EXPERIENCE AS A WEAKNESS

DAY 38/366

1 Kings 11:4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.

In many quarters, old age is synonymous with wisdom hence the proverb “what an old man sees while sitting will be missed by youth even from the top of the tallest tree”. We could have expected same with Solomon but we get the reverse. In his old age, his heart was turned away from God.

In the verses preceding today’s text, we read about Solomon’s ‘700 wives and 300 concubines’. Many of these were from foreign lands, with gods they bowed to hence to please them, Solomon would have tagged along and built places of worship as described.

In addition to wisdom, old age is also synonymous with a loss of strength, this is where even experience becomes a weakness. Depending on the pool of one’s exposure, convictions built could become so watered down that one no longer has the strength to defend them. Perhaps, Solomon should have received this letter from St Paul to the corinthians “Bad companionship corrupts good character”(1 Cor 15:33). No exemptions.

#sly