Lead Me to the Cross

If I could choose one person to job shadow, it would be Solomon, the guy from the Bible who was super wise. In 1 Kings 2:12 the Lord said, “… I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before, nor shall any like you arise after you.” As I read about Solomon’s life, I was amazed how richly God has blessed him. People from all over the world came to Solomon for wisdom and his name was known among the nations.

Fame and wealth didn’t take away Solomon’s humility and desire to serve the Lord. The smart man used the best of the best materials to build the temple. Not to mention that he didn’t hold back gold and used it to decorate the sacred place, where God promised to dwell. I was so mesmerized by Solomon’s dedication to the Lord, until… well, until he disappointed me.

Disappointment came when I read 1 Kings 11:4, “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.”

“Oh, no…not you”, with disappointment I exclaimed. “How could you turn away from God when He appeared before you twice and blessed you beyond your imagination? Turn around, you are headed for destruction!!!”

As I continued to read, I quickly learned that there were consequences to Solomon’s actions, which set off a light bulb above my head. Ding, ding, ding, ding!!! Sometimes as Christians we find ourselves in the same situation as Solomon. God extends grace to us, blesses us richly and sets up the path (perfect path) for us to follow. The only problem is that we sometimes push it all to the side and take a road that is full of signs that scream destruction. Yet, somehow we tune out the loud noise just to find ourselves in the mess. The road that once seemed pleasing to the eye is not longer attractive, because it is filled with consequences that we have to face.

I was heading in the wrong directions, when coupons became my god. As silly as it sounds, I was worshiping a piece of paper that saved me $0.50 instead of worshiping One True God that saved my life. At first couponing world was fun and quite honest addicting. I couldn’t wait to get off work so I could make my pit stop at the grocery store or run to a drug store at lunch time to buy another tube of toothpaste to add to my already overflowing collection of Colgate, Aquafresh and Crest.

Shamefully I must admit that I have woken up before at 5 am just so that I can drive to a grocery store 40 minutes away before work for a triple coupon event. However, my spiritual life became stagnant, not to mention that my prayer life became nonexistent. Every single moment was occupied with thoughts of saving money, while doing my best utilizing my knowledge about couponing. I didn’t think much of my obsession and was good at justifying it. After all, I was saving our family money so we can get out of debt. Isn’t what God would want me to do in the first place? Not at the expense of ignoring Him. The Word clearly states in Ex 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me.”

Thankfully after much conviction I turned away from worshiping coupons to worshiping my One True God before facing the consequences of my actions. Today I have a healthy relationship with the pieces of paper that allow our family to be good stewards of God’s riches. I no longer get up at 5 am in order to snag a bottle of French’s mustard (which I don’t even like), instead I strive to spend time daily in soaking up God’s Word that is full of wisdom, love and grace. Just like Solomon for a while I chose to serve other gods, but oh how grateful am I for the Holy Spirit’s conviction that lead me back to the right path.