King Solomon and Worldliness

I have been blogging about the book of proverbs recently, and have been thinking about King Solomon and worldliness. Worldliness, is the love of this world. An easy thing to do when this world is all you know. It is filled with temptations that appeal to our sin nature. I know I have been very guilty of this. King Solomon was suppose to be the smartest man on earth. He was bless by God with immense riches and prestige. He collected tributes of 18,125 kilograms of gold in one year. He was the builder of the lavish first temple in Jerusalem. A temple covered in gold, that took 46 years to build. He was the son of king David, who God loved very much. King Solomon had it all. Powerful people would travel great distances just to talk with king Solomon and hear his wisdom. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He really loved the women, going so far as to marry foreign women, which God forbid. One such women was the daughter of Pharaoh. It was his love of women that would be his down fall. He is not the only one to have this happen to him. The lust of women have been the down fall of many men. King Solomon loved the world more than God and let himself get led away from God by his many wives. He would eventually begin to worship pagan gods, which would destroy his nation. Us Christians have to be so careful about what we make god in our lives. The things that we become obsessed with, that lead us away from God. For some it maybe sports, others cars, or money, or partying, or gambling, or leisure time. These things by the worlds standards seem normal, can set us down a path to our own destruction. The Bible warns us throughout it's pages not to fall in love with the world.

I John 2

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

God hates this worlds system. We as believers, especially young believers, are under tremendous pressure to conform to this world. If we don't their can be serious consequences. We can face ridicule and be ostracized by society. This is not fun. In a world obsessed with having fun, this is contrary to human nature. We may face very hostile people that hate God and hate us. We must persevere. After a while things will get easier, as the world grows dim and God becomes brighter. God can transform our lives to be more like Jesus. That is his dream for all of us. Don't think that God does not know what we go through for his sake. He is faithful to reward us for our obedience, weather in this life or in heaven.

Ecclesiastes 1

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

For all his riches, prestige, and fame, King Solomon was never truly fulfilled. He always wanted for more. It was nothing but vanity. Fleeting moments of pleasure and happiness. What Solomon really wanted was God. He just didn't realize it in the folly of his youth. The pleasures of this world can never bring real joy. You always need more and eventually the pleasure starts to ware off. The things of God are what we need. People who love the Lord and serve him in obedience, can have nothing, and be filled with joy. On the contrary, people who have everything and not God, can be totally miserable. I have never experienced the delights that King Solomon did. I can however enjoy the delights of obedience to the Lord. He is faithful to bless those who serve him. The nice thing is any of us can partake in this. God will accept anyone, the world can not say that. We can all be rich in the Lord. Thank you for reading my blog and I will leave you with the Gospel.

I Corinthians 15

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: