JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!! How many times have we thought this, or said it out loud, to an unhappy spouse, to a boss who was a bully and could NOT be pleased, to a counselor from whom we were seeking guidance.

JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!! How many times have we prayed our children or grandchildren would say this to us!

Every day of our lives we are required to make choices: Big choices, little choices, sometimes life-changing choices. I don’t think there is anyone in this room who got up this morning thinking, “I’m gonna make some BAD decisions today! Woo hoo! Let the party begin!”

Every one of us wants to make the best choices possible: In our food choices which affect our health, in our life choices of relationships and jobs, in our environmental choices as we try to make the smallest carbon footprint possible, in our stewardship choices as we manage the time and resources God has given us.

We all want to make the best choices possible: Choices that lead to prosperous paths, choices that bring joy and happiness to our lives, choices that make us and our loved ones feel safe and secure. None of these choices I’ve named should ever be made off the cuff. In fact, when we make these choices quickly there is a strong possibility we’ll make a bad decision.

Have you ever bought a shirt that was 75% off retail because it was such a bargain. Then you got it home and thought to yourself “You know, this is the ugliest thing I have in my closet. What was I thinking?”

Have you ever experienced love at first sight and were immediately convinced that this was the right person for you? You fell hard and heavy for them. Then, several weeks into the relationship, you discovered the steamer trunks of emotional baggage your beloved brought with them?

Come on, it’s confession time. Most of us have been there! When making choices in life a general rule is that it’s not a good thing to make them quickly. When they’re life-changing ones, it’s best to do a little research, seek the wisdom of others, and prayerfully consider our options.

This brings us to our first lesson for today which presents us with a choice between two tables where we can metaphorically dine: Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. The tricky part is discerning which table we’re dining at. The tricky part is trying to figure out if we’re making a good decision or a bad decision in life.

In this instance, JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO doesn’t cut it. The writer of Proverbs is telling us that both tables have their appeal. It may not always be easy at first glance to figure out whose table we’re dining at! So, let’s look at the two tables, Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly, and see what they can teach us about making good choices in life.

We begin with Lady Wisdom. Verse 1 says “Lady Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars.” The word HOUSE used here refers to a school of learning which became associated with the wisdom movement. SEVEN PILLARS refers to the pillars surrounding the central courtyard of a house for someone who is wealthy and prosperous.

Gary & I saw houses like this in the ancient city of Pompeii. All the rooms open up into a central courtyard that was used for lounging, entertainment and eating. Part of this courtyard had a roof over it that was supported by three columns on each side, and one column at the far end. The walls which surrounded this courtyard were decorated with colorful frescoes.

So the visual picture we get of Lady Wisdom is a beautiful woman in a white toga with a laurel wreath around her head. Her house is absolutely stunning. She shows us into the central courtyard and we know we’re in for a treat!

Verse 2 says “She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.” Lady Wisdom has prepared a banquet for us. It’s quiet a feast! Like an Old Testament Giada de Laurentis or Rachel Ray, she has prepared for us the very best and we know it’s going to be absolutely delicious.

Verses 3-6 say “She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in the town, ‘You that are simple, turn in here!’ To those without sense she says, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity,and live, and walk in the way of insight.'”

For those of us who are tempted to ask Lady Wisdom JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO, she invites us in for a delightful feast. In case you think she’s insulting us by calling us “simple,” the Hebrew word for simple is PATHAH which means “to open.” i.e. One who is open to any influence; someone who is impressionable and easily molded.

“Those without sense” can be translated as “Those who lack judgment.” The root word means “to separate or divide.” i.e.Those with an inability to distinguish between right and wrong.

The image we get in Proverbs is of an impressionable young person who is being invited to dine at wisdom’s house. It is there that they will learn to distinguish between right and wrong; they will be influenced in a good and positive way and learn how to make better choices in life.

Now we turn our attention to Dame Folly. She looks quite different from Lady Wisdom. Verse 13 says “Dame Folly is loud; she is ignorant and knows nothing.” Folly in these verses is personified as a lady of the evening, if you know what I mean! We picture her in the window of a bordello in Amsterdam. She is trying to lure us into her establishment. The Broadway equivalent of Folly is one of the women in the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret. She is sexy, provocative and enticing. [If you like that kind of thing!] Whatever image comes to your mind as alluring and seductive, this is how you should picture Dame Folly.

Verses 14-17 say “She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the high places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, ‘You who are simple, turn in here!’ And to those without sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.'”

Notice the identical phrasing that us used by both Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly: “You who are simple turn here” and “those without sense.” Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly issue the same invitation to come and dine at their table. But what each of them offers is as different as night and day.

The Message does a really good job of highlighting the seduction game that Dame Folly is playing: “Steal off with me, I’ll show you a good time! No one will ever know—I’ll give you the time of your life.”

Human nature, for whatever reason, is often drawn to the house of Folly rather than the House of Wisdom. We see this in the newspapers all the time as people from all walks of life make tragic and self-destructive decisions: Adultery, corruption, murder, abuse of power, accumulation of wealth at the expense of others, and believing in conspiracy theories and pseudo-science.

These are just some of the meals that are offered at Folly’s house which begs the question “Why is the forbidden so enticing?” I guess its sort of like a child that is told by a parent they cannot do this or that. Suddenly the forbidden becomes the very thing they want to do.

We often do crazy things and make bad decisions in order to obtain what Folly offers us. We enter the House of Folly with our blinders on, ignoring the consequences of our actions, until they hit us upside the head like an 18 wheeler going 120 M.P.H.

The results of dining at the House of Folly are stated clearly in vs. 18 “But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” The best translation of this verse comes from Today’s English Version: “Her victims do not know that people die who go to her house; that those who have already entered are now deep in the world of the dead.”

When we enter Folly’s House, we might have a good time for a season but ultimately we will pay a heavy price for it. This is the difference between the two houses: Wisdom offer us a fuller life where we “walk in the way of insight.” Folly offers us rotten fruit in a flashy wrapper where we end up “deep in the world of the dead.”

There is a lot we can learn from these dual images of Wisdom and Folly. I would encourage everyone to read Proverbs 9 this week preferably in several translations and absorb its meaning. As we make choices in life, I hope we will keep these two images in mind and continually ask ourselves: Are we going for the cheap thrill OR something that is lasting and eternal? Are we going for something in a flashy wrapper OR something that may have little style but lots of substance? Are we going for the things that will lead us to a fuller life OR that will ultimately lead us to misery and unhappiness?

My dear friends, life is a series of choices. I have seen godly people who were brought to their knees because the entered the House of Folly instead of the House of Wisdom. Unfortunately, no one is going to stand around and tell us what to do all the time. We are going to have to make most decisions on our own. I pray that God would grant us the discernment to know the difference between dining at the House of Wisdom and dining at the House of Folly. AMEN

Copyright ©2021 by David Eck