“For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.”

1 Kings 3:9–10 NKJV

When Solomon became king God appeared to him and said “Ask! What shall I give you?”. Solomon asked God for wisdom to be able to judge the people. (1 Kings 3:9) He could have asked for anything…for riches, honor or a long life. Because he asked for wisdom, which is what God really wanted for Solomon, God gave him all of those things in addition to wisdom.

Blessings from God do not come with a promise that our lives will be easy and worry free. There will always be something competing for our attention. Something attempting to take our focus off of God. This happened to Solomon as he married seven-hundred wives. He became distracted with their gods, leaving behind the God who blessed him so greatly.

All of his wealth and wisdom did not help Solomon achieve contentment. If the wisest man on earth could be led astray by the distractions of this world, how much more for us who have many more distractions vying for our attention. The solution is not to be anxious, but to pray and allow the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. (Phil 4:6-7)