True wisdom is your life aligned with your words

King Solomon is famous for being the wisest man on the planet in his day. People traveled across deserts to speak to him, and he packed the creds to back it up. He wrote 3000 proverbs and 1000 songs (1 Kings 4:32).

But did King Solomon finish the race as strong as he started? (2 Timothy 4:7).

We will examine that question, but first, another question — how did King Solomon acquire such great wisdom?

The Source of Solomon’s Wisdom

In Proverbs 4, Solomon says his father, King David, taught him. This is the David you’ve heard about—the man after God’s own heart. But that’s not the only way Solomon became so wise. He asked God for one thing: wisdom, and God granted the request (1 Kings 3:6–12).

As a good father, King Solomon taught wisdom to his son, Rehoboam, evidenced by the many proverbs addressed to “my son.”

However, God had one condition when He blessed Solomon with wisdom.

“And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:14, NIV).

Ah, there it is. The big “if.”

The Big If

It’s the same “if” all men face.

Will we walk according to God’s commandments all of our days? Will we finish the race strong?

Many good men don’t. They falter in midlife and have crises. Their sinful actions have painful consequences for them and others within their blast radius.

King Solomon’s Struggles

Even King Solomon, the wisest and richest man in his day, struggled with the big “if.”

He ultimately had 700 wives and 300 concubines (so much for wisdom) and adopted the idolatrous religions of a few while building pagan altars and participating in pagan worship.

Solomon trained his son, Rehoboam, on wisdom, yet his moral failures negated everything he taught him. What was the impact on Rehoboam?

“He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.” (2 Chronicles 12:14, NIV).

Rehoboam did evil because he didn’t seek the Lord and know His voice. It makes you wonder how he would’ve turned out if Solomon had controlled his lusts and followed the Lord all his days.

Even the wisest of men can fall to their lustful desires.

The Power of Actions Over Words

My words were more important to my son when he was a wee lad, and he believed everything I said with blind faith. Now, he’s a sharp young man and can easily detect if my words fail to match my actions. How I live is far more important than my words. After all, what can I say that I haven’t spoken in the last 18 years?

I’ll fail as a father if my life doesn’t align with the volume of words my son has heard from me. A lifetime of honorable living is damaged by one moral slip.

Or 999 of them, as in King Solomon’s case.

A Book to Help You Be Wiser Than King Solomon

The Bible is the absolute best book on wisdom. My new book, Stronger Down the Stretch—Surviving Midlife Without a Crisis, is somewhere further down the list. Here’s what Aaron S. said about my book.

“Stronger Down the Stretch” is a must-read for men wrestling with mid-life malaise. I read it one sitting and simply couldn’t put it down. Brady speaks with candor and draws from a deep well of experience and Biblical wisdom sharing practical steps to help men reinvigorate their spiritual, emotional and physical well being.”

Perhaps Stronger Down the Stretch is relevant for women as well. Paula thinks so.

“Though appropriately titled for men in the mid-life season of life, the book also is a great read for wives and couples prior to Mid-Life…Wow… finally someone cared enough to write of God’s Truth as it applies to men (as well as women who desire to understand ,enlighten, and strengthen the men in their lives). With divorce rates higher than ever, don’t we all need an in-depth knowledge pointing towards a righteous way to approach the worldly & philosophical ideologies that fail to deliver. “Stronger Down the Stretch” offers clear and grounded biblical principals for loving and living to whomever dares to learn God’s principles for living.”

Let’s leave a legacy for our children of leading lives that match our words – that’s true wisdom.

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