Joel M Bradshaw

13Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.–Ecclesiastes 4

The biblical Solomon started off as a young man asking for wisdom and ended up with this description…

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 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. (1 Kings 11:1-6, with emphasis)

A poor but wise youth looking to better himself pays attention and listens to the right people. He is teachable because he wants something greater. He denies himself in pursuit of a goal. Solomon didn’t deny himself anything, because his goal was himself. He served his lusts and so compromised his convictions. We are left to wonder if there were older men in Solomon’s life who were offering him course corrections after wife 20 or 30. Solomon once seemed humble and teachable, but began to believe his own press and ended up a hypocritical, selfish wreck of an influencer. Our verse today mentioned no longer knowing how to take advice. That implied the man once did, but no longer took advice. Man, that sticks in our hearts.

Are you teachable? Do you absorb wisdom or turn to a selfish place within your heart when you receive it? Do you seek out accountability and pursue discipline? Are you intentional about the influences you maintain in your life? Are you seeking to be faithful with what has been entrusted to you? Do you ask more questions or give more answers? When your bosses correct you, how do you respond? I always have a lot to work on in this area. How about you?–JMB