When Small Things Become Big Things

“You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” – Galatians 5:7-9.

There are many things in life that initially seem significant. The one thing in your office you didn’t put away. The one task that you didn’t complete. That relationship you didn’t work on. The bill you didn’t pay. The deadline you let pass. No big deal unless you never get past the half-way, the almost, the in-between and the just about to address them. Most big problems start as small, easily addressed items. By not addressing them, you allowed them to grow into big issues.

Solomon was the wisest, richest man in the world. Yet, the bible tells us in 1 Kings 11:4-6: “For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.”

Exactly how did the wisest man in the world forget God? I believe there are several answers that apply both to Solomon and to us today. First, Solomon left a little wiggle room in his commitment to God. Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. (1 Kings 3:3) Here’s the issue.There’s no such thing as a partial commitment. When you begin with an exception clause, you will never arrive at full devotion and the Home Run Life.

Secondly, assume that you’re an exception to the rule. God commanded: He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. (Deuteronomy 17:17a) Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, and his wives led him astray. (1 Kings 11:1,3) God commanded that he must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (Deuteronomy 17:17b) The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land …The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. (1 Kings 10:14,27) Do we believe we are the exception to some of the rules as well?

Finally, fail to deal with your predisposed weaknesses. “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— ²from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.” (1 Kings 11:1-2) “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 11:4)

Sin has a way of creeping into our lives. A little activity here and a repeated behavior there can quietly become a habit in no time. Without being aware of it, sin can not only trip us up, but it can derail a person in short order, especially when we’re not paying careful attention.

Discussion Question:

Solomon accumulated unprecedented riches. Look up Deuteronomy 17:15-17 and 28:1-14. Did Solomon go too far? Is extreme wealth a good thing or a bad thing?
As Solomon grew older, he was a rich and established ruler, but he did not apply the wisdom that defined his early career. How can you continue to seek wisdom, even after you have experienced success?
Did you ever let someone or something become more important to you than God? How can you show that God is important to you?
Solomon’s failures began when he married women who served other gods. What advice would you give someone who is considering dating a non-Christian?
Pray and ask God to help you eliminate small problems before they become big problems.