Episode Transcript  

One

1 John 2:16 warns us about the three-fold disordered desire of lust, greed, and pride. These are the three big temptations: sex, money, and power. 

St. John of the Cross counsels that if you don’t get a handle on these, they will give rise to all the other self-destructive vices like vanity, envy, sloth, anger, gluttony, and so on…and they will destroy your life. And nothing shows that more clearly than the tragic story of Solomon.

Two

Solomon’s Gifts and Instruction

We read the story of Solomon in the First Book of Kings. And it is tragic, especially since it starts out so well. God promises David that He, God, would be a Father to David’s son Solomon. And then when Solomon first became king, God gave Him extravagant gifts, great wisdom, political security, health, and prosperity. But God also tells Solomon that he must keep three rules: First, not to multiply wives. This would help the king resist lust. Second, the King had to not multiply silver and gold. This would help the king resist greed for money and the stuff money can buy. Third, the King had to not multiply horses. In the ancient world, horses were one of the most powerful offensive military weapons. This rule would help you resist pride and the lust for power and control.

Pretty simple. Don’t multiply wives, wealth, or horses. Don’t indulge in lust, or greed, or pride. Unfortunately, Solomon did just the opposite.

Three

Solomon’s Indulgence

In the first book of Kings, we read that Solomon grossly multiplied wives, money, and military power to an astonishing degree. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. He builds such a large offensive military force that he has to build new cities just to house his horses, men, and weapons. This enables him to personally receive six hundred and sixty-six gold talents annually, that is equivalent to $3.5 billion every year.

So instead of being careful to follow God’s rules for happiness and the success of his Kingdom, Solomon throws himself headlong into sex, greed, and the lust for power. And what do you think is the result?

Four

Solomon’s Downfall

The first effect of Solomon’s indulgence is estrangement from God. You can’t be close to God if you’re just completely lost in vice and self-indulgence. Solomon’s seven hundred foreign wives lead him to worship their pagan gods. He builds places of worship for idols like Molech, who required child sacrifice. That is just how far Solomon has fallen away from God.  Lust, greed, and the hunger for power alienated and embittered the leaders of Israel’s tribes, estranging them from Solomon and setting in motion the division and civil war that would tear the kingdom apart.

Solomon’s vice makes him and everyone around him miserable. One of the books of the Bible that is attributed to Solomon is the book of Ecclesiastes. And in the first two chapters, Solomon talks about how he indulged himself in every kind of pleasure. He says, “Nothing that my eyes desired did I deny them, nor did I deprive myself of any pleasure” (2:10). But soon enough, he finds his mind and his senses are dulled, incapable of enjoying any of it. And he says, “Therefore, I hated my life.” (2:17).

And we all know this is true. Giving in to vice and overindulgence ruins happiness. Immorality makes it impossible to enjoy even the good things God offers. And this is why the Lord gives us His law. So that we don’t end up hating our own life.

Five

Avoiding Solomon’s Fall

Solomon did not fall because he lacked education or information. He was the wisest man on earth. He fell because he indulged his vices and did not uproot them and conquer them with virtue. The Holy Spirit gives us the tragic story of Solomon so we can learn and not repeat his destruction. 

The great spiritual masters say every person is enslaved by two or three deadly sins: pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony, or lust. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you which ones have you in their grip.

Let me suggest two ways to identify yours: What disturbs your peace? What irritated me? What made me anxious? What offended me? What left me restless? John of the Cross would say: Where peace is lost, attachment to a vice is exposed.

• If correction disturbs you → pride.

• If someone else’s success disturbs you → envy.

• If lack of recognition disturbs you → vanity.

• If giving up entertainment, news, sports, and YouTube disturbs you → sloth.

• If loss of comfort or power or control disturbs you → gluttony or greed.

• If being denied sexual gratification disturbs your peace → lust.

Peace is the canary in the coal mine.

The second way to identify your deadly sins is this: do a brief examination of conscience every day for a week. Ask, what did I think, say, or do that was wrong, or when did I fail to do what was right? Then ask, why did I do that? What was the disordered desire that drove it? Pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony, or lust.

It only takes a few days to begin to see the roots of our sins. Once you have identified them, take them to confession because only Jesus has the power to heal you. But you must participate in your rescue. That means practicing the opposite or conquering virtues or good actions to your deadly vices. 

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