Solomon, Johnny Cash, and Tiny Compromises

The story of Solomon is tragic. It is said that never a man walked the earth with such wealth and wisdom. As king, he ruled with the adoration of his people while following his God in sincerity.

Then something happened. It wasn’t over night, but more of a slow fade into spiritual numbness.

3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father (1 Kings 11:3)

He had a flare for excess. As king, his life was a never ending stream of “yes” to his every wish. And so in these compromises, building on top of each other over time, the author of the greatest wisdom literature of all time missed the mark. He abandoned the only thing that mattered to chase his pleasure and trade in the ultimate with the immediate. He got bored.

And this is us.

In the first chapters of 1 Kings, we get a different picture of Solomon. He is faithful, fervent, and ferocious for the Lord. In chapter 11 it all comes crashing down. He exits the historical narrative without a whimper. His kingdom is then ripped from the hands of his son as the punishment for his disobedience.

9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice (1 Kings 9:11:9)

So when was the moment? In life we have definite moments of time where the air is dense. If we fail to recognize them, we can start a slow decent into mediocrity. Our faith is filled with these tiny moments. They sneak up on us, creeping behind cultural comforts and seemingly harmless luxuries. Our span of life is often longer than our resolve can reach.

Johnny Cash once said that the Christian life isn’t for sissies. It takes courage to fight for better in this life. It is important to be painfully aware of your vulnerabilities. On your own, you can never win. May the God of both Solomon and Johnny empower you in your weakness. Faith is a battle, today, set your choices toward success.