Solomon’s legacy began with great success. But despite his glorious beginning, Solomon’s heart was not entirely with the Lord (1 Kings 11:4-13). He basically did not obey God, and the end result was that Solomon’s reign was catastrophic. This all came about because he had forgotten God’s unconditional and faithful love and decided to serve idols instead. Today, we too have our idols that we worship and find that our hearts are not entirely with the Lord.
First, we worship the idol of materialism which feeds our need to build our egos through having more “stuff.” Our homes are filled with possessions. We build bigger and bigger houses with more closets and storage space in order to house all the things we buy, much of which we haven’t even paid for yet. Most of our stuff has “planned obsolescence” built into it, making it useless in no time, and so we designate it to the garage or other storage space. Then we rush out to buy the newest item, garment or gadget and the whole process starts over. This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is nothing more than covetousness.
Second, we worship the idol of our own pride and ego. This often takes the form of obsession with careers and jobs. We spend so much time on how to make our businesses more successful, how to get that promotion, how to get the next raise, how to close the next deal. In the meantime, our children are starving for attention and love. We fool ourselves into thinking we are doing it for them, to give them a better life. But the truth is we are doing it for ourselves, to increase our self-esteem by appearing more successful in the eyes of the world.
Finally, and perhaps most destructive, we worship the idol of self, or the exclusion of all others and their needs and desires. This is where we put all of our focus on our needs, on our wants, on our desires. And we cannot even begin to think of others because we are too occupied with fulfilling ourselves. We are determined to make ourselves the god of our lives.
Jesus clearly tells us that the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. The surest way to be faith-filled and to have your heart entirely with the Lord at the end of our life is to make sure our heart is entirely with the Lord today and every day. Day after day, come to Jesus. Day after day, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Then, each day, persevere in staying with Jesus. He promises that when we persevere to the end, we will be saved. And that’s so much more than anything an idol can promise us!
