The Invitation of Wisdom and Folly

Wisdom and folly call out to me each day. Each has the same initial invitation, and each appeals to my desire for happiness and profit and treasure and joy. However, the appeal of folly plays on my desire for immediate gratification, and its result is death. Wisdom, thankfully, leads to life. Here is how Solomon puts it in Proverbs 9 -

"[Wisdom] says, 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!' To him who lacks sense she says, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.'" (verses 4-6).

"[Folly] says, 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!' And to him who lacks sense she says, 'Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol." (verses 16-18).

Here is set before me two invitations. I can choose the "sweet water" and "secret bread" of folly, or the bread and drink of wisdom. One leads to death, the other to life. To whom will I send my RSVP?

One question remains - what is the way of wisdom? Verse 10 gives us a place to start, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."