Christian man, do you want to sidestep failure and succeed in life? Perhaps you are dealing with nagging doubts. Am I even allowed to want success? Dare I wish for abundance in this life?
After a full season studying Jacob and his father and grandfather, the answer from Scripture is emphatic: riches and godliness are by no means mutually exclusive, if those riches are sought God’s way and received in God’s time.
Season Two of God’s World, God’s Way opens with the man who embodies this principle more than any other figure in history: Solomon, the richest man the world has ever known, richer than the patriarchs, richer even than Job after God doubled his wealth. And the passage in which God offered Solomon anything he desired, 1 Kings 3:1-14, contains a blueprint for success that is available to every believer willing to learn it.
You Have to Succeed at Something
The chapter opens with Solomon already at work. He had formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, was building his own house and the house of the Lord, and was constructing the wall around Jerusalem. Solomon was already engaged in the business of being a king, and kingship was Solomon’s business.
This is the first lesson: God was able to grant Solomon success because Solomon had already made a start doing what he was born to do. Winning the lottery is not success; it is a leaky bathtub. Proverbs 13:11 warns that “wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”
If we want to know God’s blessings, we had better make sure our nose is to the grindstone and our shoulder to the wheel, labouring in whatever calling God has given us. That calling might not be glamorous. Solomon knew that kingship had nearly killed his father David. But he never complained and never chose something easier. He made a start, and that is what we must do, too.
Walk in God’s Statutes
The text tells us that “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David.” If we sincerely want God’s blessing in our life and work, we must first be students of God’s law, His measure of right and wrong, especially as it applies to our life and work. God has told us how He wants things done, whether we are carpenters or accountants, social media managers or secretaries.
Solomon had a flaw: he burned incense on the high places. And yet God still blessed him richly despite that flaw. This is an encouragement to every man who knows his weaknesses and can list them in detail. Open rebellion and hard-hearted disobedience will destroy you. But having flaws does not disqualify you from seeking God and His blessing. Do not listen to the lie that you must be flawless like an Instagram post before God will use you.
The One Right Answer
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered him whatever he wished. Out of the millions of foolish ways to answer that question, Solomon chose the one right answer. He asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people, to discern between good and evil. In other words, Solomon asked God for everything he needed to do his job excellently.
He did not ask for anything for himself. He was 113 words into his response before he made a single request, and every one of those words was focused on the Lord: “You, Your, You, You, You, You.” Solomon’s overwhelming concern was with his covenant Lord, not with his own desires.
This is where the route to riches and honour is found. It is not found by making wealth the goal. If we make honour and riches the target we strive for, they will forever elude us. But if we give whole-burnt-offering devotion to God above and godly service to our clients and customers here below, God may well be pleased to grant us both.
Covenant Love, Not Random Blessing
Solomon demonstrated that he understood how life in God’s world works. He told God: “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart.” This was not reckless, random love. It was covenant love, love that corresponded to David’s inner life and actions.
God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God who rewards those who do what He tells them to do. The way to earnestly seek God is through His covenant. Solomon was, in fact, one of God’s great rewards to David.
This principle has not changed. God does not change. He is still a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him through obedience to His Word. He will reward you, when and how He chooses.
Humility and Stewardship
Solomon exhibited an extreme humility before the Lord: “I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.” He was king of Israel, yet he acknowledged that his position was entirely God’s doing and his father David’s faithfulness, not his own achievement.
God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud. Humility is another clear prerequisite for success. But Solomon also understood that he was a steward, not an owner. God’s chosen people were entrusted to his care. His calling, however great, was fundamentally a stewardship.
Whatever your legitimate occupation, you are a steward. You have customers that only you can serve in the marketplace, but it is all from God. And as 1 Corinthians 4:2 says, “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” In our striving for success, we must strive lawfully, or all our striving will be for nothing, or worse, we will gain ungodly riches with sorrow attached.
The Desire of the Godly Heart
Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” What are the desires of a godly man’s heart? The answer, modelled by Solomon, is not money, not houses, not fancy watches. A godly man’s life finds its focus in his dominion labour for his Lord: his work, his job, his business.
If our heart’s desire is for more grace to do the work God has given us, this is the point where we can meet God and know His richest blessings. God proceeded to give Solomon wisdom beyond any man before or since, and then added riches and honour on top.
This is the route to riches and honour: through your God-appointed labour, through the covenant of God, by which He blesses His faithful workers in their respective fields. The Word of God is the only rule for faith and life, not just for faith, but for our life, too. God gives us His Word so that we might succeed, not simply so that we might go to heaven when we die.