The Wise Fool

Deafening silence…

Small crowd…

Hateful love…

Same difference…

The Wise Fool

Words that when joined together bring two opposite concepts forming a perplexity of the mind. Two words that are contradictory or incongruent with one another. Yet, when we voice these words somehow, they make sense.

Is it possible to be foolish yet remain wise? Ah, the perplexities!

Within the story of Solomon, somehow, he was able to capture both descriptive words and live each of them to the fullest. He was…The Wise Fool.

Solomon has been crowned the Wisest Man on earth. He gained this stature as he sat on one of the highest mountains within the region where he lived, Mt. Gibeon. Within the context of this story, he had an unforgettable conversation with God. God wanted to give Solomon the desires of his heart therefore posing the offer, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (I Kings 3:5). Solomon chose wisdom. God gave him that and much more. In addition to wisdom, Solomon was laden with wealth.

To be granted wisdom would give opportunity to know all…one wish, one very wise wish.

As he descended from that mountain top, Solomon embodied the perfect combination. Wisdom and wealth…he was unstoppable…until he wasn’t.

How could a wise man become so foolish?

His foolishness was wrapped up in two words. Two very ordinary words, yet two words that changed the trajectory of his entire life. Two ordinary words that can also change the trajectory of our own lives.

Alliances and exceptions…

In I Kings 3:1-3, we find the answer to the great king’s demise.

“Solomon made an ALLIANCE…” I Kings 3:1

“Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, EXCEPT…” I Kings 3:3

From the very beginning of his young kingdom, Solomon made alliances and exceptions that destroyed his relationship with God. He chose to live of his world and not just in his world.

ALLIANCES…To gather up a larger kingdom, Solomon made alliances with countries that did not worship the One True God. He joined forces instead of battling with those who did not love God. His first alliance was with Egypt who was known for the attempt to destroy God’s people in the days of Moses. But Solomon allied with Egypt and married Pharoah’s daughter. This alliance allowed the influence of other gods to creep into Solomon’s kingdom. Later in his reign, he not only allowed his wives to worship other gods, but he also provided the means to do so. Oh, foolish Solomon!

EXCEPTIONS…In verse three, we are told of Solomon’s great love for God…EXCEPT! “…except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.” The high places were known for pagan worship. Within the high places were altars made to Baal and other gods. The only way to destroy this worship was to destroy these altars. But instead of destroying them, Solomon made an exception leaving these altars intact and worshiping God alongside the gods. Oh, foolish Solomon!

In attempts to build a kingdom with God at the center, Solomon placed God a little off center to include his alliances and exceptions. In all of Solomon’s wisdom, he became a wise fool.

But what about you…what about me?

In our lives, alliances and exceptions are made daily.

We align ourselves with those we desire. But caution, my friend. Those very alliances may be what pushes God out of our center. As Christians, we often think those are alliances we make with the world, the world outside our Christian beliefs. But often, we make alliances within our churches and Christian influences.

Alliance of negativity…there is nothing more captivating than getting caught up in a conversation about the person you do not like. In order to prove our point or make ourselves feel validated, we will make an alliance with someone who feels the same. This becomes the feeding ground for negativity. In an instant, division within our churches begin and alliances begin to form. This alliance needs to stop and stop quickly. Even if that alliance is our best friend.

Alliance of compromise…this one creeps in like a snake that slithers into our nicely manicured garden. It is subtle yet deadly. The only thing that truly belongs to us are our beliefs. When we begin to compromise those, we will break down the integrity of our own being. As we know, beliefs differ from one person to another. Deciphering those differences should not be the energy we spend. Standing strong on the convictions and beliefs that come from the core of our own relationship with God should be the rock on which we stand.

Alliance of religion…most of us reading this blog are a person of faith. We are busy in our churches and religious organizations. But these churches and religious organizations can also become dangerous alliances. We can lose ourselves with the dos and don’ts of religion. In doing this, we lean heavily into the expectations of others rather than he love and grace of God. I know…because that became me! Don’t become an ally of religion, become an ally of God.

Then there are the exceptions. Solomon followed God in so many ways except…Allowing that exception destroyed him and those same exceptions can destroy us.

When we make exceptions in our relationship with God, we are telling God that He can have everything except this one thing. The one thing we hold onto is the one thing we cherish more than God. That could be a relationship, a friendship, an activity, a ministry…and the list goes on.

What if Solomon had taken those idols down from the high places? What if Solomon had said that only the One True God was to be worshipped on the mountain?

Chaos would have ensued. War and destruction would have broken out. But Solomon’s faith would have been marked as mighty. Instead, his faith went down in history as weak.

Alliances and exceptions can destroy our relationship with God. They can cause faith to become weak and ineffective.

We make this choice every day! Do we create alliances? Do we make exceptions?

What is your choice?

Written by Melody Westbrook. Melody Westbrook is the founder of The Walk Ministries, a ministry designed to bring women together through God’s story. She was a pastor’s wife for 35 years and has authored the book The Walk Back to Eden. She is a communicator who loves to tell God’s story written within each of us while using her personal experience of a broken marriage and childhood survivor of abuse to communicate God’s redemption story. She loves teaching real women real stories of real life from God’s word. You can find her at http://facebook.com/thewalk.edw/ 
You can find more of Melody's posts on the PriorityNow Blog here.