I am approached by numerous individuals every year to serve as their mentor. I’m so busy with my many projects that I simply cannot invest the necessary amount of time that it would take to do a proper job. When I was young I wanted a mentor, too, but I was so antisocial that I had trouble making friends and hesitated to ask anyone.
I still wanted one however, and I thought about it often. Finally I decided that if I could have any mentor in the world it would be Jesus Christ followed by King Solomon. The reason for desiring Jesus as a mentor was obvious. He was perfect in every way. If I could emulate Him, surely I would prosper and be mightily blessed.
As for Solomon, I was aware that God had promised Solomon that he would become the richest and wisest man that the world would ever know. 1 King 3:12 – “Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you”. 1 king 10:23 – “So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth.”
It made sense that I should try to learn from this man.
Solomon whose parents were King David and Bathsheba started out well early in his life. He took the advice of his father King David, as recorded in 1 Kings 2:2-3, “Be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”
Early in his life Solomon showed a propensity to humbly follow God and Scripture. Wisdom according to Solomon would help us make the kind of decisions that honor the Lord by harmonizing our lives with Scripture.
His book of Proverbs is filled with practical advice as to how to apply wisdom by following the commands of the Lord. Solomon also wrote the Song of Solomon, which presents a beautiful picture of what God intends marriage to be.
So, King Solomon knew what was right and wrong, but like the rest of humanity he didn’t always follow the right path. As is His nature God did not force him to do what was right. Rather, God laid out His will, blessed Solomon with wisdom, and expected the king to obey. In his later years, Solomon chose to disobey and he was held accountable for his poor decisions and suffered the consequences of disobeying God.
Toward the end of Solomon’s life, God used him to write one more book of the Bible. The book of Ecclesiastes gives us the summation of a life lived by a man who tried all the world could offer. This book tells us everything he tried in order to find fulfillment apart from God in this world, or “under the sun.” His testimony is recorded: “I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired . . . a harem as well – the delights of the heart of man” (Ecclesiastes 2:8). But his harem did not bring happiness. Instead, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (verse 11). At the conclusion of Ecclesiastes, we find wise counsel: “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man” (12:13).”
It is never God’s will that anyone sin, but He does allow us to make our own choices. The story of Solomon is a powerful lesson for us that it does not pay to disobey. It is not enough to start well; we must seek God’s grace to finish well, too. Life without God is a dead-end street. Solomon thought that having 1,000 wives and concubines would provide happiness, but whatever pleasure he derived was not worth the price he paid. As a wiser Solomon said, “God will bring every deed into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Obviously, God “allowed” Solomon to have these wives, but allowance is not the same as approval. Solomon’s marital decisions were in direct violation of God’s Law, and there were consequences.
One thing I learned from my mentor experience is that one should not seek mentors unless prepared to listen to their sage advice and then apply it. If you are only going to do the things with which you agree, then you don’t need a mentor, you need a cheerleader. Just do as you please and don’t waste time on mentors. It is when the mentor advises you to do what you DON’T want to do and you reluctantly follow their advice that determines whether or not you will gain advantage from having one.
Listen then follow the advice to achieve value from a mentor. Advice for mentors: “Don’t throw your pearls before swine, or they will turn and maul you” (Matthew 7:6). Choose those protégés that earnestly want to learn and are willing to listen and then act upon the advice you give them.
As for my Bible mentors I have learned that the closer I have come to listening to and emulating Jesus, the more I have prospered. When I’ve gone my own way I’ve suffered consequences. Unfortunately like all men I’m mere flesh and don’t always follow Him as I should. My heart is in the right place, but sometimes my flesh is weak.
As for Solomon his life was instrumental in helping me to understand the folly of vanity and going one’s way. His advice was helpful in building my career and learning to be as shrewd as the snakes with whom I competed through studying Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. (Matt. 10:16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.)
Receiving wisdom from the Bible and following it is often difficult to pull off. It is inevitable that we will make mistakes, even the Apostle Paul did and there will always be the consequence, but take heart God is love and full of grace. Jesus is always there for us!
Have a great weekend and go to honey Lake Church (or somewhere) this Sunday.
Romans 7:18
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law. But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin . . .
June 17, 2016 – Click here to listen