A Meeting With The Wisest Man Who Ever Lived

My heartbeat stopped racing and returned to its place in my chest after I swallowed a few times. I checked all my body parts to ensure they weren’t in another dimension and to my relief they were all where they were supposed to be. I listened for the sounds of the Langoliers as I certainly didn’t want to get caught in the wrong dimension where time was eaten away. King was good but when fantasy became reality then I wished I hadn’t read some of his works.

Time travel would take some getting used to.

I looked around me and saw that I was at the entrance to a superb temple where armed soldiers were waiting for me to join them. I was escorted into a large chamber and told to wait. A few moments later the King arrived and as I began to bow before him he said;

“No need for that.” Solomon said as he extended his hand to greet me. “We are all kings in our own right and I greet you as an equal.”

I was dumbstruck as the few politicians I have seen in the current world all insist upon pomp and ceremony.

“Detective Kronos has told me of your quest to get people to take charge of their lives and that you dedicated a page to my proverbs.”

My mind was reeling from his implication that I was an equal with him, a king and the wisest man that ever lived. How could this be?

“I see your confusion but that’s good as you’re now questioning a standard you always believed true. This is the beginning of knowledge. Let me explain. I was a young man when my father, King David, died and I was then made King. My father said I must be strong, be a man and walk in the ways of God which he had taught me, but I was young and inexperienced. Can you imagine that I was called to rule and guide a nation with a history of rebellion? My father’s life was one of hardship, wars, dark crimes and yet the people loved him. My brother Absalom was supposed to rule but was killed in battle. My elder brother Adonijah tried to take the throne but I was crowned instead.”

I wondered what would’ve happened to me if I was in that same position. Imagine you are called to be president of the country, controlling the finances, directing the affairs of the nation and the laws of the country. No one to question you because you are the monarch and what you say goes.
I would’ve failed before the first hour of duty had passed.

“After I was anointed, God said; Ask. What shall I give to you?” Solomon continued.

Man if God had asked me that I’d still be thinking. Like Aladdin and the lamp. A genie at your beck and call!
I kept my mouth shut as I waited for his reply.

“I said to God; Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

“And what was his answer?” I asked finally finding my voice.

“He not only gave me wisdom but he also gave me the things I didn’t ask for.”

“And that was?”

“Wealth and honour as no other king has ever known.”

Well that stunned me back into silence and bounced me back to the present. He’d left me with plenty to chew on. Pity that he didn’t explain why he thought we were equals. Must ask him next time.

Do you think that Solomon made the right decision?

Do you think that wisdom is the key to riches and honor?

What would you have asked for?

A king without a good counselor is like a wayfaring man who is blind.