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Take a minute to go through the contacts on your phone. Who do you find? I have a special page of "favorites"--Mike, my kids, my sons-in-law, my dad, my mom (who I can't bring myself to delete, although she's been gone almost 6 years). Altogether, I have 255 contacts in my phone. Family, friends, acquaintances. A few people I'm not sure why I have their number saved, and even one called "Do not answer". 👀👀 If we went through our "friends" list on social media, no doubt we'd have many more!!! Our contacts in our phone are a limited view of the vast number of people we have related with and to in our lives.
We have interacted with so many people and, whether we remember the details or not, they've affected us and we've affected them. We probably wouldn't have to go back too far in our memories to see both Lady Wisdom's and Lady Folly's influence in our relationships.
The whole book of Proverbs is centered around relationship, and in Proverbs 10-30 relationships are mentioned in over 80 verses. I'm sure you've heard parents say or imply--"Do what I say, not what I do!" Solomon uses a LOT of words to instruct his son, and in 23:26, he invites his son to watch his actions, too. When it comes to following wisdom or folly as parents, we need to start like we want to finish. Proverbs 22:6 is a hallmark verse in parenting--"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." It is a principle, a goal, but not necessarily a promise. I'm sure we've all seen loving, godly parents lose a child to folly, foolish living. It's not because they did wrong specifically, but because their child grown has a free will to decide who to follow. A foolish son or daughter is grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him. (Proverbs 17:25) But it's still a principle we should follow as people of influence for the Kingdom. Family relationships are for the long haul, we don't start with a failing plan. We teach and live, and pray. We teach them to walk in wisdom, but we can't walk in wisdom for them. There is no "finish line" for the influence parents have in their children's lives, the dynamics just change. "Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. (I like to say "I know I've gone from starring role to supporting actor in my kids' lives, but they still give Oscars for supporting roles, so I'm giving it my all!" 😂) We never stop teaching the ones who have been entrusted to us how to walk in wisdom. (Or even, sadly, how to walk in folly.)
The next circle of influence is our friends and neighbors. Proverbs 13:20 says "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." That sentiment is repeated in 22:10, 24-25; 23:20-21. In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus was confronted by a lawyer asking how to inherit eternal life. Jesus returns the question, asking him what he knows of the law. The man says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." The man asked Jesus "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus replies with the parable of the Good Samaritan. We should treat our friends and neighbors with love, respect, honesty, care, and loyalty. Proverbs 11:10-11 shows the logical conclusion of both Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly in a city--"When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown." Imagine the difference we can make if we follow Lady Wisdom--Jesus, the wisdom and power of God-- and lead others to do the same.
And finally, our spouse. Mike (my husband) proofreads and gives me advice on this blog, so he's probably just waiting to see what I might say. 😏 He might want me to underline Proverbs 21:9, Proverbs 21:19, and Proverbs 27:15 and wrap this post up! (And he's right....) Just because I sometimes follow Lady Folly like she's my BFF doesn't mean that I don't know what God says I should do. Lady Folly is known as the adulteress woman, seductive and a bad influence to put it mildly. We have the opportunity to influence our loved ones with wisdom and all that wisdom brings. We do not sin in a vacuum-- when we act foolishly, our loved ones suffer. Ephesians 5:22-33 spreads this marriage teaching even further, because as followers of Jesus Christ, we are His Bride, the church. So those who are single, or widowed, or divorced, also can learn the importance of acting and reacting as a godly woman of Kingdom influence.
Relationships matter. In Genesis 3, Lady Folly--the enemy--seduced Adam and Eve to break fellowship with God. He promised them greener grass, and they followed that promise straight down the path that led to death. And in Genesis 4--and forever--that break became genetic. But God--loyal, stubborn, unwavering in His love and mercy--drew us back into relationship with Him. He wrote a new covenant, on our hearts this time instead of on stone. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John 13:34 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11 Wisdom begins when we are in awe of the LORD. Freely He has given to us, let us freely give. 💓
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