FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
FORGE 31 Days in the Dawghouse Challenge:
Do your DAWG for a month to make it a holy habit for life
HOW WILL I END UP?
Proverbs 1:1
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel…
The author’s name struck me in my DAWG today: Solomon. Widely known as the wisest man to have ever lived, my recollection of reading about him in the Old Testament is that he is in the top 10 of the most disappointing men to have ever followed God.
So I went back and checked. I was right. I Kings 1-11 contains the story of the golden boy Solomon who took over the reins of power from his rocker-warrior King daddy, David. Here’s how he ended up.
Here’s the disappointing reality:
“So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
1 Kings 11:11-13
Go back and read the history of Solomon. He did a lot of good. He extended God’s Kingdom on earth in preparation for the coming of King Jesus. But he got off the rails and ended rich and unfaithful to our Holy God.
A lot of men end poorly.
Let that sink in. A lot of men end poorly. I don’t want to end poorly!
How about you?
Take-aways for me today…a little self-talk:
- Remember the Gospel…and so remember who you are. Forget that you’re the deeply beloved son of the Most High God all because of Jesus’ work, and you’ll forget your identity, like Solomon did, and so you’ll blend into the world’s way of living too. Forget who you are and you’ll cave in too – to disobedience and rebellion, just like Solomon!
- Not every man finishes poorly. Jesus ended well! So did Peter and Paul and, hey all the disciples of Jesus ended well except Judas!
- Don’t get cynical, man! Focus on the accounts in Scripture of those men who ended well, and…imitate their faith! Jump back to Hebrews 11 to the Hall of Fame of Faith…there are some real heroes there…there are a bunch of people who ended well. Imitate them!
- Hang out with men who are following Jesus and who intentionally want to end well! “Bad company corrupts good morals”.
(Mmmm…maybe that wasn’t self-talk, maybe the Spirit was talking to me in my DAWG time.)
I love how real the Bible is. It shows us real people and their real messes and failures, but it also shows us the power of the Gospel to live well and end well. I have enough men in my family line who didn’t end well.
Living and ending well in such a way that honors God. That’s why I seek the Wisdom of Proverbs daily and why the failure of the human author of Proverbs doesn’t discourage me but draws me ever more in gratitude to the Divine Author! Soli Deo Gloria!
Strength and Courage!
Pete Alwinson
