Lady Wisdom vs Madame Folly

The Reason For my faith ^ | 8/9/2026 | Chuck Ness

[OneVike]

Two female figures, Lady Wisdom and Madame Folly. A lesson for every human to learn from. You can accept the lesson as one that compares a wise woman of virtue as mentioned in Proverb 31, versus an immoral woman of folly who tears down her home with her actions as in Proverb 14. Or as I will share with you today, it's a lesson of good versus evil. The right way to live versus the wrong way to live your life.

Either way, it's very common for God to teach us different lessons from the same passage throughout the Scriptures. The book of Proverbs is a prime example of this method of teaching. Today's commentary is of contrast between the woman of wisdom, or the good, versus the woman of folly, or the evil.

(Lady of Wisdom)
"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
"Come, eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.
Proverb 9:4-6

(Madame Folly)
"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here";
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
"Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.
Proverb 9:16-18

Here we see the, "Lady Wisdom," serving as the personification of God's voice inviting us in to learn lessons from Him on how to be a righteous person. Compared to, "Madame Folly," mimicking the voice of God to lure us in with anything that might replace God in our life. All throughout our walk in the world, Satan will attempt to lure us into sin by disguising himself as an angel of light. This is what we see him doing in verse. Using the exact same words as God used in verse. This is important to understand, because the essence of foolishness is living a life that is apart from God. Check out the contrast;

1.) WISDOM builds her house, but FOLLY just sits there, lazy.
2.) WISDOM offers us meat and wine, but FOLLY offers us bread and water.
3.) WISDOM speaks honestly, but FOLLY makes deceptive offers.
4.) WISDOM offers life/wisdom, but FOLLY deceptively offers life while concealing the death within her doors.

In the ancient Near East, to invite someone over for a meal was to invite them into a close personal relationship. Here, both wisdom and folly are inviting us into a relationship. Who will we enter into a relationship with? The choice seems obvious, but in reality we find ourselves going back and forth from having meals with Lady Wisdom and then a meal with Madame Folly. We will treat our walk with Christ in the world like a smorgasbord. We will take a little bit of grace as we praise God, then grab a side of hostility for the idiot who disrupts our day. ....

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TOPICS: Evangelical Christian; General Discusssion; Moral Issues; Theology
KEYWORDS: folly; proverb9; proverbs; wisdom

[OneVike]

I'm off to church, but will respond to any comments or questions when I get home.

[Dr. Sivana]

Some ofd the Freepers would declare that Madame Folly is “Not Guilty”.

[jroehl]

You have an amazing profile page. You made me miss going back to sleep before the sun rose again! But worth it.

[OneVike]

Thank you, I am flattered

[Candor7]

Why chose between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly when in fact one can have both? As a matter of fact all women have both within them. As a combination they are unavoidable.

The dualistic view of women does not work.Its a myth.

All women manifest both qualities of wisdom and folly. That can make them very special and very interesting to have in one's life.

[chud]

Very interesting, indeed...