Something I find interesting about Solomon is that when the Lord asked him what gift he wanted, Solomon told Him "an understanding heart." What a great thing to ask for! He received this gift which was helpful in determining the mother of a poor baby and probably many, many more issues. But, what is interesting is that along with the gift of an understanding heart, the Lord blessed him with great riches. Riches would eventually be the means of his spiritual downfall. So, the Lord gave him a spiritual gift and the Lord gave him a temporal gift. I suppose the spiritual gift could've become a downfall - pride, but it didn't.
I just think it's interesting that we are told over and over in the scriptures that if we keep the commandments we will be blessed with all sorts of things that the Lord sees fit to bless us with. Is the spiritual gift a reward for our faithfulness and are the temporal gifts and challenge to become better, to receive more spiritual gifts? Perhaps that the perspective we should have: Our spiritual gifts are gifts to use with the guidance of the spirit. Our temporal gifts are not to be seen as rewards, but gifts for us to be shepherds over, also to be used with the guidance of the spirit. Temporal gifts are tools to help us help others. Solomon seemed to use his temporal gifts, riches, to make a name for himself, in the name of the Lord. The temple was dedicated for and to the Lord, but the way it was decorated and furnished was more than the Lord needed, it was what Solomon needed.
I couldn't help thinking of how simply beautiful our temples are. They are really not something that other's seem to want to pilfer. But they are simple and beautiful and peaceful. Just what we need.
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