What's your quest?
Men need a quest. Something to pursue, some challenge to overcome, something to accomplish. We think we will be happy when the task is finished, not realizing that the fight is what we live for. It’s one reason we’re continually focused on the next thing: “Once I finish school…” “Once I get married…” “Once I get that promotion…” “Once the kids are gone…” “Once I can retire…”
Of course, none of those milestones satisfy our deepest needs. It’s tragic when we’ve slain all the dragons and missed the joy along the way. Even more tragic is getting to the top of the mountain, and asking, “Is this all there is?” Disillusioned, we can start to drift.
“Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. –1 Kings 3:8-10 (NIV)
Solomon started out strong. He had perspective, he had humility, he had every intention of leading the nation of Israel in a way that honored God and blessed the people. God determined to shower him with intellect, wealth, and honor. Foreign dignitaries took notice….
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.” –1 Kings 10:6-7 (NIV)
Solomon rose to fame. For decades he occupied his mind and his hands with building projects, learning, international commerce, writing, and holding court. It was Israel’s high-water mark as a nation. But all was not well….
Everything's boring, utterly boring - no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear. What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There's nothing new on this earth. Year after year it's the same old thing. Does someone call out, "Hey, this is new"? Don't get excited - it's the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody'll remember them either. Don't count on being remembered. –Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 (MSG)
Once Solomon had accomplished all there was to accomplish, boredom set in. Boredom became complacency, and complacency became compromise. Solomon is a case study in what happens when a man no longer has a quest….
As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. –1 Kings 11:4-7 (NIV)
We might wonder how a man like Solomon, who literally had it all, could fall as far as he did as fast as he did. He knew better, or at least he had known better at one time. God would go on to weave His promise of redemption into the history of the nation, but it was in spite of the wisest man who ever lived, not because of him.
What lessons can we take from Solomon? Here’s a start: Take joy in the journey. Be thankful. Find your next quest and make it a worthwhile one, perhaps even one of eternal consequence. Finish well. We don’t retire from our walk with Christ – we level up.