You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods. (1 Kings 11:2)
TAKE A LOOK at any advertisement on television, or in magazines, and most of them highlight something a person could be lacking. They offer younger skin, more hair, or just about anything to make you feel that you must be missing something in your own life. Just looking at the beauty industry alone, we see billions of dollars being poured into an industry whose only purpose is to convince women they could look and feel better than they do now. This constant barrage of messages showing us what we could have, if we’d only buy into the lies, makes it hard for us to focus on what’s really important.
If anyone had laser focus on what it was God wanted for him, it was Solomon. He asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people, and he received it. However, that didn’t stop him from being tempted by what caught his eye, specifically foreign women. God told Solomon that he was not to marry these foreign women because they would lead his heart away from Him. However, even a man with so much God-given wisdom managed to succumb to temptation. We can learn from Solomon that God has shown us what we need to be focused on, and all of those other enticing messages just get in the way of our calling.
When you catch yourself wanting something, ask if it is part of God’s plan.
Sara Galyon and her husband Philip both serve in youth ministry in the north Alabama area. Her family enjoys traveling, baseball, and serving God together.
© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
