Be Careful What You Wish For!
a sermon based on Kings 19:1-8, Ephesians 5:15-20
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

There once was  a man who received a very interesting birthday gift:  a dirty old lamp. He cleaned it up and, as he was rubbing it with a cloth, POOF! -- out popped a genie!

"I shall give you three wishes” the genie said, “You may wish for anything you like."

The man thinks for a minute and says, "I would like to have a billion dollars."

"And so you shall," said the genie and granted him the wish. "Anything else?"

The man answered, “how about a Ferrari with A/C, moon-roof, power locks, power windows, you know the works."

"Your wish is my command. What is your last wish?"

That man said: "Hmmm. I think I'll save it for a rainy day."

"OK,” says the genie, "just be careful what you wish for!”

“Don’t worry, I will” says the man.

He gets in his new Ferrari and goes for a drive to show all his friends. He turns on the radio. There's a very familiar commercial on. And, not realizing what he sang he sings along to it: "I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener."

Our bible readings from 1Kings and Ephesians, both encourage us to strive for wisdom in our lives. The account in 1Kings features an incredible story of Solomon being given a free wish by God Almighty in a dream.  (…and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Verse 4)

It’s not one of those “what if…I won the lottery” or “what if I received an inheritance from a long lost uncle” situation, it is a real genie moment: you tell me what you want and I will give it to you! Or was it more like a test question? With God you just never know. Perhaps, God would have brought down the hammer on Solomon had he wished for…say, a Ferrari =)

What would you wish for if God were to say to you: "ask for whatever you want me to give you?" Would it be riches, a dream job, fame or status? Or would you be more idealistic, such as passion to save souls for God, skills to help bring out the end to world hunger, inspiration to help bring wars to an end, charisma for spreading God’s truth.

Just be sure to think about your wish long and hard, for what if your wish really comes true, how would it impact the world? How would it impact you? Chris Daughtry’s song “I’m going home.” Has this memorable line that goes like this: “be careful what you wish for, you might just get it all.”          

I think what the author means here is that we need to be sure that whatever we ask for, or try to achieve in life is really what we want.  Or are we chasing a dream that’s really not ours, but instead the dream others have for us? Or a dream that we think we ought to pursue? Do we really all need to pursue the ideal of entrepreneurship, just because it is said to be the American Dream?

Then, what should we wish for?  What did Solomon wish for? After all God liked his wish! Solomon wished for Wisdom, not just any wisdom, Solomon wished for spiritual wisdom!

Why didn’t Solomon wish for more riches, influence, and fame? Some would say: because he had all that already. But according to the “human greed principle,” he should have wished for more of it. People never seem satisfied; no matter how much they own already, they want more.     

God likes Solomon’s wish and he grants it to him. Solomon indeed goes into the historic records as having been one of the wisest rulers ever to live.

As you know, I believe in spiritual laws / principles much in the same way as I believe in physical laws—I truly believe that if we use them, if we live by them we will prosper.

Here is the thing: Solomon invited wisdom into his life before he did anything else and the wisdom he gained allowed him to prosper in all of his ways. Wisdom stands at the beginning of every blessing under the sun. Because Solomon asked for wisdom, he also opened up his life to all kinds of other blessings, including a long, prosperous, successful and fulfilling kingship. In fact, the reigns of David, and especially that of Solomon are considered the heyday of Jewish history.

Wisdom is to the spiritual life as knowledge is to the natural sciences: if you have knowledge of the laws of physics you can use that knowledge to protect yourself and prosper in this world.

 By the same token, if you apply the wisdom of God, you can protect yourself and find happiness and fulfillment in this world.

Obviously true wisdom comes from God; According to Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”  Solomon knew that so that’s why he asked for it.

Here is an interesting statement about the wisdom we have by St. Paul from our reading from Ephesians:  “Be very careful, then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity….” (Verses 15-16)

According to this statement, St. Paul is presupposing that we already have the wisdom of God dwelling inside of us. And with good reason, for as Christians we have received the Spirit of God who dwells inside of us and leads and guides us into all truths. The Wisdom of God already is inside of us. We don’t have to be asked by God to make a wish. The ultimate and best wish has already been granted us: God’s wisdom which is the cornerstone of all other things that gives us joy and fulfillment in our lives.

This is in total opposition to what the world is telling us. The world tells us: go for the riches, the fame, the status and the control/power.

Here is the thing about wanting material things, they cannot satisfy, they will always leave you wanting more. God’s wisdom on how to live in this world is the only thing that will ever fulfill you and make you truly happy.

I want to conclude by illustrating this point. It is such an important point to understand:

In the movie “Cool Runnings” the Jamaican bobsled coach, in his younger years, had been caught cheating and was disqualified. Years later he was coaching his own bob sled team and one of his athletes said to him: “but Coach, you had it all, the gold medal, the fame and everything; why did you cheat at the next Olympics?” He responded:

“Let me tell you something about the Gold Medal: if you’re not happy without it, you will never be happy with it.”

By the same token, if you’re not happy without material possessions, fame, and power, you will never be happy with them.

Use the wisdom of God that is already in you to make decisions on how to live and you will find true fulfillment and happiness.  Amen.