Attractive Wisdom - Brendan Hurley - 10th May 2026

Gracious Heavenly Father, may your word challenge

us, change us, may it comfort us, may it help

us to be wise, and may it drive us away from

foolishness. And we ask this in Jesus' name,

amen. Magnets are so much fun. My wonderful wife

Laura, she's a great mum. And she found these

cool things years ago called kinetics. Has anyone

ever played with kinetics? All right, that's

great. Getting in touch with your inner child.

And so kinetics, these are awesome little magnets.

These ones are so strong, I can't even pull them

apart. And like you can, it's basically like

magnetic Lego. It's awesome. And I've seen Laura

sit with the kids and build the most amazing

things with these kinetics. big towers, big ball

runs, all sorts of interesting things. It is

such a great toy. And as we play, and as Laura

plays with the kids, I don't think our kids realise

just how amazing magnets are. See, magnets have

two poles. They have a field that attracts and

one that repels. And so they attract and repel

each other. I mean, I don't know why I put these

down. These are so cool. have a thing where,

you know, that way they stick together. How clever

is that? But then if you do it a different way,

it's always, oh, it's some way they don't go

together. But, you know, I'm not that smart.

But anyway, they're really cool because they

have this amazing power to attract to one another.

And that phenomenon of magnetism is a powerful

metaphor that we use in our culture, isn't it?

have a magnetic personality. It's that sort of

idea, isn't it? Or in business we go, oh, that's

a really attractive offer. Or romance, that's

the big one, isn't it? You find someone really

attractive. People spend a lot of time trying

to work out how to be magnetic, how to be attractive.

But you know what's something that we spend far

less time thinking about? We spend far less time

thinking about who we're attracted to and why.

That's important too, as good as it is to, you

know, go do the Botox and be as attractive as

possible. We need to work out who we're attracted

to and why. What's going on in me that makes

me drawn to who I'm drawn to? You know, why does

someone like the party girl or the bad boy? Why

not, you know, Mr Nice Guy? Why am I attracted

to those who aren't good for me? Why do I feel

less of a pull to those that are? Now, there's

so many movies and TV shows about that question,

isn't there? The guy or the girl chasing their

unhealthy partner and then they finally wake

up to how amazing the best friend who's been

right there in front of them is the whole time.

and they see them in a new light, they suddenly

feel an attraction towards them. Well, I want

to suggest today the same thing should happen

to us with wisdom. With wisdom, we want to feel

an attraction toward wisdom. We want to understand

why is it that I don't always feel attracted

to wisdom? Why is it that sometimes I'm drawn

to folly, even though folly's not good for me?

We've got to look inward and work out what's

going on. Is there a new light that I need to

see wisdom in? Well, that's what these chapters

in Proverbs do. They help us see just how attractive,

how awesome, how beautiful and wonderful wisdom

is. And they do that by presenting wisdom and

folly as women. you know, not trying to be sexist

or anything, it's that Proverbs was most likely

originally a book for young men in the king's

court. And so the writer is personifying wisdom

and folly as attractive women to appeal to that

particular audience. But it's there to show us

just how wonderful wisdom is. Here's the big

thing our passage is showing us today. Folly

seduces us into ruin, but wisdom offers us rich

blessings. That's what we see with wisdom and

folly in this passage. Folly seduces us into

ruin, but wisdom offers us rich blessings. We're

gonna look at how this works. And the passage

does two things. It says, you can see wisdom

everywhere. We're going to see how great wisdom

is because we can see it everywhere. And it's

going to give us a choice. It's going to say,

you must choose wisdom or folly. So let's look

at the first thing. You can see wisdom everywhere.

Now, we're not just looking at chapter nine.

We're also looking at chapter eight of Proverbs.

And in chapter eight, Lady Wisdom calls out that

she is more precious than silver, gold, or jewels.

And she backs it up by showing how you can see

wisdom's fingerprints everywhere. All over the

world you can see wisdom. It's baked into the

created order. Kings who reign well, reign well

by wisdom. Good governing is done by wisdom.

Those who earn big bucks and are successful do

so because they tap into something, not always

but often, they tap into something of wisdom.

Wisdom is so incredible that it's actually used

by God in the creation of the world. I mean,

look around, we've got ecosystems, we've got

the water cycle, we've got all these things.

Wisdom is baked into everything. The universe

doesn't run by random chance. It runs because

of wisdom. And seeing this should entice you

and me to go get wisdom. I mean, that's kind

of how sponsorships work, isn't it? For years,

my favourite golf ball to play, and I'm sure

you all care about my favourite golf ball to

play, but it's the only illustration I've got,

it was the Titleist Pro V1. Why? Because it was

the most played golf ball on the PGA Tour. All

the pros played Titleist Pro V1s. And for me,

I wanted to be great at golf. So what do you

do? You've got to go use the ball that the pros

use. See, that's how sponsorships work, isn't

it? And that's what's going on here. Wisdom has

got all its brand ambassadors out. Why choose

wisdom? Well, look around, look at all the brand

ambassadors saying how good wisdom is. Rulers

choose wisdom, the rich choose it, even God uses

it. And there's one more brand ambassador who's

not in this passage who shows just how attractive

wisdom is. It's the Lord Jesus. When he walked

on earth, he literally was wisdom personified.

Lady wisdom here is a preview in some ways, a

shadow of the Lord Jesus. Just as Lady Wisdom

puts limits on the sea, the Lord Jesus would

tell the stormy seas to be still and they'd do

it. When people came with disputes or to trap

Jesus, he'd wisely get down to the real issue.

He lived a life of pure wisdom. That's why he

was so magnetic. People from all over came to

see and speak with Jesus. His wisdom was out

of this world. He even implemented God's wise

plan. He'd be treated like a fool to save the

world. It's amazing wisdom that we see in Jesus.

He is wisdom personified. And when you see that,

it reminds us don't neglect to get wisdom. Make

sure you go get wisdom. The wisdom that's found

in Jesus especially. See, wisdom is very attractive

and this passage is trying to help us see that.

But even as it's trying to call out to us and

draw us in, it faces a rival for our devotion.

Lady Folly. And we have to choose whether we'll

go to the House of Wisdom or to the House of

Folly. And that's the next thing we see. You

must choose wisdom or folly. In chapter nine,

wisdom and folly are placed side by side to each

other. It's there to show that it's a binary

choice. You either choose wisdom or folly. You

can't say simple or naive forever. But it's also

placed like that so we can compare them. They're

there doing the same activities all over the

passage. They're doing the same sorts of things,

but they do it in really different ways. They're

like apples and oranges. They're chalk and cheese.

They're completely different from one another.

Here's some of the ways that they're different.

Wisdom industriously built her house with seven

pillars, seven because it's complete or perfect.

and shrewdly sends out her servants to bring

people in. Folly? Well, she sits there slovenly

at her front door and just shouts as loud as

she can, come on in, come on in! Wisdom worked

hard to make a lavish and delicious meal. Folly's

meal is bland and the only reason it tastes good

is because it's illicit, because it's stolen.

Wisdom meal is given freely to all who come.

Folly's meal is stolen. It's given because she

takes from others. Wisdom gives people life and

insight. It's such a rich blessing. Folly secretly

kills all who enter her home. It's ghoulish.

It presents as attractive and beautiful, but

then when you get in there, you pull back the

curtain and you see it's actually death. See,

both wisdom and folly are seeking to attract

you, yet the reality of each is worlds apart.

It's like when you see ads for Maccas. You know

when, if you were to eat the burger that was

in the McDonald's ads, you would actually die?

I remember, if you've ever watched Gruen, it's

a great show on ABC about advertising, the sesame

seeds that they use on the Maccas ad are actually

glued on. So you'd eat the glue. The patty has

glycerin on it to make it look juicy, so that

wouldn't be good for you. The fries are actually

painted styrofoam. See, the ad is there trying

to seduce you to something that will kill you.

Whereas I've got a mate, Joe, back in Perth.

He's got this little group called Feast on Beasts.

And they cook the most delicious burgers you've

ever seen. Like, you know, he's there and he's

trying to decide which potato bun or milk bun,

what brioche bun, what bun is best. And then

he picks one and then he, like, smashes the patty

beautifully and he gets the best meat for it.

And, oh, you go in and, smells so good. You see

it, it looks amazing. There's no glue on it.

You taste it and it not only tastes amazing,

but it's like pretty good for you. It's pretty

healthy, puts a bit of salad in it and all the

nice things. Now both are attractive, but one

is fake and deadly isn't it? And one is real

and wonderful. And that's just like wisdom and

folly. So how do you tell which one you're actually

attracted to? Well, look at chapter 9, verses

7 to 9. The one who's wicked is drawn to folly.

They insult, they lash out, they despise anyone

who tries to correct them. The wise, the righteous,

they're attracted to wisdom. It's the opposite,

isn't it? They love those who correct them. They

keep learning. They keep growing. They're teachable.

They live life with their L -plates on all the

time. Now, it's not saying that the wise are

like tofu. You know how tofu just absorbs everything?

The wise aren't like that. Proverbs 14 .5 talks

about the simple believes everything. The wise

people are the ones, they hear things and they

discern and they think and they work it out.

But they are open minded. They're not defensive

or dismissive. They listen. The wise welcomes

hard words. It can look like this. You're sitting

there in church or in growth group and someone

says something really cutting and unsettling.

And it's so easy to just shut it down, isn't

it, and dismiss it. They don't know what they're

talking about or the Bible surely can't be saying

that. Or you can sit with it, think about it,

chew on it. Maybe it's possible that is what

it's saying. Or a spouse or a family member or

a friend calls you out on your bad behaviour.

Do you know, it's so easy to do. I do it, you

know. Defend, argue, justify. Well, you weren't

there if you'd understood what I'd gone through

all day. I had five kids, okay? No, I'm not using

any real life examples here. It's so easy to

justify, to prove you're in the right, isn't

it? Or you can just be receptive. Yeah, you're

right, you know, there's something in what you're

saying. Can I think about it? What a great question

to ask is, how can I be more receptive? How can

I be more receptive? Well, the wise is drawn

to uncomfortable truths because they are secure

in the Lord Jesus. See, we lash out, we jump

into fight or flight when we feel threatened.

Insecurity makes us act like fools. The more

I can see that I'm secure in Christ, The more

I can sit with hard words, the more I can be

wise. At the cross, Jesus did something amazing.

He was our sin magnet. Think of these nails,

they're like all of our sins and they've all

been attracted, drawn onto Jesus. He did that

so that we can be forgiven our sins, so that

we could be right in God's sight. We don't have

to justify or prove ourselves to anyone anymore.

We're justified in Jesus. Sin won't hurt you

if you're in Jesus. Not ultimately, not fully.

You're secure. You're safe in Him. And do you

know what, that's the most freeing thing, because

it means that you, Christian, you can face the

darkest things within you, and you can grow.

That's just one of the many blessings and benefits

of Jesus dead for us. So how are you going with

that? Have you got a deep sense of Christ's love

for you? Or is it shallow, surface level, maybe

non -existent? The deeper it is, the more secure

you are in Jesus' love, the wiser you'll become.

Have you got some hard work to do, not only to

face the darkest parts of yourself, but to let

Jesus' love go deeper? Let's tie some threads

together. We started by asking, are you attracted

to what's really good for you? If you're attracted

to folly, is there a new light today in which

you need to see wisdom in? Is there a new way

you need to see folly today? Hopefully you have,

because here's the thing we saw today. Folly

seduces us into ruin. but wisdom offers us rich

blessings. Folly seduces us into ruin, but wisdom

offers us rich blessings. Now, what difference

does this make? You know, as we go out that door,

what impact should this have on our lives? Well,

I think we've got to do that work. We've got

to look in. What's going on in you that's shaping

what you're attracted to. If you're attracted

to folly, I suspect you're being drawn to how

easy it seems. See, folly in all its forms always

appears as super easy. It never appears like

it's actually cutting corners, but it is. See,

being dismissive and defensive, it's easy, rather

than thinking about your part of it. Laziness,

being a slugger, it's easy. They don't have to

do anything. Greed is easy. Lying is easy. Adultery

is easy. Lashing out is easy. The seduction of

folly is it promises easy gains. And such shortcuts

actually harm us. It's not worth it. When folly

looks good, Remind yourself, remind one another

of reality. It promises a lot and delivers a

little. And when wisdom is not attractive, look

around. See where wisdom is. See that it's baked

into all of creation. See her in a new light.

See that Jesus is wisdom personified. Bathe for

a while in her beauty. Don't be repulsed by how

tough it is walking in her paths. Yes, expect

that getting wisdom will sting sometimes. It

takes work, but know that it'll be worth it,

especially with things like constructive criticism

and loving rebuke. And this is so, so, so important.

I think this is like the closest thing to a silver

bullet for personal Christian growth. There was

a church I worked at in WA and we had a man on

our parish council who could never be wrong.

And you know, of course, he was wrong on a lot

of things, and that's putting it mildly. Not

only in just his thinking and how we were trying

to do things, but he was rude, he was rigid,

he was legalistic, he was unteachable. And if

he was ever confronted on anything, put your

hazmat suit on, it was about to go nuclear. I

mean, it felt like people were always walking

on eggshells with this guy. And he would get

angry and defensive. I remember sitting in a

parish council meeting, where he had to be called

out on something. My boss called him out on something

and it went nuclear. I remember just giving him

a little bit of constructive criticism about

something and he told me he'd been doing this

for 30 years and what did I know? And I feel

sad for the guy because he's perpetually stuck.

Because how can you change if you're never wrong?

It's actually so foolish. And I tell you that

to let it be a cautionary tale. I tell you that

to remind you of Proverbs 26 -12, that there's

more hope for a fool than one who's wise in their

own eyes. It is not a good place to be. Please,

please, please don't be that person. At another

church I worked at in WA, I worked with two wonderful

men. I'll tell you their names because they were

wonderful men. A guy named Tyler and a guy named

Roger. Both had a rare quality. They received

rebuke and criticism really well. They were so

gracious, so receptive. And you could just look

at them and you could tell they'd done it for

years and years and years. They'd been like this

for such a long time because you looked at them

and you went, those guys are so grounded and

so godly and so secure in Jesus. And they were

both deeply wise people because they were keen

to learn. They were willing to see their faults.

That's what I want to be like. I think that's

what we should all be like. Let me close with

this. Imagine if Northern Hope in one year, imagine

if all of us took this to heart. If we all felt

extremely secure in Christ, if we were so secure

in Christ that we were drawn to wisdom's critique.

If we were willing to heed, rebuke, I reckon

our spiritual lives would be off the charts.

There'd be sins that we'd been hiding, sins that

we'd been struggling with, that would be lovingly

dealt with and we'd be growing. Our interactions

at home, at work, at church, they'd be caring,

but they'd be raw. There'd be something unique

and different about them. There'd be a harmony

and a love and a godliness and a vulnerability

to how we do things. There'd be a rich delight

in God and a praise of him. And I reckon it would

make many new people flood through that door.

Because people would be saying, there's something

magnetic about that church. That's the sort of

church I want to go to. Why are they all like

that? That'll only happen if each of us are attracted

to wisdom. Will you seek wisdom even when it

hurts? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank

you so much that wisdom is there and it's available

and most clearly, most wonderfully available

in the Lord Jesus. Help us to receive wisdom.

When we are challenged, when we're called out

on things, when those darkest parts of our self

pop up, help us to heed rebuke. Help us to want

to be wise. Help us to be secure in Christ. And

we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.