The Dangers of Success
Read: Matthew 6:19–21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
There is a deep hunger in human beings to succeed. The hunger inside and the marketplace outside work together to determine the way we live and spend our days. And yet many people who “succeed” and become the envy of others find that their deep hunger remains.
Why is this so? Perhaps it is because we have a very limited view of what success is. Our culture takes our need to succeed and points it to a narrow vision of success. Singaporeans talk about the 5 Cs. This idea is grossly limited to a materialistic notion of success. The thirst for fame and fortune distracts us from the real thirst that lies deep within our human hearts. We need God. We need to be related to God, and to experience it by being reconciled to Him. We need to discover that God is love and order our lives on that basis. We need to discover our true worth and dignity, and our authentic identity and calling. We need to discover others as fellow human beings and treat them as such.
The apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy towards the end of his life. Imprisoned and facing an uncertain future, he declared “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). One who is pursuing a worldly form of success must be challenged by these words. Remember the rich young man who came to Jesus and asked Him about eternal life? Jesus told him to sell all his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and then come follow Him (Matthew 19:16–24). The young man was too steeped in the social scripts of his world to be willing to give up the signs of his “success”. When approaching death in his old age, he would not have been able to echo Paul’s glorious words. He would have been a stranger to the real fight, the real race, and the real faith, and so much the poorer for it.
Perhaps we might say that we are different. Christians who are active in church and trying their best to live pious lives may also have to be challenged by Paul’s words simply because the world’s notions of success are deeply ingrained in us and can easily be dressed up in Christian guises. Take for instance how a pastor’s or church leader’s ambitions to grow his church may betray entrepreneurial ambitions little different from those of corporate players in the marketplace. Or how many Christians link God’s blessings and favour with earthly wealth and fame. Earthly success is identified with spiritual vigour and vitality. They want to be successful on earth and receive heaven’s blessing to seek fame and fortune.
The greatest danger is when a man (or a woman) pastes the template of earthly success on his religion. He will be greatly deceived into thinking that all is well, that he is in the right battle and race, and that he possesses the true faith. Paul was one such person in his younger days, until the risen Christ encountered him on the road to Damascus. His religious passion was mixed with personal pride. After his conversion, he gave up the marks of his earthly success for something far superior. We would do well to consider this carefully. The relentless pursuit of fame and fortune, even in church, must be challenged by God’s truth. Even if fame and fortune fall into our laps, we should hold them lightly. We must remember that they have no value in heaven and that true success is often clothed in suffering, deprivation, simplicity, and love. True success is measured not by how much we own but by how much of us God owns. And may we all be blessed as we discover this more deeply in our lives.
Consider this:
What indicators do you use to measure success in your life? How well do they hold up in the light of what Scripture teaches us?
Excerpted and adapted from A Feast for the Soul: Growing in Holiness by Robert M. Solomon. ©2005 by Robert M. Solomon. Used by permission of Armour Publishing. All rights reserved.
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