I stand in the middle of the street, looking up. On the vast
incline, in front of me stand two houses, two doors, and two people.
On the left is a woman who lives in a house with seven
columns. She likes to entertain people and regularly prepares her food and
wine. She sets her table and tells her servant girls to go out the house and
shout to the city below, “Come in here, you uneducated people! Come and eat my
food and drink the wine I have prepared. Stop your foolish ways and you will
live; take the road of understanding.”
Whether they listen or not, no one makes fun of her as she always
finds a way to insult them among the people. She will often tell you not to
correct those who make fun of her as they will hate you. She tells you to
correct those who have knowledge and they will love you.
She likes to teach and teaches the knowledgeable so they
will gain more. She teaches good people so they will lean more on her.
It is said that she begins by respecting the Lord and her
understanding begins with knowing the Holy One.
Out of her big window, she talks just loud enough to be
heard and to anyone who will listen, “Live wisely and you will live long.
Knowledge will add years to your life. I will reward those you are
knowledgeable but those who make fun of it will suffer”.
I watch the people around me, some listen, some ignore and
some, like me, stand deciding. I find myself listening often to these words; the
words to my left and the words to my right.
On my right is yet another who shouts to the people below. She
is loud and possesses no knowledge. She, unlike the other, sits at the door of
her house, shouting aimlessly, also to anyone who will listen below “Come in,
you foolish people! My stolen water is sweeter, and food eaten in secret tastes
better”.
There are no servant girls who shout for her, just her
lazily sitting on her chair, always loud and rambunctious. Her ways seem to
entice many.
I watch often and notice that the people that enter in this door
never come out. This choice often leaves them deep in despair or in the grave.
On the left lives Wisdom, who is always prepared to share,
to teach and help people gain understanding.
On the right lives Foolishness, who only shares to gain whatever
she can from others for her own selfish gain.
Is good vs. evil, God vs. Devil not the same?
God wants us to learn from Him, gain knowledge, prepare
ourselves for his blessings and then share them with others. When we do good
things, we can feel the impact it has in ourselves as a person. It makes us
warm inside and makes us smile outside.
The Devil entices us to short cuts, easy “way outs” so he
can then turn it around use us for his own enjoyment and gain. Evil makes us
feel powerful but for how long? Eventually we either get caught or the feeling
of emptiness returns.
In our life, we often have difficult decisions to make; we
too have voices to our right and our left ear, telling us which way to turn.
Would it help if, in our minds, we were standing in the street, looking and
listening to the houses on the incline?
Which door would you
choose - Lady Wisdom or Lewd Foolishness?
Proverb 9
