Lady Wisdom and Madam Whore

Kind of an interesting title, don't you think? Well, hopefully it got your attention. This morning it was in my reading of Proverbs that I came across these two diametrically opposed ladies. This week as I've been in Kauai for a week of preparation for the upcoming year, (and compliments of Tamra's company!) I've made it one of my spiritual goals to read through the Book of Proverbs once each month. Basically, a chapter a day. Well, this morning, I was reading Proverbs 9 and in it Solomon introduces Lady Wisdom in the first part and Madam Whore in the second part.

Now, I've been reading a lot about the law of attraction the last few months, and for those of you who've never heard or read of it, I highly recommend reading 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne, or 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill. Both of these books address the Law of Attraction, and how, by thinking about positive things, or uplifting things, or benevolent things, you will draw these things to you. They basically come to you based on your thinking. Strange, I know, it may sound that you can attract things to you just by thinking about it, but think about where you are right now... you are there because you allowed yourself to think about where you wanted to be. And if you've never really given any thought to where you, personally, want to be in life, whether it be how much money you want in your bank account, or what kind of friends you want to have, or even where you want to live on this planet.... all of those things in your life are there because you've either willed them, or thought them into existence, or you've never really truly thought them through and you are merely a product of happenstance in your life... I could talk or write a lot on my feelings on this, but for now, I'll just say that the Law of Attraction is definitely in force, and I truly believe I am who I am today because of it.

But anyway, back to Lady Wisdom and her unscrupulous counterpart.

So, King Solomon of Israel, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote this book about 3,000 years ago, and as I, random dude in Hawaii in 2010, read from it this morning (The Message, by the way, is my preferred translation), some thoughts occurred to me about these two characters:

Lady Wisdom...

First of all, Wisdom attracts people to her. She has built a house of the finest timber, taken the time to prepare and lay out, not just a meal, but a an entire banquet of lamb, fresh-baked bread, wine and fine silver utensils and flowers, then she goes out into the street and invites people to come eat with her. "Are you confused about life, don't know what's going on? Come with me, oh come, come have dinner with me..." I would say Solomon was on to something there. My thoughts:

Wisdom has already done all the prep-work for you... she's built the house, prepared the meal, poured the wine... all you have to do is come and partake. How great is that?
Wisdom is looking for you... she goes into the street and calls out: Come eat with me!
And finally, Wisdom doesn't care who you are. She calls out to all who are near. All you need to do is hear her voice, listen up, and go eat. You don't have to be rich, you don't have to be smart, you don't even have to be good looking. You just have to beckon her call.

I think this is a great example of the Law of Attraction in action. Wisdom is looking for you and calling for you, you just have to go eat! Spend some time sharing a meal with wisdom, and you will more than likely pick up a morsel here and there.

Now, what about that Whore?

Madam Whore, as Eugene Peterson (the transliterator for The Message) calls her, is unscrupulous indeed. She makes no preparations for guests, and doesn't go looking for anyone. She just sits on her porch and calls out to those passing by minding their own business: "Are you confused about life, don't know what's going on? Steal away with me... I'll show you a good time." She's not interested in sharing a meal, she's interested in sharing a bed. And stealing your dignity. All her guests end up in Hell, Solomon says.

Well, as I read of these two characters contrasted this morning, this one thing hit me: Wisdom is out there... and she's looking for you. Listen to her. And stay away from that woman calling from the porch.

Create an awesome day, and I hope you find some wisdom today.

Cheers and Aloha-

Hal