word means. Distractions are normal, but when they come we need to stop reading and deal with them. Otherwise we will be in danger of just reading over words - without truly paying attention to them.

Giving attention to the Word also means taking a little time to consider, meditate, and learn from it. I've been guilty in the past of just wanting to read a lot of the Bible - and not think on what I am reading. This particular blog was a way of battling that problem. Writing these posts have made me slow down and truly consider what a verse means. Consider keeping a quiet time journal where you can focus on one verse, or a few of them. That will help you pay attention to what God is saying to you.

The blessing that comes from this is that you will find good. The good that you will find is varied. Some days you will find a promise in God's Word that you can claim. Other days you will find instruction or teaching about some aspect of God or His will. On others you will experience rebuke or correction that will lead you away from a sin and back into sweet fellowship with the Lord. Still others will yield a fresh glimpse of God's glory and character that will blow you away or thrill your heart. There is so much good that comes from approaching the Word as more than just something to check off on your day. You need to approach it as you would approach Him - because that is exactly what you are doing!

There is another blessing that comes from doing this as well - and it is explained for us at the close of this proverb. You will be blessed because as you understand God's will and ways and person better - you will be able to trust in Him! When He gives a command you can trust Him to provide the power to keep it. When He offers rebuke or conviction you can trust Him to grant repentance and to lead you into freedom from the sinful action. When He offers hope or encouragement you can trust Him to bring you through the situation which has caused hurt or pain. There are so many ways that God can make you truly blessed as you have a fresh opportunity to trust Him and rely upon what He has said in His Word. May you be blessed indeed as you continue having daiily times alone with Him - as He speaks to you - as you pay attention - and as you are wonderfully blessed as He encourages you onward into every new day of trusting Him and seeing Him work out His will in your life!

“Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.”   Proverbs 8:34

Wisdom had regaled us with tales of creation and what it was like to watch and be a participant in the very creation of all that God has made.  We have seen from Wisdom's statements and from an examination of the world around us, that we can trust Wisdom and what God says to us through His Word.  Now we hear Wisdom calling us to be a listener - to be one who watches and waits for what God has to say to us.  Just as God has been true about His creation of this world - so He is now calling us to listen to what He has to say to us about life itself - and how to live it.

Blessed is the man who listens to me.  This is God's promise of happiness for those who listen - who heed what He has do say.  The word for blessed means one who is happy.  The happiness experienced is not a transitory happiness based on getting our own way and living for what we want to live for day to day.  It is a happiness at a much deeper level - more than happiness.  This is about a deep-seated joy that comes from knowing and walking with God.  It comes from knowing Him - and knowing His blessing in our lives.  But this blessing is conditional - it is for those who listen to Him.  We need to open our ears and more than that, our hearts, to what God desires for us.  There needs to be more than basic hearing.  Let me explain with a less than gracious example from my own experience.

I am a guy - which usually means there are times I have "listening" issues.  My wife is very gracious in spite of my listening disorder.  There are times when she is talking to me (come to think of it - I also have four daughters who struggle with this "lack" of mine as well) that she will pause and ask me if I am listening to her.  My response is to repeat the last sentence she has just said.  This is not amusing to her at all.  She did not ask if I heard words that she was saying to me - she wanted to know if I actually listened to her.  This, my dear fellow males, means was I listening for the purpose of furthering our relationship.  Was I listening so as to hear more than just words - was I hearing her heart.  If I had honestly answered that question I would have had to say no.  I was not listening - I heard some stuff - but I was not really hearing with understanding.  I was not hearing to have a relationship.  To put it in a way that maybe we can understand - I was not truly "getting her."  That would have required listening.  It would have required zeroing in on what she was saying with an intent to know what she said, why she said it, and respond in an intelligent and caring way that expressed that I loved her . . . more than the football game that I was currently watching.  (Wow - that was far more cathartic than I thought.)

God wants us to LISTEN to Him.  He wants us to do two things each day.  First He wants us to be "watching at His gates."  The "gate" was the place where important decisions were made.  This was serious stuff - because it was at the gate that the wisest and most influential men gathered.  God wants us to listen and watch for the really important stuff in life.  We need to watch for Him - because He will give us guidance on the major decisions and major life choices that we face each day.  But he also calls for us to be "waiting at His doorposts."  What a wonderful picture that this is.  The doorposts referred to the opening of the house.  This speaks of two things.  First it speaks of intimacy - of a relationship where we can talk about everything in life.  God tells fathers to talk to their children in this way.  He wants us to speak to our kids when we get up and go to sleep each day.  He wants us to talk to them about Him when we go out and come in.  He also wants us to write on our very doorposts the Word of God - so that is what we see when we go out and come in.  This is every day life - and the wonderful blessing of having a friend with whom we can talk when we are going through our day. 

The second thing this points to is redemption.  We wait for God at the doorposts of our house.  This was the place where every year the Jewish family would put blood for the Passover.  This blood was left on the doorposts overnight.  Over time the obedient Jewish family would wind up with permanent blood stains on their door frame.  But oh what a wonderful picture this is of how we wait for God.  Wisdom reminds us that we are God's people.  We are bought with a price - and we are redeemed.  When we wait for Him here - we experience intimacy - but we also are reminded that we are intimate because we are redeemed.

Wisdom calls us to walk with and know God.  This is done in every area of our lives.  It is in the big stuff - and in the little stuff.  It is in the huge decisions that will direct our lives - but it is also in the little decisions that set the daily course of where we will walk today.  The thing wisdom asks of us is that we listen.  That does not mean being able to quote Bible verses by rote - but not really know what they mean.  Listening means coming before God and hearing Him with a bent to know His heart.  When we do that - we will see that this is the true way to a deep abiding happiness that will last throughout a lifetime.

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge;
Proverbs 22:17

All throughout the book of Proverbs we have little sections devoted to calling people to wisdsom.  Here is another one.  From this verse all the way through verse 21 we are called to give ourselves to the "words of the wise" as we walk through life. 

The call here is to hear what the wise are saying.  Something that we should realize is that as we walk through life God is going to bless us with those who are wise.  Unfortunately the cutlure of the west has turned from learning from the elderly - and thus has cut off from ourselves a wealth of wisdom and understanding in the process.  There is much to learn from someone who has walked through life many years.  If nothing else -we can learn from the fact that they've faced things we have not - and that they are failed at things and learned form their mistakes. 

The call is to incline our ear and hear these words.  This is in some ways a call to humility.  We have to submit ourselves to their words if we are going to learn anything.  If we think that we are the fountanhead of wisdom itself - we will be too arrogant and too apt to "lean on our own understanding" to listen to what someone else has to say.  There is much to simply learning to shut one's own mouth and hear what others have to say.  That is why God admonishes us through the book of James to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.  The wise old saying goes that God gave us two ears but only one mouth.  By this He is saying that we need to listen twice as much as talk.  That one thought alone, if adhered to, would grant us a great deal of wisdom. 

The thing though that the wise old sage offers to the youth is that not only should he listen, but he shoud also apply himself to understanding what he has heard.  This is where a great deal of wisdom is gleaned.  We not only listen, but then later we take the time to mull over what has been said with a view to truly understanding it and applying it to the various situations that we face in life.  It is not enough just to listen - we must apply what we've heard as well.  This application process happens as we also truly seek to grasp the very root truth of what we've heard.  This means going to the level of the worldview that wisdom teaches us.  That worldview is one of knowing and valuing to the utmost what God has to say to us.  Wisdom is best defined as seeing things like God sees them.  This means that we take what we've learned from God not just as information, but as a framework to understanding everything in the world around us.  This is the way to wisdom - to see and to grasp things from God's perspective - and then to live as He would direct us.

Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance. Proverbs 20:18

Some think that living a godly life means relying on the Holy Spirit to the point where you make no plans at all - you are simply led by the Spirit to do whatever is next on the Spirit's agenda.  But, as with all extreme positions, this runs contrary to the whole counself of Scripture and what God has to say about planning.  Here we have a verse in Proverbs that promotes planning - but not from a fleshly standpoint - but rather from one that urges us to be wise and to consult with others as we make plans.

Planning can be a blessing or a curse.  What is key in determining which you are going to experience is your attitude and desire in what you plan.  The word "prepare" means to establish, set up something, to be firm, or to prepare.  It has the idea of being steadfast in a direction or being founded.  The idea here is that our lives are not to be flighty, but truly focused and set in a clear direction based upon Scripture.  The word "plans" gives us even a more clear direction and understanding of the idea of planning here.  The Hebrew word here is "mahashabah" which means a purpose, a thought or an intention.  This gives us an interesting line of thought - which is this . . . God wants us to think.  He wants us to think about our lives - to consider things - to take the time to reason biblically about the purpose for which we are doing things and the intent behind them.  When you consider planning from this perspective it takes on a whole new mindset.  Godly planning would involve prayer - consulting with God and with the Scriptures about the plans that are being made. 

The last word that is used in the first part of this passage is "consultation."  This is the Hebrew word "esah" which means to get advice, discernment from others, or to seek out the judgments of others.  This means seeking out advice, counsel, and not just relying on how you think about a matter when making plans.  Finding wise men and women who can help you grasp not only Scripture, but also good biblical sense is so important when making plans.  But too often the one thing we forget when reading a passage like this is that we ned to consult with God in prayer.  Without this important step, we will most likely make unwise plans.

The second half of this passage is interesting in that it tells us that we should "make war by wise guidance."  When I read this I see two things that immediately impress themsevles on my mind.  First is a physical reality - war in the physical realm.  Adam Clarke made a marvelous comment on this when he said, "Most of the wars that are undertaken are wars of injustice, ambition, aggrandizement, and caprice, which can have had no previous good counsel."  James 4 counsels us that the reason for the wars and conflicts among us are too often nothing more than a desire to get when we cannot get what we want through godly means.  This is why a war should never be entered into without wise counsel.

The second meaning I see here has to do with spiritual warfare - its reality and its engagement.  When we engage in doing God's will - even to the point of planning and setting a purpose in doing what God wants - we need to understand that we are going to face spiritual warfare.  The evil one is not going to sit still when believers are planning an attack against his kingdom and his territory.  That is why we need to make war - spiritual war - with wise guidance.  Our enemy, the devil, is a wiley foe.  He will oppose us openly as we preach the gospel, seek the salvation of the lost, and labor to see disciples of Jesus Christ raised up and eventually sent out to do additional damage to his interests.  That is why we need wise consultation with God.  We need to know we are doing His will, acting according to His Word, and are laboring and fighting by His Spirit.  When we do this we are sure to prevail and to bring glory to God.

Planning is not an ungodly thing.  Instead it is an opportunity to draw near to God - draw near to other wise saints who know Him - and to set our hearts and purposes according to His heart and purpose.  Rather than be a trip into selfishness and self-driven goals and 5 year plans - it is to be a time to engage with God Himself and with His most precious people who seek His face.  This can be even a time of reviving and realigning ourselves with Him - His purposes and plans - and even His power as we come into agreement with what He wants done and how He wants to accomplish it.

The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15

The search for knowledge is an interesting thing to look at in the Scriptures - as well as in the world.  The world wants knowledge - but it is a different kind of knowledge from a different source.  The knowledge that he world desires is what is called worldly knowledge.  It is a knowledge that ignores God's Word - and is in opposition to it.  It is knowledge that denies God's existance as creator - denies the moral realities of the world - and encourages man to continue to live independently from God.

The knowledge that is encouraged here in Proverbs is that which is gained by not only knowing God and His Word, but also being able to take what you know and use it to guide you in making decisions and in pleasing God in every situation that you face in life.  We see here that the mind of the prudent acquires knowledge.  Mind here refers to our thinking and reasoning - but it affects the heart and the core values that guide our decision making.  The wise man mentioned here is the one whose mind and heart is prudent.  What is meant by this is that he is constantly seeking the ability to look at two things and see the difference between them.  He is a discerning man who does not take everything at face value.  He looks into things so that he may acquire knowledge before he makes decisions - or even decides how to view something in life.  If there is any way that this man can get knowledge in this way - he is trying to acquire it.  This word, acquire speaks of purchasing something in order to possess it.  This man wants knowledge - and he will pay whatever cost there is to get it.  When you read ths do not think of money - but think of time, study, and diligence in seeking and knowing the Word of God.  It is often costly in time and effort to get the kind of knowledge that yields discernment as well.  You just cannot open and book and get it.  It comes by knowing the Word in a way that helps us to see things as God sees them. 

The wise man also tunes his ears to seek knowledge.  Note here that we move from our minds to our ears.  What is different about this word is that it is saying something far more than just listening with our physical hearing.  The New Testament often uses the phrase, "hear what the Spirit is saying."  That means being able to hear with far more than just our physical ears.  It speaks of the ability to hear God.  The word seek emphasizes it even more.  This is the Hebrew Word that speaks of seeking God's presence.  Daniel 9:3 speaks of this kind of seeking when we read of Daniel doing the following.  "So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes."  When we "seek" for knowledge we are giving our attention to it.  We are praying and crying out to God to give us His knowledge and His heart for things.  At times this involves even fasting and special concern for gaining the knowledge that God has for us. 

Knowledge is important for the man wanting to be wise.  It will involve reading and study like all other forms of knowledge, but it will require more.  It will require that we have a heart for God - and desire a spiritual knowledge that God gives us from His Word.  But the reward for such a search is that we wil be able to walk through life being able to discern what to do and how to do it in a number of situations.  We will have a discernment that will allow us to see beyond surface issues and get to the very heart of a decision or a response to others.  the place you se this the best is in the life of Jesus.  His knowledge of the Word and of His Father's heart gave Him the ability to cut through any kind of lie or misinformation.  He truly could answer not just the question of a man - but the heart and motive behind it.  That is the wonderful discernment that comes with the knowledge God gives us as we seek it and Him diligently.

"But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil." Proverbs 1:33

Although the past eleven verses have been ones that have had a message of warning and correction, the last verse in this admonition gives us an encouraging lift.  That is the blessing of listening to God's warnings.  They may be tough, but in the end He also offers us a positive look at what it means if we live a life that obeys and honors Him.  That is what we will examine today as we look at the last verse of Proverbs chapter one.

We immediately see the transition that is made here.  But . . . is such a wonderful word when seen in transitions where God has been trying to make a point.  Foolishness has been shown for how unwise and destructive that it truly is throughout these verses.  But now God is going to turn things around with one verse.  There is proise of punishment and consequence for those who reject God's wisdom and Word - but for those who will listen - there is blessing.

The word used here to call us to listen is a wonderful word.  It is the Hebrew word "shama" and it means not just to listen with ones ears - it means to have what we listen to affect us so that we obey and regard what it is that God has said to us.  Two famous biblical passages use this word.  The first is in Deuteronomy 6:4 where God introduces the Shema.  "Hear O, Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!"  After this God calls Israel to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This passage became so famous among Israel that the word listen was codified - and the basic confession of Israel was named, the Shema.  It is a reminder for all time for her people to place love for God above all other things in life!  The second place where this word is used in a famous way is in Isaiah 1:2, "Listen O heaven, and hear O earth; for the LORD speaks, Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me."  This is a passage where Isreal has rejected God - and God calls all of creation to listen to the warning that is offered - a warning that calls men to never abandon and turn away from the Lord.  In both of these passages "shema" is used to call us not just to listen to anything - but to listen to something and Someone of absolute importance.

We are called to listen to God - and here, of course, we are called to listen to His wisdom.  The ones who listen in this way are ones who will "live securely."  This phrase meant that a person could live with a calm assurance that God would protect and keep them.  Wisdom has a way of setting our hearts at ease, knowing that God's wisdom will always yield what is best for us.  The promise is also given that we will be "at ease from the dread of evil."  This ease again describes for us a state of security, peace, and rest.  It speaks oddly enough for this state to overcome someone even at the moment of death.  It is a peace that cannot be disturbed because it is given by God Himself. 

The Lord gives warnings - and they can involve somewhat extensive cautions against wisdom and against walking in rebellion to His Word and ways.  But know that such warnings are given to us because of God's great love and mercy toward us.  Yet in the midst of such warnings - and in the midst of what some might call, "negative messages" we can know that God's desire is for us to walk in His ways and thus to experience all His blessings.  To act like sin does not exist if we do not name it is the height of foolishness.  The wise man knows that such warnings are welcome to us for they remind us that we must cling to and love the LORD our God with all that we have and all that we are.  Such warnings are blessings in disguise for they keep us from walking in foolish and unprofitable ways.  Embrace the negative messages that warn of our propensity to walk in the flesh and in our own strength.  When we keep such wisdom close to our hearts, we will find that these messages are close friends with God's favor - and those are friends that are worth keeping indeed!

"Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; Proverbs 1:24

We are examining the first chapter of Proverbs and seeing why it is not always the best thing to only have positive messages in the church and in our Christian lives.  Here we see the reality that some do not receive what God is saying to them.  They refuse to turn to God as He issues a call to them through His Word and His wisdom.

Too many get bent out of shape when they hear that God has to call us for us to be saved.  They pretty much freak out when they are told that on their own they would never come to God because they are dead in their sins.  They do not realize that God in His mercy does call men to Himself.  But the truth is that even when God calls - men reject Him.  Even when He allows them to hear His counsel, His reproof, His encouragment to turn from their sin to follow Him - they reject it.  That is what is made clear here in this section of Scripture.  God tells us that he called - but the fool refuses that call.  The idea of refusal here involves a rejection not just of the message - but also of the Messenger. 

God is showing great mercy and grace to men in stretching out His hand to them.  Their sin should receive a stretched out hand - to discipline and bring them under God's judgment.  But that is not what the Lord is trying to do here.  He is wanting to instruct - to make His words known to those He calls (vs. 23).  As He stretches out His hand in mercy, what does He receive?  Nothing . . . no one pays any attention to what He is saying.  This coincides with the truth in the New Testsament that, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23).  It also is a testament to Romans 3:10-12 which says, ". . . as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one."  Men, by their very nature reject God.  Due to their deadness in sin, they will refuse Him and reject Him.  But there is an even more amazing truth that this.

It is an amazing thing to read here that men reject and refuse God.  It is astounding that they do not even pay attention to what He is saying.  But what is more amazing is that immediately after He is rejected God does not let judgment fall in that very moment.  But God is merciful in that He responds with further mercy.  But this passage is not a reminder of that mercy.  It is meant to be a stark reminder of how foolish it is to reject God when He does stretch out His hand and offer counsel, reproof, and instruction.

What should we learn from today's Proverb of the day?  We learn that to receive God's wisdom and offer of instruction is the greatest of mercies.  We learn that Jehovah God does this over and over again - offering mercy and grace that is rejected by sinful men.  But the real question for us today is what are WE going to do when we are aware that God is wanting to give us His Words - and correct us from a way that is not in accordance with His will?  Are we going to refuse and reject Him?  Are we going to see His outstretched arms - and not even pay attention? 

It might benefit us greatly to read a passage from Hebrews 2 that offers a warning to us - a warning that we should pay "much closer attention" to the times where God is speaking to us.  Hebrews 2:1-3 offers us this godly counsel on this matter, "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"  May we learn to listen with great passion and intensity when the Lord speaks to us - and may we not be guilty of neglecting so great a salvation when God offers not just His grace in Christ initially - but when He continues to save us from sin as He sanctifies us daily by His Word and His Spirit.

"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:23

Can a person truly walk in wisdom if all they ever want in life are positive, uplifting messages from God?  There are those today who say that the church should not be negative - should not issue rebukes, corrections, and most of all should not dwell on the whole issue of sin.  "Let's be positive," is their cry - and when we are, people will come back to the church!

There is a fundamental problem with this view of things.  It completely ignores that whole, "fall of mankind" thing.  The reason Christianity cannot be "all positive, all the time" is because man is a fallen creature given to rebellion and walking in ways that are destructive and damning.  At some point the honest among us are going to have to address the fundamental flaw in human nature.  If men were naturally disposed to honoring and glorifying God, this would not be necessary.  But the facts are that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick - that there is none who have done good, not even one - and that unless we repent we will all likewise perish.  Man is not a naturally wise creature - unless you count being wise in his own eyes.

Wisdom is personified in Proverbs quite often.  Wisdom shouts in the streets, calls out in the square seeking to get our attention.  What does she say?  Her first words are not exactly positive.  She calls mankind "naive ones" as well as "simple-minded."  She refers to the inhabitants of this globe as "scoffers" and "fools."  The reason this does not sound positive is because it isn't.  The Bible is not into any kind of a positive confession type of tripe - instead it is honest about the condition of man.  As a result, her first command is issued here in verse 23.

Turn to my repoof.  That is her first command to mankind.  If we are going to be wise, it will require us to turn from our present selfish and self-centered ways and turn to the reproof of true wisdom.  Wisdom will require reproof - correction - rebuke.  We need to grasp that our current fleshly thinking is foolish and stupid.  Wisdom will not enter our hearts unless we first unseat the poser who sits there presently.  That is us.  We need to lay aside human wisdom and that which parades as understanding - and choose to conform our thinking to God's ways and paths. 

Here is a truth that will help you gain wisdom every day.  Say it to yourself several times before you leave your home for the day.  "If I disagree with God's Word, I am wrong!"  Wisdom calls to us and tells us that something wonderful awaits those who accept reproof.  But the person who in pride refuses to admit that he is wrong - that person will remain mired in the foolishness of his own ways. 

What happens when we turn to God's reproof?  Here is something wonderful!  He pours out His Spirit upon us.  Did you know that the Holy Spirit is the personification of wisdom!  He wants us to turn from foolishness - so He can be poured out upon us - and so that He can teach us.  Each time we turn from self and the wisdom of this world, the Holy Spirit is waiting to make known God's words to us.  Here is a shocker - wisdom is found when the God's Spirit is poured out on us and we come to know the Word of God.  In that moment we know wisdom. 

The way of wisdom is the way of correction and reproof.  We cannot become wise until we embrace humility.  We cannot become wise until we respect and honor God's Word above all other sources of truth.  We cannot become wise unless God in His mercy pours out His Spirit and opens our minds to the truth of His words.  When this happens, we'll know the truth - and see that truth corrects us and turns us to the right thinking and the right path.  The path to wisdom may not start positive - but when the Spirit of God begins to reveal truth and wisdom to us - it surely ends positive.  Be open to God's reproof - to His correction - knowing that when we turn to Him - an abundance of truth and righteousness will be our reward.

But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Proverbs 9:18

We now come to the closing verse of the this passage.  We have been warned of the dangers of listening to Folly and her call to live foolishly.  We've seen where she dwells and from where she is callling us.  We've also seen that she is calling us with deception and lies.  But the final warning that is given to us has to do with where those who listen to her wind up going. 

One of the reasons we listen to the call of foolishness is because we do not realize where we will wind up spending eternity if we follow her counsel.  We are told that we do not know, as we foolishly listen and follow her counsel that we will end up dead.  We will go to the dead - because that is where all her guests find themselves in the end.  What an interesting picture this paints for us.  She invites guests to come and partake of what she offers to them.  Yet what she feeds them, though appetizing at first - winds up killing them spiritually.  What a hostess she is to us - lying to us and deceiving us into eating what will bring us death.  This gives us another clue to where she is from.  The other one who did this did it in the garden - with the offer of food to Adam and Eve.  Satan offered them what seemed to be food that was delightful to the eye and that also looked good for food.  But when they partook of it all they received was death.  The same lie that was offered in the garden is the same lie that is still being offered to people by Folly today.  And it has the same consequences - it yields death for us instead of life.

A wise man will learn how to discern when foolishness is calling.  It is not an easy thing to do because we are fallen - and our tendencies are to walk in such things.  It is only as we renew our minds with God's Word that we will be able to detect the lies of the evil one, the calls of foolishness to us, and the deception that is involved.  But no matter what the cost for us - to discern foolishness' call is vitally important for us.  It is also vital that we take the time to instruct and advise our sons and daughters to do the same.  May God bring up a generation that learns to reject Folly's call - and instead - have our ears and spirits in tune with the voice of God's Spirit instead.

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

We continue to look at the call of foolishness and how to discern it.  So far we've primarily looked at the place where foolishness dwells - the company that she keeps, and the way that she is sitting on the spiritual sidelines calling out to those who desire to live godly lives - being a dangerous distraction to them.  Today, we see what she says - we see the actual call of Folly to those who will make the mistake of listening to her. 

There are two things that foolishness says to us as she attempts to get us to turn our gaze from the path in front of us.  The first is a simple call to come to where she is.  "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here."  We have seen this word "naive" (which is the Hebrew word "pethi") before.  The thing that we need to see here is that the simple or naive is one who does not yet fully understand God's Word.  They are deficient in seeing the world from God's perspective - and as a result their moral maturity is lacking.  The call of foolishness to such a person would most likely involve a call to be open-minded to seeing things other than how God sees them.  Foolishness does not usually say this outright - but the call nevertheless is for someone to listen to "another" view of morals and righteousness. 

Foolishness calls out to those who are lacking "understanding."  The word here is "leb" and it means heart.  The reason foolishness calls to such a one is because they lack a fundamental growth in their inner man.  They are lacking a heart for God - and as a result - they lack a true devotion to the Lord and to what He teaches.  This is why they are a prime target for the evil one.  He knows that they have yet to fully embrace God's ways and God's Word - therefore they can be picked off easily by a call to be broad or open minded. 

This call for an open mind is one of the most dangerous things in the arsenal of the wicked one.  It is not that God does not want us to think - but that He desires for us to first submit ourselves to His Lordship and His Word.  The original sin in the garden was a rebellion that was centered in wanting to make up our own minds concerning the knowledge of good and evil.  When Adam and Eve partook of that fruit - far more than just a new taste was in their mouths.  God desired for them to partake of the tree of life and live according to the life that God would grant them in Him.  But because they listened to the devil and believed his lie - they decided to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They wanted to decide for themselves what "living" was about - and it yielded to them and their posterity - death. 

This lie continues to this day - and is still effective among the sons of men.  God has given us His Word - which shows us the way of life.  It reveals to us all that we need to know to develop morally and spiritually.  We can know life and life abundantly!  The problem is that we hear another call - the call of foolishness.  "Come on!" Folly says to us.  "Have an open mind about these things."  Folly would have us think that morality - righteousness - holiness is not just what God says.  We should think for ourselves - determine our own right and wrong.  God even knows that in the day that we determine these things for ourselves - we will be like Him knowing good and evil!  But the lie kills - it killed in the past - and it will kill today.  Hold fast to God's Word - and hold fast to how God defines life.  Do not listen to the call of foolishness.  Remember that the man is blessed who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scoffers.  The man is blessed who meditates on the Word of the Lord - day and night - so that he may do all that is according to that Word.  If we want to know Who to listen to in life - we should listen to God as He speaks by His Spirit through His Word.  That is the way of life - and those who partake of this fruit will know life indeed.