During Solomon’s reign, he judged many cases with God-given wisdom. One day, two ladies were brought to him with a dispute. They both slept in the same place.

During the night, one of them had slept on her baby and suffocated it. She had awoken, noticed her baby was no more alive, and had quickly put her dead baby by the other woman’s side, and stolen her living breathing newborn.

In the morning, the other woman woke up and saw that the baby by her side was dead, but on looking closely discovered that it wasn’t her baby at all. She soon found out that her baby was with the first woman, and quickly realised what happened.

“Give me back my baby. This dead one is yours” she said.

“No, the dead one is yours and the living one is mine”, the first woman replied.

The neighbours couldn’t tell the liar from the truth teller.

So they ended up before the king.

You know what Solomon said?

He told his soldier to divide the living child into two and give each half to each woman.

It makes sense, does it not?

Both women were saying “the living child is mine”….well, so let it be shared equally between you two!

But it does not really make sense, does it?

Cutting the child in two will make it as dead as the first baby!

So that was the plan. Solomon must have said it with so much seriousness and royal authority that everyone in the room thought that was his verdict.

The first lady said “Yes Sir! Cut the baby in two, and let us share! None of us will have a living baby!!”

You see, she wasn’t related to that living child. It wasn’t family; it wasn’t part of her, and she had no love in her heart for it.

That’s one.

Two. There were a lot of wrong emotions at play in her heart, one of which is envy “My baby is dead, and if I can’t have your baby to myself, then I wish it dead as mine is. Why should your baby be alive when mine is dead?”

Three. Notice that she agreed with the judgment of the government (only that there was a just judge at play here as we would soon see). She shouted,

“Yes Sir! Exactly! The government is right. I just want to stand for what is right! Probe them! Jail them!”

(I’m getting ahead of myself here. There’s no probing in the story.)

……… …………………… ……….

But the woman who was a part of that child and who was joined to it; the actual mother and family member. ..

She immediately cried out

“No! Please Sir!! Don’t cut my baby! Give it to the other woman. Please!

That was how Solomon discovered who the actual mother was.

I mean, it was clear to all and sundry, probably last of all the agitating woman…..probably.

So also we have so-called saints who are really after the destruction of the church.

Oh, how glad they’d be if all the “big churches” broke up and imploded.

These ‘Christians’, many of them are even ‘pastors’, who have not been as ‘successful’ as the “big churches”, who have tried this and that and it hasn’t quite worked out, who look over to the other bed and seeing a living child, now seek to use all manner of deplorable tactics to try to wreck others under the cover of night, by any and all means possible.

And having failed, will side with any verdict that will reduce those others.

“Depose the GO! Make him resign! Tax them! Seize their properties!”

By which they declare themselves thereby unrelated to the body, strangers to the commonwealth, and aliens to the household of God, and fitting handles for the hands of the accuser of the brethren.

O Christian, the imperfect church is your family -the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the family of God.

Stand for the truth, but make sure your own heart is right.

Make sure you are speaking as a child of God and not as a member of the mob. Obey Caesar’s laws, but do not be Caesar’s friend (John 19:6,11&12), against Abraham’s seed (Obadiah 1:8-17….please read this).

Is fornication wrong. Yes it is. Greed, extortion, manipulation? Yes they are.

Have nothing to do with them. And concerning such things, always make it clear they are wrong.

But what has that got to do with vilifying people who you don’t really know, but who the crowd accuses?

Most of the ‘church folk’ -the charlatans involved in shady practices aren’t popular enough to be known by all and sundry, and they are so many!

Don’t buy into the fallacy that because something is big and successful or because someone is wealthy and well known, there must be something wrong with it.

Don’t speak out of envy and prejudice against anyone because they are wealthy or popular and therefore easy targets.

The crowd has no conscience. The crowd will crucify even Jesus.

Some of these so-called disciples are suborned men who have collected 30 coins from those detractors. Like that kiss of Judas, you see them taking pictures with those they disparage, but behind their backs will support anything negative against these people on or off social media.

Don’t let their bile-tipped hearsay and propaganda be fodder for any offense, doubt, or anger that might be in your heart.

Rather, turn to the Lord and let Him heal you, show you how to behave yourself wisely, and how to be used to help the imperfections that surround us all.

And in the day you are sent or called to the place of judgment to speak for God and for His Child, even if It is to go into the custody of the manipulator and the uncircumcised, it will be clear to all the family in heaven and on earth that your heart was in the right place.

And He will deliver both you and It, and His great name will be glorified.

Amen.

*The story of those two women may be found in 1st Kings 3:16-28. It is a true life story.

Ebele UzoPeters