Divided Affections



Recently I read through 1 Kings and the story of Solomon intrigued me.  How did someone who started off so well end up saying at the end of his life that everything is “utterly meaningless”?  

Solomon loved the Lord, following in the footsteps of his father, King David. As Solomon started to reign as the king of Israel, God appeared to him in a dream one night and invited him to ask God for anything he would like. This is what he asked for:

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1Kings 3:9)

That’s a stunning request! If God promised to give me anything I asked for, I don’t know what I would ask for, but I’m certain that my request would probably be more self-serving in nature.  At the very least, I think I would add on to Solomon’s list.

God’s response to his request was as follows:
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 kings 3:10-14)

So, that is what happened.  Solomon became the wisest, richest, and most powerful man that has ever walked the earth. From all outward appearances, he had absolutely everything.  

So, what happened to him?  The first major warning sign we find is in the last verse in Chapter 6 and the first verse in Chapter 7:  We find out that Solomon spent 7 years building God’s temple and spent 13 years building his own palace. 

Solomon had a divided heart. 

This is further indicated in Chapter 11 when it says that Solomon married foreign women, even though God had warned him not to, because they would turn his heart after other gods.  Solomon wanted the best of both worlds and because of that, his affections were divided. 

If the wisest man can have a divided heart, is there any hope for the rest of us? How can we have an undivided heart for Jesus?

Passion 2013, which is a conference for young adults in Atlanta, brought a lot of clarity to me in these ponderings. I went into the conference feeling like my heart was growing cold and dry. I was excited for the opportunity to go to another amazing conference, but I also wished I had more to show for all these conferences I’ve been to because my growth as a Christian seems so slow.  I had an agenda of what I wanted God to do in me and answers I wanted him to give to me.  Instead throughout the week, God showed me that there have been many things, many of them good, competing for my affections for Him. I realized that God was simply inviting me to worship Him, to enjoy Him and His presence; and it was in that place my heart was refreshed and felt alive again. 

We can get so busy doing things for God and get so distracted with all the other blessings God has given to us that we neglect the most important thing: loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. We can rest on the promise that Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith, and that in Him we are a new creation.  It’s not about being a “better” person. 

 How can we have an undivided heart? By begging God to let us see how infinitely beautiful and powerful He is. To help us understand the magnitude of what He accomplished for us on the cross.  The more we see that, the more our love for and worship of Him can grow. As our love and worship grows, the things of this world will become fleeting and temporal. 

After all the money, women, power and prestige in the world, Solomon concludes in Ecclesiastes that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commands. May our deepest desire be to follow Solomon’s advice and pursue the greatest command (Mark 12:28-30), which is to love Jesus with everything we have! As we do that, everything else with fall into place.

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