Folly in disguise: Proverbs 1 - 8

Another good everning at the CY Bible study on Sunday night. Not may there (only 4) but it's great to hear these teenagers applying God's word to their lives, praying it in and living it out.
This week we were looking at Proverbs 1 - 8, and how Lady Folly disguises herself.
The first thing is that of course she disguises herself; if we could all spot Folly from 100yds, we'd never be trapped by her!

First, Folly is disguised by sinners: in 1:10-19, we read how sinners 'entice' people. Now enticements, by their very nature, are attractive (superficially, at least). Here there are the enticements of 'all sorts of valuable things' and 'a common purse'. In other words, sinners dangle before us things that appear worth having, along with the promise of friendship and membership of a clan, club or gang. (I wonder if this applies especially to those who use Apple Mac products or drive BMWs...!!!) In all seriousness, we do need to realise and expose the fact that the advertising industry wants us to think of worthless things as having real intrinsic value. We need to open our eyes to this and only value what - or rather who - has true value; and ultimately that is only Christ.
But sinners are also great mockers - it's part of Folly's disguise - and they will mock young Christians so much that they begin to doubt and be embarrassed by their faith. 
But enticements are also more subtle than desirable gadgets and delaying the onset of ageing. Politicians and teachers entice our children with the promise that happiness, fulfilment and success will be theirs if they get straight A*s. Meanwhile (as the boys pointed out on Sunday) a certain peer pressure says, 'Don't work. Be lazy. Be cool. Then we'll be friends.'

Secondly, Folly is disguised by the 'simple ones' (1:22-32). John Piper's most recent book, 'Think' encourages Christians to do just that - to think in much more depth about God, and in particular to think as we read the Bible because that's where God reveals himself. But Folly disguises herself, and says, 'You're not a theologian. You can't understand the Bible. You can't know about God. So don't bother - leave it to the preachers and the experts'. In this, Folly has been incredibly successful; few Christians read their Bibles (and certainly not with any real seriousness) and few read good Christian books. It may be a cliche, but it's true that everyone is a theologian (in that everyone has some beliefs and thoughts about God) it's just that some people are good theologians and some are bad theologians.
When we're mocked by sinners, we need to have good theology to reason against them.

Thirdly, 6:6-11, Folly is disguised as the sluggard (don't you just love that word "sluggard"?!).

A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest -
and poverty will come upon you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.

Of course in the world of Solomon, this proverb had more immediate impact - society was, I suppose, more hand-to-mouth than ours. But the general principle holds true: if we neglect what is important, disaster will come upon us when we don't expect it. If we neglect our personal devotions and meeting together as the people of God, we shouldn't be surprised if God is not pleased with us (Heb 10:38f).
If we neglect our marriage, we shouldn't be surprised if our eyes start to wander and the disasters of adultery pounce (Prov 5 & 7 - and the adulterer is one of the disguises of Folly).
The ant is the example because it works despite not having a commander, overseer or ruler to crack the whip. The ant is conscientious. What a great topic for a teenager's Bible study! But hang on a moment you adults, what's your work-rate when the boss's back is turned?! 

So. Watch out for Folly. She'll be well disguised, and you'll need to have your brain in gear if you're going to spot her lurking. Pray for the Spirit's gift of discernment!