Book Review
Reprinted from Metro Christian Living
If you have not read local author Scot Thigpen’s thought provoking and life changing book, Chasing Solomon, you need to catch up fast. Scot’s book, published in 2005, has continued to create quite a sensation as it speaks to all of us who find ourselves caught in the crossfire between the God we say we worship and the world that entices us to worship everything else. As Scot says, “It is so easy to get off course when you are in the career building years of life.”
Chasing Solomon hit the bookshelves in 2005 meeting with comments like, “It changed my life…I saw myself…I will never let money motivate my life again.” The book that did not begin as a book came together as Scot sorted through his own questions almost in journal form. As a man who had built his philosophy of life on the foundation of God’s word, he had been profoundly influenced by a very Godly grandmother, “Dee.” She was approaching the end of her life in 2004, and as Scot reflected on her authentic life of faith, he realized how much her influence had shaped the person he had become. He meant to write a tribute to her, one to share with her before she died. But when Scot’s wife, Kimberly, and friend, Sherry Harfst read what he had written – the result was Chasing Solomon.
This precious little grandmother had given Scot a work of cross stitch when he was a little boy. It read, “Be careful what you set your heart on for you will surely find it.” Over the years those words imbedded themselves in his soul, and he saw their truth reflected time and time again in his own life and in the lives of people all around him. From the family whose anxious hearts were set on the big house, the finest cars, and the designer clothes to the peace and joy with which his grandmother lived her entire life, Scot could not get away from the wisdom and absolute truth of the words in that little sampler.
“…Ever since I had been in business I had had some restlessness with all of these questions about money, possessions, and materialism, balance, Christian walk and all that stuff.” As he delved into the scriptures, he recognized a very contemporary theme in the story of King Solomon who was the richest man who ever lived but came to the end of his life and called his wealth “meaningless,” comparing a life devoted to acquiring things to “chasing the wind.”
It was during this same time of gathering his thoughts on paper that Scot discovered the sermons of John Wesley. “There are hundreds of them, and I found I could not get enough – especially the ones that had to do with money and materialism and all that. I was just soaking it up, and the focus continued to lead to deeper questions.”
As the journal of thoughts kept growing, Scot and friend, Steve Blakemore, professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary began going to lunch on a regular basis and the discussions inevitably turned toward the questions Scot was pondering.
Scot had never really thought about that. His view of the world was the one he had absorbed from the influence of people like his grandmother – it was the worldview he had been taught. “I strongly believe in God and that His Word to us is found in the Bible. I believe it is the one place where we can find absolute truth in a modern day world of relativism.
“In this northeast Jackson affluent kind of church setting that we find ourselves, the book is resonating more so than anywhere else because this is where – it’s where the people live who deal with this stuff. We’re the ones who have the potential conflicts with money. God said you cannot serve two masters. He didn’t say it was challenging or difficult or took a lot of perseverance. He said ‘man cannot.’ So every one of us has to choose. I heard it said once that thrones are built for one. So for the first time in my life I was consciously aware of the conflict around the question, ‘Is life all about me or what Jesus taught that it’s all about Him?”
Want to find your answer to that question? Grab a copy of Chasing Solomon. And prepare to deal with some tough issues in your own life…and buy at least a travel box of Kleenex.
You can find Chasing Solomon at Lemuria, Family Christian Stores and on line at www.chasingsolomon.com. $15. Proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to a wide range of ministries – local, regional, and international. Don’t miss the first Chasing Solomon Live conference February 2-3.
