Power through Wisdom
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Ecclesiastes 7:18,19
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
1 Kings 3:5-15
5. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I shall give you." 6. And Solomon said, "Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. 9. Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this thy great people?" 10. It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11. And God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12. behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 15. And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Wisdom. Solomon knew he had inherited a formidable legacy. He was not a young child, but in his early 20’s at the time he became king. He may have been young, but he knew enough to know that he didn’t, on his own steam, have what he needed to rule wisely, as God desired. David, his father, had been a great king, and brought great glory to God. Solomon wanted nothing less—to serve God—well and within God’s will.
Solomon understood the enormity of his place in history. To me, he appears pretty wise even before his dream! But as a human, with all the shortcomings and limitations of mankind, Solomon knew he would need God to do what he needed to do. And God was pleased with him! Though he seemed to be equipped already to rule, he turned to God for guidance. That humility afforded him not only the divinely-inspired wisdom he requested, but a promise that if he continued to serve/rule wisely he would have a long life, wealth and honor on earth! Wow!
God gifts each of us. And he wants us to use our giftedness for service to the world. Sometimes, though, we need his guidance and direction as to how we are to deploy our gifts. We don’t want to squander them, nor do we want to dilute our effectiveness by taking on more than we can handle. It’s really a balancing act. And we need God’s wisdom to discern if and when we’ve hit upon the proper balance. Oh for the wisdom of Solomon!
But we have more even than Solomon was promised! We have already received the greatest gift we could ever hope for or imagine! And all we have to do to receive it is ask! That’s wealth and honor – riches and renown – beyond anything we could acquire or earn for ourselves. Oh, to be a Christian, doing what we were made to do and seeking God's guidance and wisdom along the way!
I hope you spend your day wisely, using your gifts, talents and abilities in the service of others, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Mary
