Sooner or later all of us question our purpose in life. Times when we encounter major transitions in our lives; times when we question what life is all about. Why was I created? How am I supposed to make a difference in this world? Who am I in the cosmos? But it is not long before we step down from those lofty, philosophical questions and get down to the basics. Like: How do I just get through my day to day life?

Recently I found myself in a conversation with a woman who had received a call at her office to inform her that she was not living up to the expectations of her supervisor and if she didn’t change she would most likely be let go. Flustered by the method of this news and shocked by its content, she plummeted into a bout of depression, convinced that she was incompetent and the job was over.

We talked for a bit about how life will bring each of us confusion, suffering and disappointment. There is no doubt that these events are upsetting, often unfair, even maddening. Our response is varied. We withdraw; we sacrifice our self worth; we get angry at others; we blame God; we follow the crowd. It takes most of us a while to turn to God in prayer or word. Usually we first think, I need to handle this myself.

But we are not equipped to figure everything out; we are not always able to make the right decision, or find the right person to help us. Life is not always easy and it can become overwhelming when we try to go it alone. These are the times when going the easy route, that is, our temptation to choose folly instead of wisdom, can grab us before we realize it.

In one of the Charlie Brown comic strips, Sally, Charlie’s sister declares, "I think I’ve discovered the secret of life." Charlie looks doubtfully at her and asks, "Yea, and what is that?" Sally smugly replies, "All you have to do is just hang on, until you get used to it."

More to the point: In an advice column a reader inquired about his life. "Life is more exhausting than I ever imagined. Is this normal?" The columnist responded that yes it was quite normal, offering the following analogy: ‘Much of the time, life is like going through the airport steering a loaded luggage cart with one bad wheel. Sometimes you just feel ridiculous; othertimes you actually look ridiculous; and sometimes all you can do is just try to push it in generally the right direction.’

While there is some truth in hanging around trying to get used to life, or just trying to push our lives in the right direction, surely there has to be a better explanation than that! We ask friends for advice; we frequent the self help section in bookstores; we search for a mentor. Instead of an advice column, what we really need to do is take a look at God’s counsel given centuries ago.

Now before you check out telling yourself, yea, easy for her to say, but for me the Bible is just too difficult to use, let me offer some hope. There are indeed difficult sections of the Bible to read and understand, particularly if we choose to do it alone instead of in a group. But there is hope. Both the Old and the New Testaments have places where we can find easy to read and short portions that are relevant to our lives today. James in the New Testament is one place and another is Proverbs in the Old Testament.

Proverbs is a manual of prudence; a guide to right living. It offers God’s detailed instructions of how to deal successfully with the practical affairs of everyday life: how to relate to God, parents, children, neighbors, even the government. It addresses such contradictory facets of everyday life like pride and humility, justice and vengeance, laziness and work, poverty and wealth, friends and neighbors or love and lust.

Proverbs is comprised of pithy statements that are easy to read and short in length; timeless truths meant to guide us. In short, it is designed to show us how to live a godly life in an ungodly world; which is the challenge for all of us as Christians, isn’t it?

The key word in Proverbs is wisdom. Now wisdom is not about intelligence; it is not about having a high IQ or having perfect data retention. It is not about formal education or degrees hung on our wall. Wisdom is a gift from God and is available to all of us who pursue it. Wisdom, according to one commentator, is about knowing, understanding and living out the Word of God, which delivers happiness on a silver platter. Those of us who choose to go it alone, end up steering our baggage with a bad wheel.

Here in the ninth chapter of Proverbs we are offered a choice. We can either follow Lady Wisdom or Madame Whore. We can either follow right or wrong; good or evil; folly or wisdom. Wisdom is portrayed here as a house of stability and spaciousness. Lady Wisdom invites us into her house, away from our normal activity. She shows us her place of healthy living, offering us good food that makes us strong and meaningful experiences that bring us joy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Madame Whore, has built her house of folly, surrounding herself with the fools who live in her neighborhood. Now a fool is not a person who is mentally deficient. Instead, a fool is meant here as one who is self sufficient, ordering his life as though there were no God. The fool doesn’t have time to learn the ways of God. He is naïve and uncommitted; scoffing at believers, as foolish. He plays to the crowd, seeking their approval, following whoever draws his attention.

It is easy to enter the house of folly. People can enter it with little or no change to their present lives. In fact, there tend to be many more people in our world who choose the house of folly; for as one author put it, "They are like water or electricity, almost always choosing the path of least resistance. Sin offers us a good time as we are enticed into a life of destruction. "Everyone’s doing it, so why not?" the fool asks.

It is easy to see our limits in the natural order of things; we cannot leap off tall buildings and survive; if we consume poison we will die. There are limits to our behavior, that if tried will lead to death. But it is much more difficult to observe our moral limits; to know that if we live outside that moral order that God has designed, we will also die a different death. God has entrusted us with a wide freedom of choice; but it is not without limits.

For when we slip into thinking there are no limits to this freedom we can slip easily into a world of death and chaos.The wisdom God promises is more valuable than silver or gold; more precious than jewels, or anything we might desire.

Last week I found myself on an adventure….more of an adventure than I had imagined. I had embarked on a hiking trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, accessible only by foot, horse or helicopter. Instead of the traditional route, we had permission to hike through the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is literally an oasis in the midst of a desert. Fed by a blue green river, Havasupai means "People of the blue green water". Fed by a spring, Havasu Creek thunders through a deep canyon system with a series of waterfalls. The calcium carbonate, carried by the blue green water, forms graceful travertine terraces and hanging rock curtains.

After gathering on the rim our guides educate us in the ways and customs of the Indian people. When traveling through their village we are not to look them directly in the eye or initiate conversation, for this is disrespectful. There are 600-800 Indian people living in the village. At a certain age, most children are sent out of the village to attend school far from home. The Indian people raise horses and mules that provide much of their income, carrying people who prefer riding up and down the canyon instead of hiking. Mules carry much of the heavy weight of supplies, mail, and other necessities and can be seen working throughout the canyon.

It would be ten miles to our campsite where we would base for the rest of the week. We were warned to move quickly to the inside wall of the canyon whenever we heard hoof steps, for the horses often trotted and would not be stopping for us. As a result, we could easily be knocked off the side of the canyon.

Hiking down that first 10 miles, I was intrigued with the beauty of the Canyon, the diversity of the group, the ways of the guides and the spiritual silence along the way. As we drew near Supai, the Indian village, the desert changed. Instead of a desert terrain the landscape turned to waterfalls and plants, palm trees and flowers, creeks and trees. The Havasupai Indian Reservation is a beautiful oasis in the midst of the desert.

Arriving at the campsite we were dusty, tired and hungry. We had instructions for set up: Keep your tents zipped at all times, for this is rattlesnake country. After a wonderful dinner our guides pointed out other hazards under our table: tarantulas. Always remember to shake out your boots and clothes for scorpions or tarantulas, they instructed. One night there we were startled by a large jolt on our tent that turned out to be a wild horse and her foal.

The night before each day, our guides would prepare us for the daily hikes, ranging from 8-10 miles each day. Such things as the gear we needed to pack, weather, difficulty, but never exactly what we would encounter. The option of going or waiting along the way was always an option.

Towards the end of the week we were taken to the start of Beaver Falls. We each had our packs with water shoes, hiking boots, rain gear, bathing suits and lots of drinking water. There would be an element of risk; it would be demanding but not impossible, they said. There was no pressure, or false encouragement. In the end each person stood alone in their decision. None of us knew what lay ahead; none of us could look at the trail and assess our abilities first. In the end we had to trust our guides who had been assessing us all week. Three decided not to go.

However, I soon found myself facing a 100’ wall with rope handles which disappeared half way up. I looked down and only water was below; my pack weighed heavily; the footholds were not apparent and my arms ached.. At just the right moment, out of nowhere, the guide appeeared beside me; his leg at a 90 degree angle. "Step onto my leg and then you can reach the next foothold." I considered my weight on him and thought no, I must turn back. I looked down but the others had already ascended waiting for me to continue. There was no turning back.

I hesitated for what seemed to be an eternity. Noticing my dilemma he said kindly, "Give me your pack." I did, and then inch by inch made it to the top. I had to trust him, and he had to know the skills of guiding me at just the right time, and in just the right way.

Isn’t life like that? We face what appears to be an insurmountable wall where the footholds are not visible. We are weighed down with unnecessary burdens. We cannot see the way out. What we need is a guide to show us the way.

Right here today, in this Scripture lesson we are instructed to follow our one true guide: our never changing, all knowing God. Gather up the wisdom that God is offering us in these words for they are the stepping stones, the knee extended, the backpack lifted, at just the right time. It is then that we can find the footholds before our spirits give out.

I forded 4 streams up to my waist, holding by back pack over my head, very aware I don’t swim. I climbed a 100’ wall when I had never rock climbed before. I was the most out of shape in the group and if I had known all that I would face, I would never have agreed to go, believing it would have been impossible. But the guides offered gentle confidence and wisdom along the way. They invited instead of pressuring me. They told me they thought I could do it, but if I didn’t believe I could, I couldn’t. Wait for the group or go; the choice was mine. Oddly, I was cautious but not afraid. I did not have the wisdom I needed; the guides did. I trusted them because of the knowledge I had experienced earlier in the week with them.

Our lives are like this. We are not able to preview our lives in advance. We don’t know what is ahead. We set out alone and soon learn we need each other. We have some skills but not enough to find our way alone. We need a guide, someone to show us the way; someone who cares about us making it, someone we can trust from previous experience; someone who knows the way and believes we can follow.

I felt such exhilaration after accomplishing what I would have thought impossible, through this experience. I put my trust in the wisdom of the guide, who told me only what I needed to know. I made the decision alone. Our choice is either wisdom or folly. It determines where we are headed, where we will end up, and who we will become. Our choices determine how we journey and what our journey will be. God stands beside us and offers us wisdom, warning us of the danger of folly. But in the end, the choice is ours.

"Come into my house and fill yourselves with healthy food and drink. Make yourself comfortable in my living room of fulfillment" invites Lady Wisdom.

"Are you confused, not sure which way to turn? Come on in!" beckons Madame Whore. "Steal off with me. I promise I’ll show you the easy life."

Wisdom is open to all, admits all and invites all. But beware: so too does folly.