Have you ever practiced selective listening? Certainly as a teen-ager, when parents gave detailed instructions, some of which were immediately ignored. At work this occurs regularly, and in a marriage—honey, what was that you said again? The house is on fire?

I don’t believe Solomon practiced selective listening when David exhorted him to build a temple to the Lord. Perhaps selective remembering better describes Solomon’s life. Here’s David’s charge on the eve of his death:

My son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and to the work.

Solomon followed through on the temple construction, creating one of the wonders of the ancient world. But Solomon lost his way in regards to devotion. With the temple project complete, the riches of the world and his fascination with foreign women turned his heart.

Which do you think the Lord preferred? A magnificent temple dedicated in his honor, or the heart of a king fully devoted to him?

Guard your heart. It matters more than cathedrals.

1 Chronicles 18 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Diane Picchiottino