Good point Chip.
Maybe the rich young ruler would have been a better example. The question for him remains, did he after living a devout, committed life, in the end reject eternal life, or did Jesus set a standard for Him, He knew he couldn’t attain?
If that’s the case it sets for us the same standard. Perfection. (Matt 5:48) So be it Solomon, John the Baptist, the rich young ruler or you and I, our hope is in His life being lived in us, not in anything we do. I’ve always believed that is of core value to you. God bless.

Thank you very much Chip for your encouragement. I do not know why I always feel that time flies too fast, that I walk to slowly, that I am not moving fast enough, and that I do not what it I would have to.. but thank you really for this encouragement.

I wouldn’t want to speculate about the “ultimate consequence” because there is a way of thinking that says so long as I eventually go to heaven when I die, who cares? I’ll do the best I can but if I come up short oh well (as reflected in some of the comments on this page). All I can tell you is we are warned to be faithful, count the cost, do God’s will, walk worthy, and produce fruit. The consequence for not doing so are clear, but the ultimate fate is up to the Lord. There is a case to be made that many will say, “Lord, Lord” yet will be shut out of the Kingdom. Interpret that however you wish, I don’t want to be in that group.

A little moment of despair or doubt on the part of John the Baptist (or anyone) is not the same thing as Solomon rejecting the Lord and worshiping idols. There is no comparison between the two. My statement conveys the essence of Mark 8:36: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

You are walking well enough, Sandrine. You’re being too hard on yourself.

Good to hear a different perspective. It’s too easy to pick apart the failures of either biblical characters or contemporaries and then somehow use that to set a standard.
Chip, I would respectively question your statement “May I say that all the accomplishments and blessings of a lifetime are worthless if you do not finish well.” How does John the Baptist then fare? Despite his last days doubts as to Jesus being both “suffering Lamb” and “conquering King” Jesus still affirms him as the greatest to arise, born of woman.
Personally, I trust in how He sees me, rather than in anything I may see that I have accomplished. Blessings

Perhaps if one were to view our walk in Christ as a walk of faithfulness /fidelity and not just a steadfast belief in him, then the warning of Solomon’s end stands as is. Simply this: that Solomon failed to walk faithfully with God until his dying day, he allowed himself to be led astray from fidelity towards God. Primarily, it seems, due to his disobedience in one area of his life – that of taking foreign wives. The lesson is clear – walk faithfully in God’s teaching, instructions, counsel, and commandments (Torch – law) ALL the days of your life. Finish well.

Thanks for being faithful Chip

Chip, can you help us understand the ultimate consequence (what it means for our salvation) if we have mixed our belief in God, including his mercy in saving sinners, with thinking and behaving like the world, which we are all guilty of in some ways?