Solomon vs. Billy Graham

My Scripture reading this morning led me to the books of Proverbs and Psalms. In particular, some of the proverbs of Solomon and the psalms that David penned.

My mind drifted as I read what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 2:3-5: "For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God."

I thought about the fact that this was written by a guy who wound up having hundreds of... ah... concubines later in life, and in modern terms, we might say that he eventually "drifted away from the Lord." Very importantly, it wasn't just written by him; it was given to him by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16), or was "God-breathed," as one translation puts it.

Now, if I were in God's place, I'd probably have avoided speaking through a guy that I knew would wind up like Solomon did. And I probably would have given David a miss, too, given the fact that he had an affair that led to murder. Moses killed a man out of rage before God used him in a historically huge way. Paul had a violent history, Peter swore that he never knew Christ, Matthew, observing history, probably constantly swindled people out of money before he met Christ.

Apply, lather, rinse, and repeat.

Wouldn't it have made sense -- I mean, if God really wanted His Word to be taken seriously -- for Him to have chosen only men and women of spotless, impeccable reputation to deliver it? I mean, surely there were some Billy Graham-types in those days, like Enoch, who never wrote Scripture (this is arguable to some, but I'm not debating that here) or maybe Noah. (But Noah wound up getting really drunk at one point, and the story gets worse from there...)

But the fact is that God chose people who were flawed, many times more flawed than those around them, to deliver His eternal Words. I don't say this to sling mud on the Patriarchs or the apostles or anyone else. I say this because it gives me great hope!

When these men had a right relationship to God, He spoke to them and through them. I'm not suggesting that God is going to use me to write some new Scripture, but I can see that regardless of what I've done in the past (or even what I might do in the future), I have the opportunity to hear God speak. I have the opportunity for Him to use me to be His hands and feet. I have the opportunity to speak His words to someone who needs to hear them.

Don't get caught up in wishing that you had been a better person, or maybe that you'd been "sold out to God" earlier in life. Be grateful that God is willing to start fresh with you -- to speak to you and even to use your life -- right where you are at the moment you surrender to Him.

Posted in: Christianity, The Bible