A Heart for God

“So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel...” (1 Kings 11:9 - NKJV)

The pages of the Old Testament have a sad, but interesting commentary on Solomon's life: “…when Solomon was old…his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God…” (1 Kings 11:4). This guy was king! He was the wisest man of all time! He was a righteous man. How is it possible to start so well and end so sadly? What can we do to make absolutely sure we avoid Solomon’s mistake?

The Bible describes the heart as the center of man’s being. So, we have to protect it. In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon himself says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (He should’ve listened to his own advice!) The Hebrew word for “keep” is a word which means “guard; set a watch.” To keep our hearts righteous – or right before God – we have to guard what gets into our lives. God, in Ps 119:2, has a promise for those who do: “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” We must protect our hearts because, biblically speaking, our hearts make us who we are! That’s what Jesus says in Matt 12:35 – “A good man out, of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things.” Finally, we have to be aware there are those who want to turn our hearts away from righteousness. Solomon failed to be attentive to this. We can’t! The apostle Peter warns, in 2 Pet 3:17, “…beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.” As Christians, we have to be focused on the fact God expects righteousness from us – in ALL areas of life. He told those present for the Sermon on the Mount, “…unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20). That’s the righteous call to the followers of a righteous God. We can do it. But, to do so, we must guard our hearts, “for out of it spring the issues of life.”