A wise man's tragedy
| So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" (1Kings3:9) |
The early years were wonderful:
- Solomon rightly handling the two women with the dead baby
- Solomon building the temple
- Solomon being visited by the Queen of Sheba because he was so wise
But it didn't last...
- Solomon added wife after wife for political alliances
- He built and expanded his personal wealth until even the stables for his horses were bigger and more impressive than the temple.
- He was taxing his people more and more
- His heart went to other gods and idols.
After his death the kingdom was torn in two - and it was his leadership that laid the foundation for that disaster.
Great wisdom and intellectual "smarts" can sometimes be our worst enemy. When we're gifted in the intellectual department, we often think that the basic common sense rules of life don't apply to us...
Solomon didn't plan to lose his way but he broke three important rules:
- He wasn't careful about the company he kept
- He was sucked in by possession obsession and his own self-importance
- He didn't guard his heart and his relationship with God.
--> Dear Lord
Help me to stay humble and to keep my eyes fixed on You. Help me to choose my friendships carefully and not to be owned by my stuff or my need to be liked and respected. Keep me safe from the wise-man's tragedy so that I can finish strong.
