Proverbs 8:1-31

There’s nothing wrong with preaching the Trinity on Trinity Sunday, but this week I was drawn to the Proverbs lectionary passage, a poem that personifies Wisdom as a woman. Biblical scholars posit that perhaps this reflects an ancient time when male-centered, strict monotheism didn’t necessarily characterize Israel’s religion. That’s a fascinating possibility, but maybe a more fruitful conversation for us is not how Wisdom ended up in Proverbs, but what she has to say to us today.

This beautiful poem begins with Wisdom posted at the crossroads in the middle of the daily life of ordinary people. She calls to all who pass, offering her instruction to “all that live.” The lectionary skips Proverbs 8:5, in which she mentions simpletons or fools specifically; it is these people who most need to heed her call.

Wisdom’s call in Proverbs 8 is part of a larger dialogue of voices in the book of Proverbs. Those simpletons and fools might be tempted to listen, instead, to the voice of the Strange Woman, who embodies foolishness and danger. In Chapter 7, this “loud and wayward” woman also stands at the crossroads and entices “a young man without sense” with her sweet, smooth words, yet her ways lead to destruction (7:10-27). So, then, Proverbs 8 offers an alternative. Wisdom’s beauty is grounded in virtue; her desirability is found in her strength and sense of justice,

The voices of the women in Proverbs 7 and Proverbs 8 are in many ways alike. They both appeal directly to the hypothetical student of Proverbs. They speak in the first-person, and their call is attractive. However, the consequences of following their voices are radically different. The appeal of the Strange Woman ends in death, while Wisdom offers life. Side by side, the student is offered a choice between these competing voices and must decide which instruction will help humans to flourish and thrive.

These are the same skills required of contemporary readers navigating a world in which we are constantly confronted by competing visions of flourishing. Through the media and entertainment, in the comments of friends and neighbors, and by the advertising we just can’t escape, we are barraged daily with voices that appeal to our desires and seek to shape our habits, choices, and character.

Jonathan Haidt’s new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, looks at the consequences of listening to the wrong voices. He writes, “In the summer of 2022, I was working on a book project … about how smartphones and social media rewired many societies in the 2010s, creating conditions that amplify the long-known weaknesses of democracy. The first chapter was about the impact of social media on kids, who were the ‘canaries in the coal mine,’ revealing early signs that something was going wrong. When adolescents’ social lives moved onto smartphones and social media platforms, anxiety and depression surged among them. …. I quickly realized that the rapid decline of adolescent mental health could not be explained in one chapter—it needed a book of its own.”

What Haidt saw in the mental health statistics for adolescents is alarming:
A 72% increase in ADHD since 2010
A 57% increase in bipolar disorder since 2010
A 100% increase in anorexia since 2010
A 33% increase in substance abuse since 2010
A 67% increase in schizophrenia since 2010
A 139% increase in anxiety and depression since 2012

Haidt asked, “What happened to young people in the early 2010s that triggered the surge of anxiety and depression around 2012?” He points out that the sudden increase wasn’t merely due to a heightened willingness to talk about mental illness. The rise was showing up in behavior as well, including self-harm and suicide. It showed up internationally in Northern European countries. Gen Z (those born after 1995) has been hit hardest, although Millennials (born 1981-1995) haven’t been entirely spared.

What happened? Haidt offers two explanations. First, the decline of the play-based childhood, which began in the 1980s and accelerated in the ‘90s. “All mammals need free play, and lots of it, to wire up their brains during childhood to prepare them for adulthood. But many parents in Anglo countries began to reduce children’s access to unsupervised outdoor free play out of media-fueled fears for their safety, even though the ‘real world’ was becoming increasingly safe in the 1990s.”

The second explanation is the rise of the phone-based childhood, which began in the late 2000s and accelerated in the early 2010s. This was precisely the period during which adolescents traded in their flip phones for smartphones, which were loaded with social media platforms.

These statistics impact girls more than boys. I invite you to watch a couple of Dove videos for a graphic explanation of why that might be:
“The Selfie Talk” https://www.dove.com/us/en/campaigns/purpose/theselfietalk.html
“Toxic Influence” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3iRZtkyAQ

The phrase “toxic influence” pretty well sums up what Haidt is talking about.

Wisdom beckons. Will we listen to her? Will parents listen to her?

© Joanne Whitt 2025 all rights reserved.

Resources:
Timothy J. Sandoval, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-on-proverbs-81-4-22-31-6
Anne Stewart, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-on-proverbs-81-4-22-31-4
Jonathan Haidt, https://jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/