He chose to ask for wisdom. Notice the phraseology Solomon uses. Solomon understood his service to God, and the people benefitted, and he became wealthy and had a long life. He understood that these people were God's people, not his to use as he desired. He understood the need to serve God's people with wisdom.
Service is a key to living a Christian life.
We are told in Philippians 2 that we are to have a Christ-like mind. Christ, our KING , took the form of a servant . Serving others is a distinguishing mark of Christians in the world. When our medical mission team goes to Guyana, the Hindus and Muslims are extremely curious about Christianity. They are used to serving themselves.