“So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on earth. Kings from every nation came to consult him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. Year after year everyone who visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.”
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2 Chronicles‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT

There is something insidious in the accumulation of wealth. The passage outlines how Solomon was so wealthy and lavish that silver was made worthless in his day. This is, of course, the dream of most of mankind. Most people wish to possess whatever looks good to them. Solomon possessed so much of it that the things that were precious, by a stretch of imagination, no longer carried the value that they innately had. Therein lies the difficulty with excesses. Having them can quickly outmode their mindshare. But part of stewardship is not simply organization, domination, and proper usage. The passage doesn’t indicate that silver was misused, only that it lay unused because its perceived value had shrunk. A large part of good stewardship is protecting this perceived value as well. Silver ought to be used because its perceived value lies in its quality and not its quantity. This is an innate difference between the type of wisdom Solomon was given and the type that God has. Solomon saw how to use things properly. He could unpack their utilitarian value for his purposes. But God ascribes value. There is a subtle inversion here. Solomon outmodes the precious thing. God creates the precious things. Things don’t lose their value with God, they gain them. Solomon’s riches and fame created a wealthy future for Israel, but they also created a time of intense inversion where God and people alike were turned into commodities for the use of the kings to come. In times of ease, it is a danger we all face leaving for the next generation.

Wealth’s Impact: Excessive wealth can devalue precious things and lead to a shift in perceived value.

Stewardship’s Importance: Good stewardship involves protecting the perceived value of possessions, not just their utilitarian use.

God’s Wisdom vs. Solomon’s: Solomon understood how to use things, but God ascribes value to them, highlighting a difference in perspective on wealth and possessions.