Settling for God's best

We, as Christians, shouldn't be willing to settle for anything less than God's best for us.  This was part of the sermon last Sunday that was directed towards the graduates.  It is a good message to spring into college or careers with, since all these hard "God-what-should-I-do?" decisions seem to come in abundance after you leave the nest.  Our pastor used these Biblical references for times when people settled for 2nd best (not what God wanted for them):

1) King Solomon's riches were raided; the golden sheilds were replaced with brass (cheap replacement).  1 Kings This may not seem terribly related until you read the five or so pages full of description of the how the Temple was built, each detail important and expensive, built to glorify God.  King Solomon began his reign by seeking God's best.  He built the Temple in Jerusalem according to how God specified, he put priorities on glorifying God, and things were going well.  Chapter 10 talks about how Solomon's wealth and kingdom is growing.  In the very next chapter (1 Kings 11), everything goes downhill.  It begins with Solomon intermarrying with foreign women (not such a bad thing, right?), goes into worship of idols, and by verse 9 God is rebuking Solomon.  This continues into the sins of Solomon's children (who were very messed up with incest and murder and whatnot) and even the plundering of the Temple- the holy place in the kingdom- by foreigners.  This is a pretty hard-handed example of what happens when you turn from God's best for you and settle for 2nd best.  For Solomon, this choice meant bringing idols into the city of God's chosen people, destroying his nation and his family. 

2) Esau gave up his entire inheritance for a bowl of stew.  Genesis 25:29-34  I thought this was easier to understand (without having to read before and behind too much).  He ruined his long-term wealth forever by giving into a temporary need of hunger and allowing himself to be tricked by his younger brother.  As the elder of the twins, he would have had the majority of his father's estate and rule over his brother.  Esau is discussed for only a small portion of the book of Genesis, but his younger brother Jacob goes on to find wives and becomes a legendary character in Israel's history and part of the lineage that Christ came from. 

Not settling for less than God's best has translated for modern day use (for me at least) by meaning what college I attend, what activities I'm involved in, what jobs I take, who my friends/dates/one day spouse are... all of these things should be left up to God's plan for me, not what I think is best.  What Solomon and Esau thought were the best at the moment ruined their lives.  This means being prayful about all things before the decision is made or before there is even a decision to make.  This means making God the focus in our lives, so that we can follow Him as our top priority and grow to see that God's best for us is really the best that there could be. 

As part of this whole idea of a God-centered blog- if you've read this, leave a comment to let me know you've read it and feedback/other ideas or questions are good too!