“Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand” – Proverbs 8:1-2
Cult leaders build followings by designing mazes of hidden knowledge. A hooded figure beckons you into a hidden house, a candlelit room. But you’re only at the entrance. There are dark rooms and passageways beyond, stocked with storehouses of the secrets you always knew were there, but no one dares talk about in the daylight.
You won’t normally find such a brazen display of devilish mysticism—it would too blatantly trigger the alarm bells of our wild imaginations. But the aura of hidden wisdom puts off that kind of smell, and it can lure us in in spite of ourselves. We need to observe Wisdom’s true appearance and voice so we won’t get duped by a disguise.
We meet Lady Wisdom at the beginning of this chapter, preparing to advertise her resume. But look how and where we meet her. She’s raising her voice, not whispering. She stands on the heights and sets up shop at the crossroads. In other words, true wisdom is not hidden in some coded cipher on the back pages of a musty book. She’s clear, visible, and prominent. She wants to be found. She plans her locations like Walgreens—at the places we’re most likely to pass by.
The Prominent Places
Imagine driving straight on a highway with a flat horizon save for one mountain to the right. Where do your eyes rove? To the top of the mountain, which is exactly where Wisdom sets her flag.
When you consider the highest things of life—great leaders, powerful ideas, love, beauty, goodness—you may be sure that wisdom is close at hand. The highest and noblest things in life are worth pondering because they reflect more of Jesus. We see his greatness shining through.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (I John 1:5). God doesn’t keep his abundant goodness a secret. Real wisdom isn’t a pill you slip under the tongue once you’re among the initiated. Wisdom stands on the heights. It’s written in the sky and in the stars because God’s goodness overflows in his eagerness to let everyone know about it.
The Pausing Places
If you find it hard to look up to the heights from the depths of your phone, then you’ll have a hard time finding wisdom at the crossroads. You’re likely to pass right by it without pausing. Wisdom camps out at crossroads because these places represent decision points. You have a choice to make and most people pause, at least for a moment, to do so.
When you feel lost or uncertain, or you see a multiplicity of options, you are more likely to pause. This is a prime opportunity for you to meet Wisdom, and she knows it. You’re less likely to keep humming along with business as usual, and instead to ponder the weightier matters of truth, purpose, eternity, and moral excellence. Christians should relish every pausing place in life as a chance to hear from and be directed by Jesus, the embodiment of wisdom.
