Wisdom

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, was once asked by God, "What do you want? Anything for David's son, the anointed king." This was when Solomon was young and just taking on this HUGE task of leading God's people.

His answer: wisdom. Because he chose this, God also gave him fame, fortune, and health too. Pretty good deal, huh? In The Story yesterday, I read about Solomon. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. This was the wisest guy on the planet? I barely have enough time in the day to be a husband to one wife, a father to two children, and a pastor for 390.

Because he took on so many wives, some of them had other gods. God gives two commands over and over and over again in the Old Testament:
1. Worship only me.
2. Take care of widows, orphans, and foreigners.

Solomon amasses a tremendous amount of wealth and loses sight of God as the only true God. He knows light is better than darkness, but some of his wives lead him that way anyway.

The reason he is so jaded in his old age is that he has a lot of regrets in this regard. Whether we have a lot or a little, we need to focus on loving and serving God always. Since we are God's children, that is really the only path to contentment and true happiness.

Just ask Solomon.