All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 2 Chronicles 9:20
When my wife and I first married, we decided alcohol wasn’t something we wanted in our home as we raised our children. We’d both come from conservative Christian environments (no alcohol in the house) and that’s the culture we wanted to cultivate in our own home. Still, my attitude toward chemicals was far laxer than my wife’s and I wanted to be able to drink alcohol when I was thirsty. So, I pushed the boundaries that we’d once set, and I considered it to be a great success when we hosted a large holiday bash one year, complete with freely flowing wine. I thought I’d arrived, having convinced my wife to host such an event.
Looking back over the years of our marriage, that was perhaps the pinnacle of our social status. We’d never hosted a party like that before and we’ve not hosted one since. From the world’s perspective, that was a successful time. I was an ER physician, making a respectable income. We lived on the lake and had a nice house. And that holiday season, we packed that house with friends who, like us, were young, healthy, and wealthy. As I said . . . success.
Success though, is its own trap, as in times of success, we often become self-sufficient and fail to see our need for God. Success appears to be what happened to King Solomon in today’s passage. In the story, Solomon achieved all the wealth he’d ever wanted. Precious metals were so common that silver became worthless. He even ate and drank from golden vessels. This was the beginning of the end for Solomon. We’re told that it was his foreign wives who led him to idol worship, but 1 Kings tells us that this happened in the context financial extravagance (1 kings. 10 and 11). Solomon’s worldly success caused him to wander from God.
I clearly remember that as the guests started to leave our house from that holiday party, I began to drink the leftover wine. In the days that followed, I snuck downstairs frequently to indulge from the the stored bottles. Though it was a time of apparent wordily success, my wife and I now look back at that party as a warning sign. That was tremendously addictive behavior and though I had not yet begun to recognize my opioid addiction, that episode should have been a huge indicator. Though we appeared to have the world by the tail back then, success led to self-sufficiency as I wandered from God. Success, it seems, wasn’t so good for me.
The challenge now, is to daily remember my need for God. In both good and bad times, I need him. Daily then, I must get up early to point my life at God. If I don’t, then, when I experience success, I’ll just naturally wander from him. Worldly success, it seems, isn’t always good for me.