Throughout the Scriptures, we frequently read about the Two Ways, a simple yet powerful way to teach about the basic choice that confronts each one of us in life. Moses used the Two Ways to teach the Israelites in their day: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a). Jesus also used the Two Ways to teach his followers about the narrow gate that leads to life and the wide gate that leads to destruction. 

Proverbs makes use of this same teaching method. Proverbs 9 personifies the two ways with two women—Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly—each of whom invites guests into her home. Interestingly, the call of the two ladies is the same: “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” (Proverbs 9:4 and 16). Their invitation may be the same, but the ends that their guests come to could not be more different. Lady Wisdom’s invitation is to “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight” (Prov. 9:6). Furthermore, her invitation to the simple has a distinctly moral tone. Her invitation is not to secular wisdom but to true, Biblical wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10). Thus verse 10 clarifies that Lady Wisdom’s call to walk in the way of insight in verse 6 is a call to know the Lord. And the reward for walking in the way of wisdom and the fear of the Lord is life: “For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life” (Prov. 9:11).

Lady Folly’s invitation is entirely different. Far from being an invitation to come to know and revere the Lord, her invitation is to moral laxity. “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Prov. 9:17). The Way of Folly is so called precisely because we follow it when we suppress our knowledge of what is right and pursue our own desires. It is the Way of Folly not because we accidentally made a mistake, but because we long for what is forbidden and choose to do what we know is foolish and wrong. But what we seldom think about is where the Way of Folly will lead us. In the words of the Proverbs, ‘He does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol [i.e. the place of the dead]” (Prov. 9:18). Two ways: the way of life that leads to blessing or the way of death that leads to the curse. Two ways: the narrow way that leads to life or the broad way that leads to destruction. Two ways: Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly. Two ways; two very different results. Two ways; your choice.

We are careful in life to guard the things that we value and protect them from harm. We protect memorabilia from the ravages of time. We guard our homes and the possessions within them by means of locks and home security systems. We guard our children from danger and keep them out of harm’s way. We guard our health during cold and flu season. We guard our passwords and accounts so that our identity doesn’t get stolen. But these are not the only things in life that we should guard. A friend of mine recently shared with me three reminders about situations when we need to be on our guard.

1. When you’re alone, guard your thoughts. What we think about shapes who we become. For many people, times of solitude can be times of temptation. You may be tempted to shut your mind off and just passively be entertained, rather than filling your mind with good things. Or, you may be tempted to fill your mind with things that are unholy. Either way, there are abundant temptations to let down our guard, leaving our mind and thoughts exposed and vulnerable to the attacks of the evil one. Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:8 to fill our minds with things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.” When you’re alone, guard your thoughts and keep them pure.

2. When you’re at home, guard your temper. We’ve all seen it before, and we know that few things are as damaging as an unleashed temper. The words of one Christian hymn remind us that “Angry words are lightly spoken / Bitterest thoughts are rashly stirred / Brightest links of life are broken / By a single angry word.” Truly, anger has a terrifyingly destructive power. The repeated Biblical instruction is to be slow to anger and guard your spirit carefully against this deadly enemy. As the Proverbs teach us, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Prov. 16:32). When you’re at home, guard your temper and keep it under an iron-fisted grip.

3. When you’re with friends, guard your tongue. When you were young, you probably heard a lot about peer pressure. Why do we stop talking about peer pressure when we’re adults? It doesn’t go away! When we are with friends, there can be immense peer pressure—to talk like they do, to tell the kind of jokes they laugh at, to lie in order to look good, or to talk endlessly about yourself and your own accomplishments. Remember, our words reflect what is in our hearts (Luke 6:45). When you’re with friends, guard your tongue and keep it free from lies and arrogant speech.

This week—when you’re alone, when you’re at home, and when you’re with friends—be on guard!

While it may be true that even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, there are some things in life that just do not happen by accident. For example, no one receives a Ph.D. by accident, no one wins a marathon by accident, and doctors never become skilled surgeons by accident. These things require years of dedication, focus, and hard work. In order to accomplish one of these feats or something similar, people must pursue their goals for years on end; dreams like these don’t happen without steadfast purpose. It’s also true that no one just happens to be faithful to the Lord by accident. If a Christian is going to remain faithful to the Lord throughout years and decades of life, he or she will never do it by accident. In order to receive the crown of life, we must run the race of faith with a steadfast and unwavering purpose. This was exactly the message with which Barnabas encouraged some new disciples at a fledgling church in the city of Antioch. Luke tells us about this event in Acts 11. 

“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11:19-24).

My encouragement and charge to you this week is the same as Barnabas’ was to these Christians: remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose! You have started the race of faith. You are running well. But remember that it is not just how you begin but how you finish that matters. So let the dying love of your Lord on the cross encourage you. Let your memory of the hopelessness of life without Christ point the way to your gracious Savior. Let the knowledge that God is with you every step of the way fuel you. Let the church around you motivate you. Let the prize ahead of you spur you on. Let all the promises of God and all the history of his faithfulness to his people produce in you a steadfast, unwavering purpose to continue with the Lord and to walk in the light of his mercy and grace. Turn to the Lord for his strength and continue in the faith with steadfast purpose!