Missed previous emails? You can read all the emails we sent online by clicking here.

Why Wisdom is not Enough

Solomon was the wisest person to have ever lived.

The story goes that God appeared to King Solomon and told him he could ask for whatever he wanted. And Solomon asked for understanding and wisdom. God was pleased with his request, so he gave him not only wisdom, but also wealth and honor.

And that pretty much defined the life of Solomon.

In the book of 1 Kings, his riches are described in detail. How in his days silver was worthless because there was so much of it, and gold was plentiful. And we hear about the story of the Queen of Sheba who comes and visits Solomon from afar, bringing with her very difficult questions. And Solomon is able to answer all of them, and she is amazed with his wisdom.

Solomons Tragic End

So here is a guy who is unbelievably wise, and also unbelievably rich. The blessings of the Lord have been poured out on Him. But still, in his last days, we read a tragic end to his story.

Solomon turned away from the God who had given him everything. And in the end, the consequence was that God took the Kingdom away from him and his children. 

So what happened here? 

Well, for those who know the story, they know that it was actually his many wives (he had 1000 of them!) that turned his heart after other Gods.

Somethings illogical

However, I must admit, something has always felt off about this story. There is a logic to the story that does not compute in my brain. How can the most wise person in the world… well, be so stupid?

It doesn’t make sense. 

Solomon is the human equivalent of all wise and understanding, and yet he still decides to marry many foreign wives and leave the God who blessed Him abundantly. 

It seems like a clear contradiction of logic.

To me, there is only one way to reconcile this logic.

Wisdom is not sufficient to make the right choice.

Wisdom is not Enough

Now don’t misinterpret me. I am not saying wisdom is not bad. In James it says

Wisdom is good. It helps us in our everyday life. But this story seems to show us that it is insufficient. Wisdom alone is not enough to get us through this life as devoted followers of God.

It takes more than that.

I think the question becomes then – what else do we need? What is sufficient?

And the answer to that – from as far as I can tell – is that nothing we have as humans is sufficient. 

In Matthew 19:25-26 we read:

We need something more to be devoted followers of Christ. We need, well God Himself. All of Him. With God all things are possible. Jesus is the way, truth and the life, and The Spirit will guide us into all truth!

The reality is that following Jesus is hard. 

And sometimes we think that if we store up enough knowledge, become even smarter and wiser, than everything will be better.

But let the lesson of Solomon be an example to you.

Wisdom too is insufficient. 

We need Jesus. We need the Father. And we need the Holy Spirit.

Only then can we ever hope to live a life unto Him.

We can’t do it on our own.

Until next week,

Be Blessed,

Aaron

Theophilus Newsletter