Decisions
"Nooooooooooo!"
The scream echoed throughout the hallway. It was, perhaps, the loudest scream I had ever heard in my life. And I knew, in that moment, I had my answer.
There are countless cases that come in front of me every day. Countless people who want me to decide some dispute or disagreement for them. People come from everywhere in the kingdom to discuss their cases with me, to hear the king's wisdom. I've thought about hanging a sign out in front of the palace, naming this room something like "The People's Court." But then I think, nah, that's a crazy name. It'd never stick.
And then I chuckle, because they think they're getting my wisdom when really they're getting God's wisdom. Seriously, I could never do this on my own. There's no way I am wise enough or smart enough or even focused enough on my own to be able to know what's going on in the hearts of these people. But God does, and when he gives me wisdom, I'm able to pass it along to the people.
That's what happened today. Even though some people might think I came up with this, I didn't. It was completely God's work.
These two women came before me, both claiming to be the mother of this one child. Now, everyone knows that's impossible. Two women cannot have both given birth to this one child. The story was that one of them rolled over on her own baby, smothered it, and then stole the other woman's baby and claimed it as her own. The child, of course, is not old enough to speak for himself, so they asked me to decide who the baby belonged to.
If only there were some sort of medical test I could run to make that decision!
So, in the midst of these women screaming at each other, making horrible accusations against each other, I sat there and prayed. "God, you know the heart of all people. Show me what is in their hearts and help me do the right thing."
Suddenly, it came to me, and I stood up. The women both stopped yelling and looked at me, sensing something was about to happen. I cleared my throat and said, "I have a solution. We will cut the baby in half and then each of you can have half of the child, since that's what you're claiming belongs to you." And I reached over toward one of my guards to obtain a sword.
The one woman was completely calloused toward the solution. "Okay, fine, go ahead. That sounds fair." And she stood there with her arms crossed. I don't know if she thought I wouldn't really do it or if she was making fun of me. Ultimately, it didn't matter, because the other woman began screaming. And in that moment, I knew the truth.
The woman who didn't want the baby cut in two was the true mother, and so I awarded the child to her. And people shouted, "Great is the wisdom of Solomon."
No, great is the wisdom of God. Only God could see into their hearts, to know which one was truthful and which one was not. I can't see that. I just have to remember: as long as I get out of the way and let God work through me, things in the kingdom will be just fine.
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The scream echoed throughout the hallway. It was, perhaps, the loudest scream I had ever heard in my life. And I knew, in that moment, I had my answer.
There are countless cases that come in front of me every day. Countless people who want me to decide some dispute or disagreement for them. People come from everywhere in the kingdom to discuss their cases with me, to hear the king's wisdom. I've thought about hanging a sign out in front of the palace, naming this room something like "The People's Court." But then I think, nah, that's a crazy name. It'd never stick.
And then I chuckle, because they think they're getting my wisdom when really they're getting God's wisdom. Seriously, I could never do this on my own. There's no way I am wise enough or smart enough or even focused enough on my own to be able to know what's going on in the hearts of these people. But God does, and when he gives me wisdom, I'm able to pass it along to the people.
That's what happened today. Even though some people might think I came up with this, I didn't. It was completely God's work.
These two women came before me, both claiming to be the mother of this one child. Now, everyone knows that's impossible. Two women cannot have both given birth to this one child. The story was that one of them rolled over on her own baby, smothered it, and then stole the other woman's baby and claimed it as her own. The child, of course, is not old enough to speak for himself, so they asked me to decide who the baby belonged to.
If only there were some sort of medical test I could run to make that decision!
So, in the midst of these women screaming at each other, making horrible accusations against each other, I sat there and prayed. "God, you know the heart of all people. Show me what is in their hearts and help me do the right thing."
Suddenly, it came to me, and I stood up. The women both stopped yelling and looked at me, sensing something was about to happen. I cleared my throat and said, "I have a solution. We will cut the baby in half and then each of you can have half of the child, since that's what you're claiming belongs to you." And I reached over toward one of my guards to obtain a sword.
The one woman was completely calloused toward the solution. "Okay, fine, go ahead. That sounds fair." And she stood there with her arms crossed. I don't know if she thought I wouldn't really do it or if she was making fun of me. Ultimately, it didn't matter, because the other woman began screaming. And in that moment, I knew the truth.
The woman who didn't want the baby cut in two was the true mother, and so I awarded the child to her. And people shouted, "Great is the wisdom of Solomon."
No, great is the wisdom of God. Only God could see into their hearts, to know which one was truthful and which one was not. I can't see that. I just have to remember: as long as I get out of the way and let God work through me, things in the kingdom will be just fine.
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