Proverbs 1:1: What would your wish be?

“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:”
Proverbs 1:1

If God gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

If He came to you, right now, and said, “Ask what I shall give you,” how would you reply? I know we all have our tidy “religious” answers dealing with peace and joy and salvation for all, but be honest with yourself for a minute. A lot of us would ask for money, or fame, or power.

It’s a rather pointless question, right? I mean, God, despite what some churches say, is not a vending machine where you tell Him what you want and He gives it to you.

Except that He did exactly that at least once, and it pertains to our topic of Proverbs very deeply, because the person who received the wish was Solomon, who wrote most of Proverbs and probably two other books of the Bible.

God gave him a wish, and here’s what happened after that:

”Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”

-1 Kings 3:9-13

There are two things I want to point out here. The first is that Solomon understood something that we do not always understand, that some things are better than money. Don’t get me wrong, Solomon did not think that money was evil. In fact, we’re going to see that Solomon has some nice things to say about money. I don’t think money is evil either. But it’s a matter of priority.

I’ll be honest. I cringe when I hear a preacher talk about how we can be wealthy and healthy and powerful through Jesus. It’s not even that they are necessarily wrong. Some of us will, in fact, be wealthy. Not all, certainly (we worship a homeless man, remember), but some. But it’s just that they vision is so very small. Take a look at what the Bible lists as “the fruit of the spirit”: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

If I’m going to pray for myself, this is the stuff I want to pray for. Money would be fine, but I would much rather have love. Power would be grant, but peace better. Perfect health would be lovely, but joy far better.

You see, there are eternal things, and there are things that pass away. Solomon knew that, and even though he could have asked for money and power, he realized that these things would pass. He was looking to something higher.

He got money anyway. Maybe that will happen for you too. If so, I’m happy for you. But if money is your priority, then you should consider my second observation from this passage:

God was pleased when Solomon did NOT ask for money.

Did you catch that? How strange that there are so many churches that tell us to pray for the very thing that God tells us would not please Him. How selfish and unloving! Certainly, God wants to give us things, and He wants us to seek Him, but He wants to give us those things that are most important, and we are sitting here begging for the lesser things.

Solomon knew better, and it pleased God that his sights were not cast so low.

Is money a priority for you, or is God the priority? Having money is not a problem as long as God remains on top, but you must ask yourself what you are truly seeking.

If you are caught up in the frenzy to make a name for yourself, to get rich, to have all this world can offer, I urge you to turn your attention from this world and to the next one, for it is there that true treasure will last.

Turn to Christ; repent of this world and give yourself to Him. Ask Him for forgiveness and to fill you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

And wisdom.

The richest man in the world wrote three books of the Bible and is remembered to this day not for his wealth, but for that piece of eternity in him. In Christ, we can understand the true importance of things, so I urge you to seek him.