21. Solomon

Losing the plot. We have all heard the stories. Blokes who had everything going for them, and then for some inexplicable reason they seemed to throw it all away.

We all live our lives one decision at a time. You have heard it said about sports teams that they are only as good as their last game. Well it can sometimes feel that we, as individuals, are only as good as the last decisions we've made. Our decision making is especially important when it comes to women and the matters of the heart. William Blake once said, “the naked woman’s body is a portion of eternity too great for the eye of man.” So many great men have found themselves derailed by their attraction to beautiful women.

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Idea 1: Solomon’s head got turned Solomon knew exactly what God had called him to be and to do. For this king, it was very clear. God had even given him the opportunity to ask for anything, and Solomon had chosen ‘a wise and discerning heart!’ This guy could not have been more focussed on being God’s man. 

But then Solomon caved into lust and desire. Like so many men before and since, Solomon just could not say no and once he opened that door the dam burst and flooded his heart with desires that took his focus away from God.

•  Has your head been turned? Is there stuff in your life that is grabbing your attention and taking your focus away from God?

•  Have you been honest about the things that are filling your heart? Have you ever told your Christian mates about the struggles you are having when there is nobody else around?

Idea 2: A Profound and Remarkable Change for Solomon Well it was one thing for Solomon to take a wrong turn - we are all vulnerable to making mistakes. However, Solomon didn’t do anything about it, and he just drifted further and further from God. In fact, he let the lusts of his heart shape his gods.

He even had altars set up in the image of a foreign god called Chemosh. Chemosh was a god who demanded child sacrifices. Yes, let’s not sugar-coat this; Solomon condoned burning children alive, breaking their skulls and leaving them for dead.

What was he even thinking of?

•  Have you taken a wrong turn in your life that has meant you are willing to accept things that you would not even tolerate if you were fully focussed on God?

•  Are the decisions you have been making causing others pain and suffering?

Idea 3: Staying the course, is what counts Books in the Bible like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes just show us how much wisdom Solomon had. As guys who are gripped by Jesus, we still follow the wisdom of Solomon in his heyday. But even with all that wisdom, he still lost the plot. This is a salutary lesson for every one of us.

Here is a piece of wisdom that will hold us all in good stead: when we leave our gardens, and don’t maintain them in any way, it really is not that long before they turn back into a wilderness. It’s the same with our hearts, when we neglect our hearts they very quickly get corrupted, and lose both their edge and their focus.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23

The question is, when did you last do an internal check?

•  Are you guarding your heart, and making sure that it is focussed on God?

•  What areas in your life have you just let the drift happen and how is that affecting your heart?

•  If so, what are you going to do about it?

Action

Make sure that you have a good band of brothers around you, and give them permission to speak into your life. Make the pledge with your brothers, right now, that you will be open and honest with each other going forward.

Invite God into this situation too, choose to live with an open heart and an open life. Pray about this together before you go home and above all else - never renege on this new commitment!