Upside Down Kings

What if the king who built the temple never picked up a hammer?In this short solo episode, Joshua Wilson shares something he noticed reading through 1 Kings — something easy to skim past: two different men, both filled with wisdom, building one temple. Solomon was given wisdom for the vision and the plan. Huram, a bronze worker from Tyre, was given wisdom for the intricate, skilled work of the metal. Same gift from God — applied two different ways, producing two different things the house needed. Joshua wrestles with what that says about how God gives gifts to His kids to be used together, with and through other people, to produce real fruit.What He's Wrestling With:Why the wall-to-wall detail in 1 Kings 7 is the point, not something to skimSolomon's wisdom for the whole — the vision, the plan, the templeHuram of Tyre, filled with wisdom and skill for all kinds of bronze workThe same gift of wisdom, applied differently, with different outcomesWhy Solomon didn't need to work the bronze himselfProverbs 14:4 — the clean stall, the strength of the ox, and the harvestWhy the increase seems to come when we work with and through others"Be fruitful and multiply" as a mandate that may include our workUsing our gifts as avodah — work as worship and serviceA challenge he's sitting with: stop envying other people's gifts, ask the Giver for yoursAbout the show: Upside-Down Kings is a publication of One Iron Network. Learn more at oneironnetwork.com.Upside-Down Kings is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice.

What does a deal sheet have in common with a yield sign at an intersection? One word — and two meanings that look like opposites.In this short solo episode, Joshua Wilson shares something God's been showing him about the word "yield." In his world of investment banking, yield measures what comes back on your money — the return you're hoping for when you hand over control of it. But the same word has a second meaning hiding in plain sight: to stop, to surrender, to give way. Through the mind of Christ, those two meanings collide. Looking at Galatians 5 and the fruit of the Spirit, Joshua wrestles with an upside-down truth: the real return isn't the one you engineer by gripping harder. It's the fruit that grows when you finally let go and yield your life to God.In this episode:Why "yield" shows up everywhere in investing — APY, deal sheets, return on investmentThe investor's bargain: handing over control of your money in hope of getting more backThe risk no yield can erase, and what that teaches usThe second meaning of yield — stop, surrender, give wayThe question every investor asks, turned upside downSeeing an ordinary word through the mind of ChristGalatians 5 and the fruit of the Spirit — and why it's "fruit," singularThe upside-down truth: fruit grows from surrender, not strivingWe are all investors of our time, energy, and attentionA closing prayer to yield your life, your way, and your outcomes to GodUpside-Down Kings is a publication of One Iron Network. Learn more at oneironnetwork.com.Upside-Down Kings is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice.

In this short intro, host Joshua Wilson opens Upside Down Kings with prayer and lays out the belief everything else grows from — that Jesus is the risen King of Kings, that surrender is strength, and that the faithful are quietly raised to stand before kings. This is a show about faith, work, and calling: the Kingdom principles God is showing us about how to live and work in the business world. Joshua reads the show's creed, names the words this podcast will dig into one at a time, and shares why — after years of carrying this on a shelf and a whiteboard — it's finally time to begin.What we cover:An opening prayer for wisdom and for God's Kingdom to comeThe creed Upside Down Kings is built onWhy surrender, not striving, is the show's foundationThe words we'll unpack over time: yield, mandate, calling, purpose, favor, capacity, grace, focusAvodah — the idea that skilled work, done unto God, is its own kind of worshipStewardship and wisdom, and what it means to stand before kingsThe plan to bring on others living this out in their own workWhy this show waited years for the right time to beginAbout the show: Upside-Down Kings is a publication of One Iron Network. Learn more at oneironnetwork.com.Upside-Down Kings is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or legal advice.