Solomon was a great king. When God asked Solomon what he wanted, Solomon didn't respond with wealth or fame or anything like that: no, he asked for wisdom. We all know the story: God made Solomon the wisest man to ever live, but He also blessed him with wealth and land and fame and peace within his kingdom.
It isn't long, though, until Solomon starts building the temple. That in and of itself is a blessing because his father, David, wasn't allowed to build it. In 1 Kings 6:38 we read this:
"And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it."
Wow Solomon! You spent seven years hammering out details and making the temple perfect. We all know that Solomon's temple was highly esteemed by the people of his day and also those to come. And if we stopped there, we might be impressed too. After all, seven years is a lot of time to dedicate to God, right?
Look at 1 Kings 7:1:
"But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house."
Sure, building God's temple was important and it needed to be done just right....and thus seven years were taken to ensure that all was perfect. But when it came time for Solomon's own house to be built? Well, that would take more time.
Now I'm sure that it could be the case that Solomon did nothing but prepare and build the Lord's temple, and when it came time for his own house, he let things get in the way of the project and therefore it took more time. It seems, however, that Solomon started investing more in his projects and his desires. It seems that his focus, his priorities, had shifted.
You and I must be careful not to do the same thing. It is so easy to get caught up doing our own thing. Recently, Robert and I bought a house and did the whole moving/unpacking thing. Needless to say, it was very easy to get wrapped up in that. We had things we needed to do for our house. Did I neglect serving the house of God? Probably sometimes. A better question may be do I spend as much time tending to the house of God as I do tending to my own home?
When things aren't inherently wrong, it's easy to place them above God. It's not difficult for me to look at something that the Bible deems sinful and then stay away from it. For me, it's difficult to look at something the Bible says is good (having a home, spending time with my husband, maintaining friend relationships, resting) and not overemphasizing that in my life (ie: placing it above God).
My prayer for today is that I will spend more time serving the house of God than serving myself and my own wants. Sure, those things may not be sinful, but if I place them above doing God's will then I am sinning.
Today, look into your own life and your own schedule. Find the things you spend the most time doing (Facebook, blogging, crafting, texting) and ask yourself: do I spend more time in these things than I do in God's word and in service to Him? If so, let's all realign our lives and our priorities so that we're being pleasing to our Father.
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