1 Kings 7.1-12

Reference:  v.1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  In the house I grew up in we had a room that we called 'The Holy of Holies'.  This was the room that contained the good chairs, the breakable glasses and the precious antiques.  It was only used when we needed to practice the piano or if we had extra special guests over and the adults would retire to 'The Holy of Holies' after the main meal.  It was special but rarely used. 
When I hear about the extravagance of King Solomon's palace I wonder how much was 'special but rarely used'.  I do realise that in chapter 11 it says that Solomon "had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines" so surely a bit of space was required!!  However I doubt that they were all accommodated in the royal palace.

Application:  We always have things that are precious to us.  There are items that we have bought, made or been given that have special meaning to us.  However so often we have a much loved item that is 'special but rarely used'.  As I've mentioned, we had a whole room like that when I was growing up, now I have a dinner set that I treat in the same way.  It was given at a special time (my wedding) by special people (my parents) and I really love it.  However, I never use it!  In the six and a half years I've owned it I've only used it twice.  It is no longer a dinner set but now an ornament that sits in the cupboard!
So often we can waste the things we own or the talents that we have been given by setting them aside for a 'special occasion'.  That is not truly using them to their full capacity.  All good things come from God.  He doesn't ask us to store them up and present them to Him in pristine condition when we meet Him face-to-face.  He actually says quite the opposite (Luke 12.13-21; Matthew 6.19-21; Matthew 25.14-30).  When I stand before my Lord I do not want Him to look at me and say, "Special, but rarely used."  God will always see us as the first part, He acknowledges throughout scripture that we are all special.  The second part is entirely our choice.  I would be delighted for God to call me, "Special..." but I aim to live my life so that the final part of that sentence is far from "... but rarely used."

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, you constantly prompt us to live our lives fully for God.  May we not be precious with our belongings or our selves  but use all that we are to bring glory to your name.  Amen.

What is one of your 'precious items'?  Is there an area in your life that you've been holding back from God?