Today’s scripture: Proverbs 1:22-33 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):
On first reading this passage, Lady Wisdom seems harsh and petty. She expects people to do things her way all the time, or she won’t show up when they need her. She’s like the stereotypical put-upon parent. I hear a nasal-voiced sitcom mom saying, “Now, he calls! He didn’t call on my birthday, or on Mother’s Day, and he spent Thanksgiving with his in-laws, but now he’s in jail and he wants some money for the bail. Well, see if I help him!”
I don’t think Lady Wisdom is like that. Yes, she is always calling to us, and she always wants our attention, but it’s not to fulfill her own desires. She wants us to listen to her, because she wants to help. Unfortunately, as she points out in verse 22, we like being fools. We don’t listen to her advice. We paint ourselves into corners, and then expect Wisdom to miraculously show us the way out. But as Lady Wisdom would have told us if we’d bothered to listen ahead of time, the only way out of a painted corner is to wait for the paint to dry.
This is the truth about making wise decisions: We have to make them consistently. In every moment, we must think about what the wisest thing to do is. If we don’t, if we make poor decisions day after day, we will find ourselves in the middle of a disaster, and no amount of wisdom will be able to save us.
Everywhere, there are stories that illustrate this point: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, or even the biblical story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11 & 12). When we choose to continually make poor decisions, we leave ourselves outside Wisdom’s ability to help us.
Thought for the day: What decisions do you have to make today? Ask Lady Wisdom to help you. She wants to help now, not later when things have become disastrous.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.