Daily Wisdom

“…be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man: And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statues, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimony, as it is written…” 1 Kg 2-3

These are the words King David charged his son Solomon with from his death bed.  Consider the steps Solomon was to follow in, David was a legend from his early teen life when he defeated a bear and a lion, which only prepared him for his defeat of Goliath.  In addition David played his defense against Saul’s attempts to kill him while serving him.  Yet, his father David, did not challenged him to raise the bar to greater accomplishments, but to simply show thyself a man and walk in God’s ways.  To show thyself a man was David’s wisdom of courage; knowing courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to do right in the face of fear. Obedience requires great courage to stand on truth, not what’s popular or convenient.  Second, David charged him to walk in the ways of God, to live his life as a man of God who relies on God’s word and direction.  And what’s most interesting is the realization Solomon came to after ignoring his father’s charge and instead choosing his own path’s in life, he closes his life by quoting his father in a sense, “Let’s us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecc 12:13)  Maybe David knew what he was talking about…are we listening?

HSAY…Todd