Wisest of Men....Me? not so much.

King Solomon is said to be the wisest of men to grace this planet. That's pretty big shoes to fill; or should I say sandals?? Think of all of the smart guys you've ever known personally, let alone heard of. Names like Einstein, Socrates, Dante, Plato, Darwin (ok, just checking to see if your paying attention on that last one. lol)... all pale in comparison to King Solomon.

My favorite story about him was when the two women came to him, demanding for a just judgement regarding a baby that did not belong to one of them.

"Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other'....And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God [was] in him to administer justice.

1 Kings 3:24-25, 28

So it was along this premise that I decided to teach a life lesson to my own children today. Now obviously, the initial idea was not mine, nor was the practical application of it. Rather, the latter I'd heard about from another mother that had successfully imparted this lesson to her brood. The scenario looked something like this: My mom had brought over a cake. An ooey-gooey chocolate and strawberry pudding filled cake. It has been in our refrigerator for a couple of days on the middle shelf, directly in the line of sight of my 5 year old. Everyday after school he has been asking if he can have a slice of this cake. I usually let him have a very small, very measured slice as a treat for completing his homework or whatnot (I've really milked the power of this cake, lemme tell ya). But I recognized today that he really has been a good boy in resisting the temptation of getting into the cake without permission. I mean, literally the thing has been staring him in the face, but he never tampered with it.

So while I was in the shower he came in and asked me if he could have some. I told him yes, but that he had to wait for me to get out to help him. I had it set in my mind to actually blog about temptation and set some verses to it and maybe even take a few pictures of him with his cake. And I was ready, with a camera in hand, to capture the moment of divinity when I told him that not only could he go ahead and have a piece, but that he could cut it himself. I was eager to catch every moment of it.

And then the moment of truth came...

His big brother showed up and asked for some cake too.

Well, I didn't have an issue of the boys sharing the last slice of heaven between them, but apparently *M* did. He wanted it ALL. I was really hoping to have a teachable moment here...

I KNEW that if I allowed *M* to cut the cake without direction, he would slice it to his advantage. Then it dawned on me.. I can still have the little one cut the cake.. but the big one would get to select which piece he wanted first. Surely this situation would be packed with wisdom and learning! You know.. love your brother as yourself.. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.. the list goes on.

Well, I tried to tell him before he cut into the cake that his brother got first dibbs. But apparently he thought I was joking.

It was a hard lesson to learn today.