Despite the volume of wisdom verses that Solomon wrote, he has been used as motivation for the wrong reason by some. A few years into my stay in Port Harcourt, Rivers State of Nigeria, I chanced upon two young men in a secluded field one day. They each had a bottle of beer on one hand and a wrap of marijuana on the other. I felt constrained to witness Christ to them; trusting in the process they would be delivered from their dangerous addiction. One of them later startled me when he said that marijuana was discovered on Solomon’s tomb, and it has the property to make someone wise! In another development, a man who married his 48th wife claimed that he got his inspiration from Solomon. He claimed that marrying many wives is ordained by God, and his model is King Solomon.

Without the skillfulness of the Spirit one can use the Bible to self-destruct…A wrong interpretation of the word will invariably lead to wrong moves.

The word of God is described as a two-edged sword. It is important we know how to handle it. When you read the Bible, take note that not everything is to be applied literally. It is important to note that the things that are written are to warn us of dire consequences of certain choices. Without the skillfulness of the Spirit one can use the Bible to self-destruct. In view of this, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the letter of the word kills; it is only the spirit of it that gives life. The man who justified his multiple marriages is certainly hooked to the letter. A wrong interpretation of the word will invariably lead to wrong moves.