Solomon's Answered Prayer For God's Wisdom example essay topic

1 Kings 3: 16-28 By Tom Morris, MBA June 17, 2003 Introduction In King Solomon's most celebrated case, two harlots brought him a baby, each claiming to be its mother. According to the Bible (1 Kings 3: 16-28), Solomon proposed cutting the baby in two, giving half to each woman. As he sent for a sword, one woman agreed that halves would be a fair division; the other withdrew her claim. She, of course, was the true mother, and Solomon gave her the child. Solomon's Insight into Human Nature and His Source Solomon's discernment / management of the problem presented by the two prostitutes, and the identification of their babies, gave evidence of Solomon's gifted insight into human nature, and of Solomon's answered prayer for God's wisdom. When we know our lack of wisdom, we can then believingly ask for wisdom, as we are urged to do in James 1: 5-6: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraid eth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that waver eth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed". There was a method, of course, behind Solomon's madness. The real mother of the living baby was overcome with compassion. She would give up her custody before she would have him killed. It's a reaction we rightly expect from any mother in regard to her child.

In fact, it's a reaction we expect from any mother in regard to any child. It is this expectation that makes the other mother's response so appalling. She took Solomon's bait: "The child shall belong to neither of us", she said, "Cut him in half". Solomon's strategy worked. He announced his final verdict: "Give the living baby to the first woman.

Do not kill him; she is his mother". This particular event demonstrates that Solomon's remarkable discernment is not of Solomon's own human wisdom but wisdom granted by God through Solomon's earlier petition for wisdom. Verse 28 points out that the populace recognized, in this judgment, was not the wisdom of the king himself, but the wisdom of God inside the king. If you read the rest of Solomon's story, you find that Solomon's judgments are mostly downhill from here. In the narrations that follow, Solomon's own wisdom becomes increasingly compromised and by the end of the story, recklessly self-destructive.

For such a supposedly smart man, Solomon ended up doing some incredibly stupid things. So no, the people could not imagine that such remarkable wisdom could derive from human origins. Discerning the Truth We as God's children are continually subjected to Satan's strategy of confusion about God's will for us; a strategy that works well in today's society where self indulgent pleasures seem to be the key factor in discerning what is good or bad, right or wrong, and real or unreal! By Satan's hand, we are confused human beings who will continue to stumble in the dark if we do not ask for God's discerning sprit of wisdom (Holy Spirit) to dwell within us; without it, we cannot discern the truth with confidence and have the fullness of life that God has promised us.

As we pilot our way through the uncertain, good judgment and decision making can be made much easier if we believingly ask God for wisdom and guidance. Several years ago, I made a decision to turn my life over to God and to let him guide me through the darkness. Under my direction, I felt that I was in a downward spiral anyway, so what did I have to lose? In essence, God became my navigator; I let go and let God fight my battles to do his will through me. Shortly thereafter, as event after event unfolded with bewildering success, I realized that God was true to his word and would continue to allow success but only if I was unwavering in my commitment to him; there is definitely a link! Specifically, I discern truth through prayer for God's will to be done.

Today, I am dependent on God to guide me through life (opening and closing doors); he is my mentor for discernment in all things. How is this Passage Relate to Strategy? Solomon's decision was a rare strategic decision meaning that Solomon had no precedent to follow. Without a precedent to follow, how would Solomon discern who was lying and who was telling the truth; there were no, husbands, witnesses or birthmarks on the baby to help Solomon determine who the child belonged to. Solomon could not have made his final decision without first having prayed for God's wisdom; in this case, a divinely inspired plan ensued that yielded him the discernment he needed to make the right decision; God did the planning and Solomon executed the steps. Strategy is the process by which we build a bridge to the vision; strategic decision making is the process by which we construct and measure the quality of the bridge building process.

Gathering timely and accurate information on which to build a plan (bridge) for strategic decision making is imperative. It also involves working with a team of experts that will facilitate the bridge building and to shorten its construction time. In Solomon's case, God was his entire team; how much better of a team member can one have? Tom Morris, MBA Fort Wayne, IN.