SMART?

SMART?

Written by:  Jenny Calvert

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  Proverbs 3: 5-6 (KJV)

Don’t take the path of the wicked; don’t follow those who do evil. Stay away from that path; don’t even go near it. Turn around and go another way…….Keep your eyes on the path, and look straight ahead. Make sure you are going the right way, and nothing will make you fall. Don’t go to the right or to the left, and you will stay away from evil.  Proverbs 4: 14-15, 25-27 (ERV)

It has been said that King Solomon was one of the wisest men to have ever lived. Solomon was the son of David and is responsible for the building of the first temple that housed the Ark of the Covenant. In 2 Cornicles 1:10 Solomon asked God for wisdom. He did not ask for wealth, long life or triumph over his enemies. God was pleased with that request, so He gave Solomon great wisdom along with wealth and honor. He is credited for writing three books in the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Proverbs is a book full of useful gems for everyday living and life decisions, yet Solomon could not even adhere to his own advice to keep your eyes on the Godly path.

Solomon was well aware of the warning of God in the book of Deuteronomy. He was not to marry foreign wives because these wives might turn his heart toward pagan Gods. Solomon’s eyes certainly did stray off the path. Solomon did not make a small error in judgement, He made 1,000 of them.  He had 700 foreign wives, and 300 slaves that were like wives. God’s prediction was correct, Solomon ended up building many temples to these pagan Gods. God was angry and the only reason Solomon was not totally annihilated was because his father David (though not perfect) remained faithful to the one true God.

If the wisest man ever to have lived made a not so wise decision, we are not above doing the same thing.  We may be smart but we sometime make dumb choices. Our intelligence leads us to believe that we know best and therefore have no need to consult God in our decision making. We may be too busy with things that seem more important than God. We may think there is no God at all, because we are just too smart to believe such a thing. We must to be very careful in depending on our intelligence because our brain, without God, is not very wise at all.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for showing us the path of salvation.  We know it leads us to your forgiveness and love. Help us to take that path and to always keep our eyes focused on you.

In Christs’ Name,

Amen