Thursday, October 29, 2009

Wiser than Solomon

As I was reading the bible this morning I came across 2 Chronicles 8:11 Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “my wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” This caught my attention because this immediately follows a heartfelt prayer where Solomon dedicated the temple, a prayer where Solomon had even said that foreigners will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. Then he pleads that God listens and answers those prayers. (1 Kings 8:41-43) But he is married to someone that he knows will not pray to God, and instead of trying to get her closer to God he decides to move her farther away.

Solomon loves God but he was willing to move away from God to keep worldly people near him. Think about that for a minute. Solomon says I can’t get my wife to grow closer to God so I will move farther from Him. How many of us make decisions like this? The world (our spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, coworkers, boss whatever it may be for you) does not want to come to know Jesus so we push Jesus aside to fit in with them.

For example you take your family out to eat and you are sitting down and the waitress brings you your food. You look over and there is someone you work with. You know that atheist that loves to make fun of how silly Jesus freaks are. If you and your family pray here, in this public place, in front of him, you will never here the end of it at work. So you smile at your wife and say “Lets eat.” You think to yourself Jesus understands that I can’t pray right now. I’ll say a prayer tonight and pray for my coworker. But you are forgetting that Jesus said you would be persecuted (Matthew 5:11)

The problem is that when we are willing to hide our beliefs or act differently around non Christians we risk forgetting who our Lord is. Solomon was the wisest man ever, but when Solomon became old the World (his wives) made him forget who his Lord was (1 Kings 11:4).

Be smarter than Solomon and do not let the world shape who you are by moving you away from Jesus. Cling to Jesus and say lets show the world who You are!
MSW