Does cash rule everything around you?
Scripture: 1 Kings 7:1 NIV
It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.
Reflection: When I was reading about Solomon, I knew right away where he went wrong. He spent 7 years constructing the temple and 13 years building is own palace. And then what happened? He became world-renowned for his riches and his wisdom and everybody wanted to be around him. His head was 'blown up' as we would say.
Even the Queen of Sheba had to come and check him out! She was impressed by everything he had, and began to provide even more riches for him. And like any other man (or woman) he thought the only way he could 'really' make it would be to have as many women as possible. So what did he end up with? 1,000 wives! Sure, about 300 of them were more like business arrangement, but still- who needs 1,000 women? And the older he got, the weaker he got, and they were able to pull him away from his God to theirs.
So what can we all learn from Solomon? From the jump, Solomon showed who he valued the most: himself. He spent 6 years longer building his own palace than building the Lord's temple and I believe this was the setup for his downfall. What followed was expected: sure, Solomon collected lots of riches and women, but that meant nothing in the end because he didn't have God.
We all know God is a jealous God, and he doesn't like it one bit when we shift our focus to worldly things. Riches are awesome, sexy women/men are too, but they have no place in a life filled with God. Think about examples from our current day and time. How long do people live when they fill up their lives with fast money, cars, jewels and women? And if they manage to have a long life, how successful do the REALLY end up being?
Is God your main focus on a daily basis? Or are you more focused on getting all you can get?
Created 10 months ago
