The Bible tells us that King Solomon was the wisest man in the world, but he was also the richest man. Kings and queens came from all over the world to get Solomon’s advice and to admire his riches. In fact, legend has it that Solomon had wives from every nation on earth, and there’s no report of any martial disharmony. Not one divorce! Was this a wise man, or what?
The Bible also tells us that when Solomon was just a young man, living in the court of his father, King David, God told him he would grant him one wish. Do you know what he wished for? He didn’t wish for a kingdom. He didn’t wish for great power. He didn’t wish for good looks, unlimited pleasure, long life, love, fame, or security. That young man asked God to grant him wisdom. And because he only asked for wisdom, God gave him everything else too.
The most important difference between you and me (Jim Rohn) and Solomon isn’t where or when we were born, or the privileges we have or we don’t. The difference isn’t in our names, our bank accounts, or our positions.
The difference is that Solomon got wisdom by asking God for it. The rest of us must look for wisdom in everything we read, everything we do, and everyone we meet–and most of all, we must look for it in ourselves. It is a quality that we must earn and learn on our own.
The wisest man in ancient Greece, the greatest philosopher the world has ever known, was a man named Socrates. In fact, Socrates made wisdom his profession–philosopher means “lover of wisdom” in ancient Greek. Because he didn’t have another job, people were always asking Socrates, “So what do you do for a living?” He was definitely smart enough to figure out that he had to have an answer, so he made up his own job title: philosopher.
When people asked Socrates, “What is wisdom?” he always gave the same answer: “I don’t know.”
In fact, Socrates never claimed to know much of anything except how to ask questions. And by asking questions, he would prove to other people that they didn’t know what they thought they knew.
Everybody in Greece agreed that Socrates was the wisest man around. But unlike King Solomon, the philosopher Socrates didn’t have great wealth. The wisest man in Greece was poor.
King Solomon managed to run a huge household with many wives and lots of children, and he accomplished this without any discord or unhappiness. But Socrates had no home life at all. The wisest man in Greece was married to a terrible nag, and they had no children.
Socrates, the wisest man in Greece, just went to the marketplace every day. He hung around, asked people questions, and hoped to get invited to a banquet so he wouldn’t have to go home and face his wife.
King Solomon was honored by all the great leaders of his time. But Socrates didn’t have any support among the powerful people in his own country. Their sons would go to Socrates and learn what they could from the philosopher, but the powerful families of Athens, the city where Socrates lived, got tired of his questions. They grew exasperated with his influence over the youth of Greece. He was teaching them that nothing is known for certain, so they accused the wisest man in Greece of corrupting their children.
Instead of honoring the greatest philosopher who ever lived, the Athenians sentenced Socrates to death… unless he would apologize and recant what he had taught.
But Socrates didn’t recant. He didn’t apologize. Socrates cheerfully drank down a cup of poison, and just sat there calmly saying good-bye to his few faithful students, asking questions the whole time.
Solomon and Socrates: two very wise men, but two very different destinies. Great wisdom is no guarantee of anything, but to those who really care about it, wisdom is its own reward.
Socrates could have avoided prosecution as a criminal if he had just said he’d been wrong. You could make a case that agreeing to be executed when you could avoid it by just saying a few words is not very wise. And you’d be right, if it were you or me in that position. But it was the right thing to do for Socrates. Because Socrates really knew who he was, and he knew that what gave his life meaning and made it worth living was just the way he had asking of questions and trying to answer them honestly. After all, what would the rest of your life be like if you were to suddenly become dishonest with yourself? Socrates knew who he was and what his life meant, and he understood that even one bit of lip service in his last moments would undo all the good and meaningful questions he’d been asking for more than seventy years.
“Know thyself” was Socrates’ motto. He knew himself well enough to realize that he had to drink that cup of poison. And his character was strong enough that he was actually able to do it. He achieved personal success in his own way. I wish for you the same satisfaction of achievement, and I know your story will have a much happier ending.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn
I enjoyed this article. The comparative analysis of Socrates and King Solomon shows that when you understand who you are you can’t be moved. God gives to those who seek him.