Wise Up

One particular family unit of the generation of FOLKS was known as the Messenger Family. Mr. and Mrs. Messenger had three sons, Envoy, Herald, and Go-fer. Mom and Dad Messenger taught their boys at an early age to follow in the tradition of previous generations of Messengers. The boys quickly learned the art of how to share tall tales with other FOLKS about other FOLKS. The boys used their gifts of story-telling to spread lies and start rumors.

After many years of spreading rumor after rumor, the thrill of gossip lost its pleasure, and the oldest Messenger boy, ENVOY, became bored and restless. Sixteen-year-old ENVOY needed something more to satisfy his search for fulfillment. He wanted a change. He was not sure what he wanted, but he knew he wanted something different. None of the Messenger boys had any friends in the community or at school because of the untrue gossip they spread about everyone they knew. They even babbled imaginary stories about each other to their Mom and Dad. One lie led to another lie. No one knew what was true and what was false. Anger ruled in the Messenger household.

Lying backfired on ENVOY during lunch one day at school. He fashioned a story about SALLY SENSITIVE He told everyone that she failed the first grade because she was just not smart enough to learn to read. This is the reason Sally was the oldest student in her tenth-grade class. He even called her hurtful names. In reality, her parents decided Sally should remain in the first grade because her late birthday would make her the youngest girl in the second grade. Since Sally was so small and delicate, her parents thought it would be best for Sally to stay with children who were closer to Sally’s size, not her age. Sally excelled in all her subjects in every grade, and she certainly thought she had enough friends in the tenth grade, except one. ENVOY was mean to everyone. He didn’t have any friends because he always spread lies. His classmates would believe the lies; then, when the gossip reached everyone in their class, the rumors frequently destroyed someone’s reputation. ENVOY kept the rumor brewing that SALLY SENSITIVE failed a grade. He conjured other tidbits of information to make matters worse. ENVOY launched rumors that SALLY and SISSY BOYISHKIN had been skipping classes and spending a lot of time together behind the school gym. It did not take long to trash SALLY and SISSY’s reputation. When the kids at lunch whispered and pointed accusing fingers, SALLY was so distraught that she heaved her food at the lunch table. She jumped up and ran to the nurse’s office. She was violently sick, and the nurse sent her home.

SALLY SENSITIVE would not return to the school that year. She missed her friends terribly, but she just could not overcome the deep depression overtaking her thoughts. SISSY’s mom stopped allowing SISSY to visit SALLY at home for fear of feeding the rumors about SALLY and SISSY. SALLY spiraled deeper into depression. Hopelessness invaded her mind, and she contemplated her reasons for living. SALLY’s parents refused to leave SALLY home by herself. She stayed with her grandmother during the day while her parents were at work. One day, while helping GRANDMA prepare dinner, SALLY randomly revealed, “I think I would just be better off if I weren’t around anymore.”

GRANDMA naively responded, “Oh, SALLY, you know I love having you stay with me during the day.”

“GRANDMA, I don’t mean that at all. I mean not being around anywhere anymore! I am tired of disappointing everybody all the time. I do the best I can, but I always seem to stay in trouble. I have lost my connections at school. No one visits me at home. No matter what I do, I get yelled at. I would be better off if…”

GRANDMA took SALLY by the hand. She sat SALLY by her at the kitchen table, grabbed her hands, and looked her squarely in the eyes, “SALLY, you are the most precious child I know. That truly hurts my heart to hear you think that no one is happy with you. This world would never be the same if you were not here. You are a blessing and a treasure to everyone who knows you. Don’t you ever doubt that for one minute!”

After a long cry, SALLY hugged GRANDMA and felt a glimmer of hope in the words GRANDMA said to her. Later that evening, MR. and MRS. SENSITIVE realized the seriousness of SALLY’S emotions. SALLY’s parents immediately took action and scheduled SALLY time to meet with her church youth pastor and counselors who could help SALLY sort through her feelings.

Eventually, Sally’s classmates learned the rumors about SALLY and SISSY were fake. Most of SALLY’S friends felt ashamed they had “eagerly listened to the gossip” (NLT, Prov. 17.4). When Sally refused to return to school, the students who knew SALLY and SISSY finally stood up against ENVOY. He could have easily targeted any one of them; he chose SALLY and SISSY as his targets. They let ENVOY know that he would no longer be accepted as the “town—crier.”

Feeling completely rejected, ENVOY retreated to his favorite hiding place, the tree that hid him from the world. He battled with his belief that evil was good. In the past, he was always able to justify his behavior. But not now. Something was happening to ENVOY that he did not understand. He truly felt guilty for what he had done to SALLY SENSITIVE. This was a new feeling for ENVOY.

Without warning, the wind began to blow through the leaves, almost knocking ENVOY off the highest limb. He closed his eyes, hanging tightly to the bending branch. Out of nowhere, he thought he heard a VOICE that whispered, “Do not be afraid. I am with you” (New Living Translation, Isa. 43.5). He slowly opened his eyes, looking to his left and his right. He looked up, and he looked down. No one was there. Was he hearing things? Was his mind playing tricks on him? He decided to climb down the tree when he thought he heard that same VOICE speak, “I will not leave you, nor abandon you” (New Living Translation, Josh. 1.5). Not only did he scramble faster down the limbs, but he also jumped to the ground, soaring into his bedroom, slamming all the doors behind him.

Not long after his treetop experience, ENVOY Messenger decided that he was exhausted from trying to hide from this VOICE that refused to stop interrupting his thoughts. He could not seem to escape the VOICE, so he decided to confront it head-on. “Who are you, and what do you want from me?”

“I am Lady Wisdom, from the kingdom of Proverbiorum. You can call me Provie.”

ENVOY shouted, “Provie?? What is a Provie?? Who are you? It makes no sense why you are bothering me. I want you to leave me alone right now, or at least explain what you want from me. Then you can be on your way and return to Proverbiorum, or wherever it is you live.”

“Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;

collect my counsels and guard them with your life.

Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;

set your heart on a life of Understanding” (The Message, Prov. 2.1-2).

ENVOY reeled around, looking in the closet, in the ceiling, and under the bed to find this VOICE that was invading his privacy. He saw nothing. He sat at his desk, anxiously tapping his fingers, and he began singing at the top of his lungs to drown out any intrusive noises. Every time he stopped singing and thumping on the desk, the VOICE of Lady Wisdom seemed to echo in his head.

“Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God, and run from evil” (The Message, Prov. 3.7).

ENVOY was convinced that his brothers were playing tricks on him. He crept out of his room to catch Go-fer and Herald in the act of floating their voices through the walls of his bedroom. As he passed the living room window, he saw both his brothers playing ball in the front yard.