In I Kings 3:5, God appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask what I shall give thee” (KJV).
In I Kings 3:9, Solomon answered God, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad” (KJV).
God told Solomon He would grant him a wise and understanding heart and because of his wise choice God also promised Solomon great riches and honor, far above any that had come before him and any that would come after. And if Solomon would walk in God’s ways and keep His commandments He would lengthen his days.
What else could anyone want in order to be HAPPY?
In Ecclesiastes 1, the writer (attributed to Solomon) states that all is vanity and striving after the wind. Generations pass but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets; life goes on. Man’s eyes are never satisfied, nor his ears full of hearing. There is no remembrance of the things that were before. In Ecclesiastes 1:14 Solomon says, “I have seen all the works under the sun and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
How could a man that had all wisdom and understanding and had been given great riches and honor above all his peers make such a statement that all is vanity?
In I Kings 11:1-4 we are told that Solomon loved many strange wives and they turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not true to God. Solomon sought happiness in the wrong places; he turned away from the promises of God.
Where are we seeking HAPPINESS today? If we are looking to a person, house, cars, occupation, riches, retirement, pleasures of sin to make us happy, we are falling into the same trap as Solomon. At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon came to this conclusion: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
There is a song we sing that gives us a great definition of what True Happiness Is.
Happiness Is:
Knowing the Savior
Living a Life in His Favor
Change In My Behavior
New Creation
Relationship With Jesus
Having a Part in His Salvation
To Be Forgiven
Life That’s Worth The Living
Trip That Leads To Heaven
Happiness Is The Lord!