DAILY HOMILIES #Solomon

As much as God wanted to punish Solomon, there was something special about Jeroboam that caught God’s attention, just as David possessed certain qualities that impressed God. In 1 Kings 11:28, we read: “The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labour of the house of Joseph.” Do you desire to be great? Stop seeing work as a punishment.

We always select what we eat for fear of dying of food poisoning. Why, then, do we allow immoral, unwholesome or negative thoughts? Thoughts are powerful; thoughts defile - if it is happening in your mind, you are already doing it. Jesus taught that anyone who looks lustfully is guilty of adultery. When you think of killing someone, you are guilty of murder. Thoughts are not as harmless as we assume. The fact that no one can ‘see’ your thoughts does not make them okay. Stop feasting on bad thoughts.

God, very pleased with Solomon’s burnt offering, visited him in a dream and told Solomon to request anything. In response, Solomon began by giving thanks to God for all God had done for David, his father, and for putting him on the throne. Learn to count your blessings. One who has not learnt to say ‘thank you’ lacks the right to ask for more. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to praise God before asking for our daily bread.

Selfishness is a disease that is ravaging our society today. No one wants to be his brother’s keeper, not even our leaders. You hardly hear anyone ask you if you have eaten. In this miracle, Jesus teaches us the importance of love (showing concern for others). Be Generous, don’t be afraid to share.

“Hard times create strong men; strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men; weak men create difficult times.” These words, to a large extent, capture the story of David, Solomon and Jeroboam.

“We learn nothing from success. We learn everything from our failures. No one talks about failure. It is like a shame. Failure is a shame. No one goes, ‘What do we learn from it?’ Meanwhile, with success, everyone shouts about it. There is nothing in success. Success happens after failing hundreds of times.” Ed Sheeran

Thoughts are powerful; thoughts defile - if it is happening in your mind, you are already doing it. Jesus taught that anyone who looks lustfully is guilty of adultery. When you think of killing someone, you are guilty of murder. Thoughts are not as harmless as we assume. The fact that no one can ‘see’ your thoughts does not make them okay. Stop feasting on bad thoughts.

We waste time when we pay more attention to the outside of the cup than the inside. We worship in vain when we seek the applause of people, but we do not merit such applause. We may assume we are following commandments, but in reality, we are offending God.

Don’t be carried away by power, congratulatory messages, or excessive workload in your new office; dedicate the first day (or days) to prayer. Jesus applied this principle at the start of his ministry; he spent forty days praying and fasting alone in a desert.

One mistake we often make is thinking we can disobey God without suffering the consequences of our misdeeds. The truth is that God’s commandments are a covenant. If we want God to do his part, we, too, must do our part.

The truth is that most of us do not even care to know what is inside of us. We barely examine our hearts. This is why we easily notice the specks in other people’s eyes but are blind to the logs in our eyes. (Cf. Matthew 7:3-5).

God dwells in a special way in the temple. That is why Jesus would go to the temple to drive out the money changers saying: “My House (that is, God’s dwelling place) shall be a house of prayer…” (Matthew 21:13).