My favorite Indiana Jones movie is “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” I love the scene when the venerable knight warns Jones to “choose wisely” as he seeks the Holy Grail. Indiana did just that as he selected the true Grail setting among the false grails. However, he soon faced another crucial test calling for wisdom with the choice of leaving the grail behind or being buried in the collapsing Temple. Once again Jones chose wisely. Apparently one wise choice in life doesn’t guarantee wisdom along the way.
In 1 Kings 3:5, God made Solomon an offer he couldn’t refuse, “Ask what I shall give you.” This was an open ended offer, an opportunity for wealth or power or long life or anything he wanted. Solomon responded by asking God for wisdom in order to discern between good & evil as he led the people of Israel. God gave him his request and it was the best thing Solomon could have sought.
Solomon started out well, but he did not continue to choose wisely. In time he followed the morality and customs of the unbelieving world around him. Solomon traveled a path eventually leading him to worship many gods, turning his back on the One, True God. The people of Israel followed his leadership and the nation was fractured when Solomon died.
God warned him that this would happen when He said, “I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you have been before and none like you shall arise after you…..If you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days” (1 Kings 3:12, 14).
We sometimes forget that being a child of God entails a journey, not an event. We are called to be faithful throughout our days. God gives us His Word, His church, His Spirit, and fellow believers to guide and encourage us along the way. Just because we were faithful to God at one time does not guarantee that we are traveling on the right and proper road now. The life of a believer is a Journey, not an Event. Baptism, knowledge of God & His Bible, and good intentions are of little value if we do not continue to put them into practice.
If Godly wisdom guides our path, we must choose wisely and continue to do so.
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