As Solomon came to power as the king over Israel, one of the main things for which he is credited is for having asked God for wisdom. God, in fact, commends Solomon for not asking for riches or for long life, but instead for insight on how to be a good king, how to govern his people well.

Before he asked to have wisdom, though, we could also ask: where did Solomon obtain the wisdom to ask for wisdom? What was the primary motivating force for him to ask for this instead of riches? Or instead of fame or for power?

Solomon’s primary motivation, his reason to ask for wisdom, was his sense of humility as he took the throne over Israel. Solomon’s humility in recognizing that he doesn’t know how to rule his people well caused him to ask for wisdom. He asked God for wisdom and insight because he wanted to do the job well that he had been called to do.

Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.

1 Kings 3:7-8

Making good decisions starts with a posture of humility. It starts with truly recognizing that we do not know everything. It starts with understanding that even if you have some knowledge, you may not have the experience to know the right steps to take. You may not have the understanding to know the right direction in which you are to go.

And we should, of course, consider how different this is from the world’s typical way of leading. How often do we, as people who know little, try to make others think that we know exactly what should happen next? We realize and feel within us that we know nothing, but before others, we try to make a good impression and make them think that we know what we are doing.

I believe that this is at the core of the reason that Jesus came preaching that we must repent and believe. Repentance begins with a humble heart. It begins with a deep understanding that we have been wrong and we do not know the steps that we should take forward. Repentance sheds our pride and instead places our dependency on God.

This is what Solomon was doing. Not necessarily repenting, but fully recognizing his need for God. He recognized that he had been given a responsibility that he didn’t know how to fulfill. He needed God’s wisdom and his guidance. This is what we also need. We need God’s wisdom. We need his guidance, shedding our pride and recognizing that all that we have and all that we need comes from him.