In my first seminary class, my professor presented us with the following verse…
1 Kings 10:26
Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
Then he asked the question, “Is this a good thing, a bad thing, or neutral?”
We all kind of scratched our heads. I, being the kind of guy who likes to at least take a shot, said that it was a good thing, a sign of God blessing Solomon.
He gave me an, “Oh yeah?” look and then showed this verse…
Deuteronomy 17:16
16 The king, moreover, MUST NOT acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”
Woops.
I guess the logic in the whole thing was the fact that God didn’t want any king to be relying on his own ability to broker deals and treaties and build up a huge army. God wanted the king to depend on Him.
So…it had me thinking.
As parents, what is the object of our trust?
You definitely want to be a good parent and be safe and all that, but we can farm out the whole trust thing to something beside God:
In Baby Einstein I trust!
In the Joneses (those people I’m trying to keep up with) I trust!
In Parenting magazine I trust!
In the opinion of my peers I trust!
I’m not saying that these things are bad in and of themselves. Maybe Baby Einstein will get your kid that scholarship to Stanford. Maybe the Joneses are doing some positive things that are worth emulating. Maybe Parenting magazine has some good tips. Maybe your friends’ opinions are worth listening to.
Horses and chariots aren’t bad in and of themselves, yet God forbade them.
This is a trust issue. Where will you place your trust first?
If you’re working on cultivating a little genius but not sharing God’s Word with your kid, you may have a problem.
If you’re teaching your kid the value of “stuff” instead of the value of love, you may have a problem.
If you’re looking how to mold your little image-bearer (of God) into any other image, you may have a problem.
If you’re looking to the approval of your buddies instead of God’s approval, you may have a problem.
What’s crazy is that Solomon looked like he had it all, when he was really, subtly spiritually bankrupt. This was even before the “let’s have 1,000 women” thing.
What good is it if we look like we have it all together but realize that we didn’t invite God to the party when it’s all said and done?
God gave you a kid.
Thank Him.
Pray to Him.
Depend on Him.
Trust Him.
