Forgetting to Endure

The humility and submissiveness of Solomon when he was anointed king brought him great favor with God.  His desire to have the wisdom to serve the people with righteous judgment prepared him to receive extensive blessings from heaven. The scriptures tell only a little about his choices that led to the turning of his desires from the God of Israel to other gods. What caused him to choose to have wives from “strangers”?

In one short sentence, the future of Solomon is foreshadowed. ” But Solomon loved many strange women” from 1 Kings 11:1 starts a description of choices that distracted Solomon from his original righteous desires,  Understanding specifics about the culture and society of that time period is difficult and makes interpreting what happened guesswork.  Although I am cautious to superimpose my understanding of how something like Solomon’s choices could happen today I believe that the principles and human nature are the same now as they were then. Success, praise, temptations, a haze of competing choices, and failure to take time to keep centered on God-centered basics combine to cloud judgment while fanning the flames of temporal desire,

Choosing to have wives who believe differently did not directly cause Solomon’s demise any more than someone choosing to watch a video with suggestive content. Solomon probably recognized a small shift in his desire to love God as he choose that first “strange” wife but he probably ignored those thoughts and feelings.  For Solomon and for us, the Spirit of God is always there whether heeded or not. The more the promptings of the Spirit are not heeded the less the behavior triggers are recognized until a person loses any awareness of them.

Once we find our way” to the covenant path we must forever remain constantly vigilant with our choices so we can endure there through mortality.