This is the justification that many prosperity preachers use to disguise their greed. They fail to remember that God gave Solomon wealth for a reason. The reason was because, when God promised Solomon that He would grant any request, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the people. God was so pleased that Solomon didn’t ask for wealth (among other things) that along with wisdom He also gave him wealth. Solomon, however, didn’t use His divinely-given wisdom as God intended, and he consequently became the most foolish man who ever lived. Had he been wise, he would have heeded what God said to Israel in the Law long before he was born:
When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, “I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,” you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, “You shall never again return that way.” Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself (Deut. 17:14-17).
Here is another scripture that prosperity preachers always ignore, following the example of Solomon who also ignored it to his own demise. And just like him, they also become idolaters. Remember that Solomon’s heart was led astray to worship idols by his many wives, wives he could only have afforded because of the misuse of his wealth.
God intended that Solomon would use his God-given wealth to love his neighbor as himself, but Solomon used it to love only himself. He multiplied gold, silver, horses and wives for himself, in direct disobedience to God’s commandment. He ultimately married seven hundred wives and possessed three hundred concubines, effectively robbing one thousand men of wives. Rather than giving to the poor, Solomon indulged himself. It is a great wonder that prosperity preachers hold up Solomon as a role model for every New Testament Christian in light of his selfishness and gross idolatry. Isn’t our goal to become like Christ?
