When the Queen of Sheba Comes Calling
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Sometimes people come into our lives for a while and basically check us out. Do they want us for a friend or not? At first they go by what they have heard about us, but these maybe-friends want to meet us and judge for themselves.
Often they will stand in the church foyer or your place of work and ask some questions and show themselves friendly. They may even give you something, or take you out for coffee or for lunch. Sometimes they even find a reason to come visit you at home.
It may not always be the rich Queen of Sheba that comes calling as was the case in King Solomon’s life, but studying her visit may be helpful to us.
This independently wealthy woman and government leader had heard down in Ethiopia, her own country, of the wealth and wisdom of King Solomon, and she came to check him out, her long retinue bearing gifts to give him.
Her gifts and praise must have impressed and tickled dear Sol, for he showed her all his own wealth and gave her rich presents too. It says in 1 Kings 10:13, “King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left with her retinue to her own country.”
When someone gives us presents we tend to reciprocate, don’t we? The more we have the more or larger our gifts, right?
(Should we really give our friends everything they desire, or only if we can afford their desires? Or is there better wisdom in this regard?)
This particular Bible story doesn’t tell us exactly what we should do regarding gift-giving among friends, but it appears that Solomon was accustomed to receiving gifts. I Kings 10:25 says, “Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift - articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.” Folks just knew to bring a gift if they were going to come into his presence. No wonder he became the richest man in the world.
That was all very exciting and pleasurable in the beginning, but later he wrote the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and there he denounced the getting of wealth as vanity of vanities. It wasn’t a lasting, meaningful pleasure.
Many others have found this true. If we have friends just for the sake of the gifts they bring us, we will eventually find life meaningless as well. Lasting friendships that we will value and treasure in our hearts and memories must be based on more than gift exchanges.
So before we dash off – what is the answer? How should we deal with potential friends who are checking us out?
[Note: this is an extra long article. You can read the whole thing on this page;
When the Queen of Sheba Comes Calling
[Note: if you missed any articles in this series of article on Friendships in the Bible, and want to read them, you'll find them all linked from this index which is about Friendship]