When the Heart Turns

Solomon was given wisdom, peace, and a great kingdom, yet he did not keep his heart with fear. His fall did not begin with open revolt, but with tolerated desire. He loved what God had forbidden, and what he cherished in secret soon ruled him in public. Thus the man who built the house of God also raised high places for idols. The beginning seemed small; the end was division, judgment, and shame.

Irenaeus sets the matter before us without softening it: “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord: he did not walk after the Lord, as did David his father.” Great gifts do not excuse disobedience. Long standing does not protect the man who grows careless. If a king so favored was cut for his sin, let no Christian make peace with compromise. God is patient, but he is not mocked.

Cyprian also recalls the sentence: “for thus says the Lord, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten sceptres unto you;” Sin tears what obedience would have kept whole. It rends kingdoms, households, friendships, and the inner man. Therefore the wise servant of Christ does not ask how near he may go to the forbidden thing, but how quickly he may flee it.

Let us then cut off the beginnings of evil: unlawful desire, flattering company, divided worship, and excuses for small sins. Let us pray at the appointed hours, fast to chasten wandering appetites, give alms to loosen greed, confess sins plainly, and keep faith with the Lord in deed as well as word. Better a guarded heart than a splendid ruin.