My Success is about HIM

That’s right- even your success is intended to reflect God. Listen to the reminder Moses gave the children of Israel: ‘Always remember that it is the LORD your God who give you power to become rich, and he does it to fulfill the covenant he made with your ancestors’ (Deuteronomy 8:18)

And why does he give it? For his reputation. ‘To fulfill the covenant made with your ancestors.’ God blessed Israel in order to billboard his faithfulness. When foreigners saw the fruitful farms of the Promised Land, God did not want them to think about the farmer but the farmer’s maker. Their success advertised God.

Nothing has changed. God lets you excel so you can make him known. And you can be sure of one thing: God will make you good at something. This is the principle: ‘True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life’ (Proverbs 22:4) BUT!!! With the success comes a problem.

Just ask Nahab, Elah and Omri. These are men we should know. They were kings of Israel. They ascended the throne, but something about the throne brought them down. Their legacies are stained with blood spilling and idol worship. They failed at success. They forgot the source and purpose of their success. King Nadab symbolized them all: ‘He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in his sin which he made Israel sin’ (1 kings, 15:26)

You won’t be offered a throne, but you might be offered best architect, best worship leader, platoon best, best soldier, best salesperson. You will, to one degree or another, succeed. And when you do, you might be tempted to forget who helped you do so. Success sabotages the memories of the successful.

When the family struggled to make ends meet, they leaned on God for daily bread. Now that there is an extra car and many notes in the pocket, they haven’t spoken to him in a while. In the early of the church, the founding member spent hours in prayer. Today the church is large, well attended, well funded. Who needs to pray?

A frog had a real problem. His home pond was drying up. IF he didn’t find water soon, it’ll die. But then he had an idea. Convincing 2 birds to carry either end of a stick, he bit the centre and held on as they flew. As they winged towards the new water, his jaws clamped tightly. It was a magnificent sight! A cow saw and wondered aloud, “Who was the smart alec who came up with that idea?” The frog couldn’t resist a reply, ‘I ddiiiiiiiiii….!!!!!’

My friends, don’t make the same mistake. ‘Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall’ (Proverbs 16:18). Why are you good at what you do? For your comfort? For your retirement? For you to feel shiok? Feel good about yourself? No. Deem these as bonuses, not as the reason. Why are you good at what you do? For God’s sake. Your success is not about you, its about him!