Inside Out Living

“If you just ignored your family you would have time to get it all done.”

As I thought about this comment my wife jokingly made to me as we talked about the disheveled state of our van, I realized that she was right. I could accomplish a lot more in life by ignoring all of the people that I cared the most about. And in reality many people achieve success by this method, but at what cost.

Today you read a brief statement about the man who rebuilt Jericho. Certainly it must have been a proud accomplishment for him. The only downside was that it resulted in the death of two sons because of the curses spoken by Joshua son of Nun (Josh. 16:34).

Achieving success in life is a driving force for many people. However, at what point do the costs associated with that success become too great. We may not cause someone to lose their life because of our success, but if we ignore loved ones or neglect relationships, the pain and hurt we can cause is immeasurable.

We have been thinking some this week about the connection between obediently following God and living a simple life. While it is true that our own sin often complicates life, it is not the only reason why life can be difficult and complicated. It is no small thing to live a simple life that results from making wise choices.

Sometimes life is difficult, not because of any fault of our own, but because of the decisions of those around us. In 1 Kings 15 we read of two different kings of Judah, Abijam and Asa. One of them, Abijam, was not right with God; the other, Asa, remained faithful to the LORD throughout his life. In spite of this difference we read that both of these kings dealt with constant wars with Israel during their reigns. So even though he walked with God, Asa experienced the same political difficulties as Abijam. In fact, when you think about it, doing what is right and walking with God can sometimes make life more complicated, not simpler.

May you have the courage to walk with God regardless of how difficult life may become.

I have a problem. You may very well have the same problem. I often find myself thinking that it will be easier to honor God and make Him more of a priority in my life down the road. If I can just survive until some day in the future, life will be better and easier, right? Not necessarily.

The older I get the more I realize that if I don’t make the changes now, I probably won’t do it in the future.

Solomon exhorts his readers to “Honor God in your youth” (Eccl. 12:1). We are not to wait until we are older to take God seriously, but rather we are to do it today.

A while back, my wife and I enjoyed the movie The Last Holiday. In that movie, the lead character made a decision to enjoy life and start working towards her dreams. As you can imagine, her life changed drastically and she finally truly enjoyed her life.

It took a doctor’s report that she was dying in order to change her life. What will it take for you to really start living today? When will you make God and His perfect will for your life a priority?

Solomon inherited a peaceful kingdom from his father David. Early in his reign Solomon and his people enjoyed living in peace (1 Kings 4:24-25). In all his wisdom, Solomon did not realize that the success of his Kingdom and the peace that he and his people enjoyed was dependent upon his obedience to the Lord.

As we read today, Solomon’s life and reign as king became increasingly more complicated as his heart wandered from the Lord. He was constantly building new and different shrines and altars as he attempted to keep his many wives happy. Then there were the political issues and the Lord raised up different adversaries to Solomon.

Instead of chasing religion like Solomon, we ought to be more like the blind man in John 9, who experienced healing at the hands (and spit) of Jesus. When he was questioned about the one who healed him, he said, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner, but I know this; I was blind, and now I can see” (John 9:25).

Solomon was a prolific writer. 1 Kings 4:32 tells us that he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. What a legacy, right? Well, yes, that is until much of that was lost.

What we have remaining of Solomon’s writings is that which was inspired by God and was incorporated into the word of God. So ultimately Solomon’s legacy was dependent upon the eternal Word of God.

I think that this is instructive to us as we consider the legacy we will leave behind. Much of what we will accomplish or produce will either end up lost or forgotten. I am not trying to depress you; I just want to give you a reality check. As with Solomon, only that which we do that involves eternal things will truly last. Awards, accolades, stuff, money, these things will all pass away. It is what we do in and for people that will truly build our legacy.

Will the legacy of your life be sold in a garage sale, or lost in a fire some day? How sad that would be if it were true?

Follow the example of Jesus and pour your time and energy into the people around you. If you do, you will not be disappointed and the impact of your life will not be forgotten.

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:14-17

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. In spite of all the good that Solomon did, he neglected to follow the Lord’s instructions for a king. So instead of leaving a legacy of obedience to the Lord, he left a legacy of following his own path and fulfilling his own desires. It is a legacy that will result in disaster for his son, Rehoboam.

What kind of legacy are you leaving for those who follow after you? Is it one of obedience or one of defiance? Think about it –you just can’t leave a legacy of loving God without obeying His commandments for, “loving God means keeping His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

Solomon received a great legacy from his father David and he had an opportunity to pass it on to his son Rehoboam but failed. Here is a story about a Father who chose to pass on a legacy:

“I need you,” was all his wife had to say for the successful traveling evangelist to come home. Their sixteen-year-old son was pushing his limits and his father knew what he had to do. Canceling the rest of his speaking engagements, he accepted a call to pastor a small church in another state.

For two years he served that church and mentored his son until he went off to college. After his son left, the father attempted to return to his evangelistic ministry, but quickly learned that he was no longer in demand as a speaker. Indeed the decision to go home had come at a great price.

But because he had made the tough decision and went home to focus on his family, years later his son would begin a ministry known as Focus on the Family. James Dobson is the product of his father, James Dobson Sr.
(This story excerpted from the book King Me by Steve Farrar)

In part of Solomon’s address to the people of Israel, he refers to the Davidic covenant. Solomon recognizes that he has fulfilled the portion of the covenant that says one of David’s descendants will build the Lord’s temple. However, what Solomon did not know was that this prophetic statement in 2 Sam. 7:12-14 was not only fulfilled by Solomon, but would ultimately be fulfilled by the Messiah.

In the last two days we have emphasized the individual role each of us has as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament also teaches us that the Church is collectively a temple whose foundation is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

This temple established by Jesus is being continually built upon by those who have put their faith in Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-16). When we are doing the Lord’s work, we are building onto this temple. Paul speaks of building with gold, silver and jewels which will last, or building with wood, hay and straw which will be burned up. So how are you building onto the temple? Will your works of service last and be rewarded?

Solomon did many great things and was a good king for a while, but as you will discover from your reading this week, not everything he did was right. In chapter 7 of 1 Kings we read the details of the palace compound that Solomon built for himself. Now certainly the temple of the Lord was impressive, but the palace of the Forest of Lebanon described in 7:2-5 was over 4 times the size of the temple alone.

At this point in his reign as king, Solomon is still following the Lord closely, but the amount of effort and material that went into building his own palace compared to the temple indicate to me the direction that Solomon’s heart is really going. Whose legacy is he more concerned with, his own or the Lord he serves?

Or maybe I should ask you that same question. Are you more concerned with the legacy of your temple (your life: body, soul, mind and spirit); or are you more concerned with the legacy of your palace (your earthly treasures: house, cars, toys, etc.).

Remember the words of Jesus, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).