I can’t remember how old I was when I first heard the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp. Surely, I was still in single digits. But I vividly remember entertaining the notion of what I might do with three wishes. The idea behind it all was mesmerizing. Ask ANYTHING…three wishes…the possibilities were endless. Sure, the cautions were there to be careful…but hush up…I had to think. I’m sure the first time my imagination was set aglow with the thought, my focus would have been on a new football, a video game, or the latest gadget that all the kids were playing with. As time passed, Aladdin’s little opportunity made me think long and hard about what three wishes could bring to my life. I remember revising and updating my list many times over the years. Seems like the thought has hung around since childhood…and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

Interestingly enough, the Bible contains a story in 1 Kings 3:1-15 about a young king of Israel, named Solomon, who was told by God he could ask for “anything” and get it. Solomon was the son of King David…one of the most famous and important people in Israel’s history and certainly one of the biggest names of the entire Old Testament. With the passing of David, verse 5 reads, “At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.'” Notice the LORD places no restrictions on the request…no parameters. In our day, the verse might read, “Just tell me what you want.” When I first read that years ago, I was fairly certain the Bible I was using had a made a serious typo…or had, at least, left out a few words. Turns out…my Bible was right. In my opinion, that puts Solomon in a very unique place in human history. As a Christian, I consider this account of Solomon to be real. In other words, this isn’t a spiritualized Aladdin story. This really happened. God’s offer was real…and Solomon’s response/request would reveal the character of the young king…David’s son.

I need you to stop for just a second and consider the seriousness of the Biblical narrative. Aladdin called for us to dig deep into our imaginations…to speculate, picture, and imagine. Solomon’s story is different. Solomon takes us out of the imaginary into the real world. Solomon is real. God is real. The offer is real. What would you do? The very idea of such an offer is almost too big for any of us to take seriously. That kind of thing never happens…but in Solomon’s case…it did…and he had a decision to make…a decision that would directly impact the lives of countless people…and not just his own. Would he be selfish and ask for riches and fame? Would he be ruthless and ask for the death of all who opposed him? Remember, he has a blank check from the Sovereign of the Universe…the Creator.

Before we look at what Solomon asks for, take a moment and run it through our 2024 filter of human thought and consider what he didn’t ask for. The best way to do that is to consider what we might have asked for under those same conditions. What would I/you have asked for? Off the top of my head, a quick list of “normal” things comes to mind…none of them are things I would call “bad”…in and of themselves. Good health for me and my family seems reasonable. I don’t know that I would ask for the wealth of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or Jeff Bezos…but Peyton Manning or Tom Brady’s stash would be nice. Would we not all consider a nice, big house with a couple of perks like a boat and a few cars to be reasonable? Truth is, even as I type these “normal” things…other things are quickly coming to mind. Maybe one house would not be enough…maybe I might need a few homes…spread out geographically…you might too. And if I had several homes, then I would most likely need my my own plane…or, at the very least, a helicopter, right? Remember…you can ask for anything. With almost little-to-no effort, I could make a list that would choke a mule…and given some extra time…it probably would resemble something like a set of the classic World Book Encyclopedias. I would forego “world peace” since the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants cover that one respectively. Chances are pretty good you could make a similar list. As Americans, we are pretty good at this type of thing. A very fine line exists between genuine needs and audacious wants.

However, Solomon puts us all to shame. This one-of-a-kind offer placed before the young king is going to be met with a mature response. Instead of a parking lot full of Lear Jets and Lamborghinis, he asks for an “understanding mind” {or wisdom} to know how to discern between right and wrong to know how to lead and govern the people he was to serve as king (1 Kings 3:9). Verse 10 says, “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” As a young king, following in the giant footsteps left by his father, Solomon knew he needed help to fulfill the task in front of him. He knew the job was bigger than he was. The nation’s heart was bleeding with the passing of David. Solomon’s own heart was grieving as well. But the world doesn’t stop when our loved ones pass away. While God’s offer could have landed in the center of the selfish part of Solomon’s heart…by God’s grace, it landed in the servant’s part…and he asked God for wisdom…and it pleased the Lord.

Without a doubt, this story will unearth more than a few thoughts in all of us who take the time to read it. I Kings 3:1-15 has been touching hearts for centuries…and with good reason. However, we must remember it is much more than a history lesson. It is more of a “relationship with God” lesson. Solomon asked for help to be a better servant. God answered his request…and then some. Read the verses…I don’t want to spoil it for you. Let’s just say Solomon goes on to become the smartest and wisest guy to ever put on a pair of sandals…second only to Jesus Christ. He also leaves us with a model of behavior, of sorts. He calls us to carefully review our own prayer requests. How much time do we spend asking God for more, something new, something bigger, and so on? Maybe the wise thing to do is to follow Solomon’s example…ask for what we need to be better servants…oh…and to remember what he didn’t ask for.

Keep On Keeping On!

Bro Mark