When Overwhelmed by Responsibilities

(1 Kings 3:1-15)

Our responsibilities can be very burdensome, even overwhelming

Stress-related illnesses can result from this.

Young King Solomon felt overwhelmed with his responsibilities (1 Kings 3:7-8)

God did not intend for us to shoulder our burdens alone.

Self-made people worship at their own altars and their success is limited to the extent of
their own abilities.

Our first step in managing responsibilities should be to turn to the Lord.

There is a great temptation to try and handle things on our own first.

This causes us to lose our proper focus.

We become materially practical but spiritually neglectful

Solomon took office by stating his devotion to God in the most dramatic fashion.
He sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings to express his devotion and thanksgiving to
God. The sacrifices were continuous, extraordinary and spectacular. It was close
to a 3 years’ sacrifice for a commoner who offered a sacrifice a day. The flames
blazed in intensity, the smoke filled the temple, and the aroma pleased the Lord.

The Judges Prayer: “So give your servant a listening/obedient heart to judge
your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to judge
this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:9; 2 Chron. 1:10)

Shama` {shä·mah'}, Heb. = listening, hearing, understanding, obedient

Leb {lāb}, Heb. = heart, mind, will

Shaphat {shä·fat'}, Heb. = to judge, govern, vindicate, deliver, defend, punish

We are incapable of perfect justice on our own (Ecc. 7:20)

Finding and doing true justice comes only from seeking the will of
God (John 5:30; Isa. 11:2-4)
The key to success is loving and trusting God

We demonstrate our love through our obedience and service (Ps. 111:10, Prov.
9:10)

We must God-centered and not self-centered, seeing our purpose with the context
of His greater purpose.

God shapes our priorities and prunes anything in our lives that does not honor Him.

If we give His Kingdom interests first priority, He will provide for all of our other
needs/concerns. (1 Kings 3:13; Matt. 6:25)

God offers wisdom, knowledge and discernment to help manage our responsibilities.

“For Jehovah Himself gives wisdom, out of his mouth there is knowledge and
discernment.”(Prov. 2:6) (Contrast: Deut. 29:2-4, Isa. 6:9-10, Matt. 13:10-17, God
can also withhold discernment)

Chokmah {khok·mä'}, Heb. = wisdom, prudence, skill

madda` {mad·dä'}, Heb. = knowledge

Biyn {bene}, Heb. = discernment, insight, understanding

Discernment

to perceive (be aware of and come to understand with the mind)

to dissect (cut through many layers and examine closely)
to comprehend with insight (to mentally grasp the inner/real nature
or character)

Man’s discernment vs. God’s discernment

Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart (1
Sam. 16:7; John 7:24)

We should seek discernment:

As a safeguard (Proverbs 2:10-11, Ephesians 5:15-17)

For the sake of our families (Proverbs 24:3)

To find joy, peace and prosperity in life (Proverbs 3:13-18)

We should pray for wisdom and discernment (1 Chron. 22:12; 2 Chron. 1:10; 1
Kings 3:9; Ps. 119:34, 73 & 144; Prov. 2:3-9; 3:3-18; 16:16; James 1:5 (Keep on
asking for it); 3:17; Ecc. 7:19; 9:16-18; Col. 1:9-10)
We can gain wisdom and discernment through reading and reflecting upon
God’s Word

By giving “constant thought” to the Word of God (2 Tim.2:7) and using it

as a “sword” to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12-13)

The very purpose of the Book of Proverbs is to give wisdom,

understanding, discipline and discernment (Prov. 1:1-4)

We can receive wisdom and discernment through God’s Holy Spirit

Jesus said to his disciples, "I will not leave you orphans; I will not leave
you alone. If I go away I will send another Comforter to you and he will
guide you into all the truth. He will take of the things of mine and show
them unto you, and he will say to you the things that I have not been able
to say." (John 14:16-18)

“God has revealed to us [these things] through the Spirit; for the Spirit
searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a
man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him. So also no one
comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that
we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this
in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit,
interpreting (literally “fitting together”) spiritual truths to those who
possess the Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:10-13)

A wise person is attentive to details, patient in learning and slow to deliberate.

Philosopher Cicero: “The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and

evil.”

Dietrich Bonfoeffer wrote: To understand reality is not the same as to know about
outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed
man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the
multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the
other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible
to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best
possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon
this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.

In the words of Educator Elbert Hubbard, wisdom is “to know when to be

generous and when firm.”

The philosopher Immanuel Kant distinguishes between science and wisdom,

saying: “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.”

Martin Fischer: “Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their

simplification.”
 Norman Cousins: “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”

Robert Green Ingersoll: “It is a thousand times better to have common sense
without education than to have education without common sense.”

Stephen Sigmund: “Learn wisdom from the ways of a seedling. A seedling which
is never hardened off through stressful situations will never become a strong
productive plant.”

Frank Whitmore: “The biggest difficulty with mankind today is that our
knowledge has increased so much faster than our wisdom.”

Naguib Mahfouz: “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can
tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”

Recently a survey was done with a group of kids. This is how they responded to
the question, “What do you think wisdom is?”

Rocky, age 9, said, “Wisdom is wearing a hat when feeding seagulls.”

9-year-old Carol commented, “Never ask for anything that costs more than $5
when your parents are doing taxes.”

Nicholas, age 11, spoke from experience: “Never bug a pregnant mom.”

Kelly, age 10, has learned the dinner drill: “Don’t ever be too full for dessert.”

And, Heather, a seasoned teenager said, “When your dad is mad and asks you,
‘Do I look stupid?’ don’t answer him.”

The Bible is full of wise sayings. One of my favorites is found in Proverbs 26:17:
“Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel
not his own.”

We are all spiritual role models, for good or ill

Our walk speaks louder than our words

The character of the parents, and I believe most especially of the father, is passed on to
the children.

Solomon took on the character of his father David, both his strengths and his weaknesses.