The book of Proverbs is a book of great advice and an ominous warning. The advice is to pursue wisdom. The warning is to avoid folly. It is very black and white.

Wisdom speaks to us from the first chapter of Proverbs (1:32-33) and shows us how clear it is:

For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them...

That's a pretty clear warning--avoid foolishness because it leads to destruction.

...but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

That's very good advice--listen to wisdom because it leads to life. It sounds so simple. And yet it is so hard to live.

Why? "Because folly is bound up in the heart" (Proverbs 22:15). To avoid foolishness and pursue wisdom requires denying our sinful nature; it requires a heart change. And only Jesus can do that. We will not pursue wisdom, life-giving though it is, left to our own devices. We are bent on destruction. But Jesus can change our hearts and set our feet on the path of wisdom.

However, wisdom must be pursued--it takes effort, it takes discipline, it takes a teachable heart. It also takes instruction. The young and moldable must be diligently and relentlessly instructed. The wise must teach the naive. This curriculum has been written so that the wise may have a tool to teach the naive; and so that the naive may be encouraged to pursue wisdom. May you teach well both by your words and by your example. And may the naive that you teach "hold fast to your instruction."

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. Proverbs 3:13-18